Newbie needs help with crack repair
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I’m new here and pretty new to auto body repair. I am female and have done maybe one real auto body repair before, I probably did it completely wrong. Well no… I know I did it wrong. That was 2 years ago and it didn’t seem to handle this last winter all that great. My car is in terrible need of a bath ATM so…. more on that latter I guess lol!
Anyway the reason I am here is I hit my car this winter :whistle:. In early February, it was really cold out… My rear door was frozen shut. When I tried to open it, it unlatched but was still stuck shut. So in my effort to get to to close/latch I hit it… everything must of been on my side(unfortunately)… There was a *snap* and I could not believe what I had done :blush:. Yep I cracked the metal…
[IMG]http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b313/Mikaila31/P1190773.jpg[/IMG]
My car a 99 Mazda 626 is defiantly nothing fancy. Interior is in amazing shape. Its been repainted once before, but is certainly full of scratches, small dings, and other fun stuff. I haul my kayak around and it is a source of a lot of scratches. Minor things I am fine with. I am greatly bothered by any damage that can lead to rust. This was the reason for my first repair attempt. I’m very much at a loss though on how I should go about fixing this crack over summer. It will be at least a month till I can do anything. So I am also wondering what should I put on this to remove/repel the water since things keep freezing at night. I can already tell the water is working on it. I have/used paint from automotivetouchup.com on this car. While base coat seems to match okay depending on light, I have determined the clear coat is crap no matter what. So if anyone suggest a good spray on clear coat that actually stays on the car that would be great!
Any help and comments are appreciated.
Thats not cracked metal. thats body filler
Unfortunately its not… We have owned this car since it drove out of the dealer. That door is original, its metal and its cracked… as I said everything must of been on my side… I’m not that strong. Temps were in the negatives when this happened. I could be wrong, but I’m almost certain its metal.
Looks like cracked body filler to me also. take a little flat screwdriver and try pry on the crack a little and see if body filler falls off
just because your car was brand new when you bought it, doesnt mean it was fixed before you bought it. Ding/scratches happen all the time and the dealer fixes them before they go on the lot.
Is your car one of those plastic cars like saturn?
only one way to find out whats really beneath the paint. hit it with a grinder!
No it does not have plastic body panels lol.
When I knock on it, it sounds like metal. This car has been in a accident before, long ago, hence the repainting. This exact same door was hit 4 years ago in a more recent accident. That put a big dent in it which we where able to work out most of the way… with a anvil. There is definitely damage still from that where you can tell the panel is metal about a foot below this crack. I can’t get a screw driver in it or under it. I probably could if I tried harder but I’m worried it will make the crack run. Edges are hard and they don’t chip easy. Its pretty cold out ATM though, might have better luck tomorrow when its warmer. I can tell you its magnetic, which probably means nothing…lol. However I can get it to flex a bit right at the corners of the T. Anyway this is bothering me a lot now, I swear its metal!:lol: I’m familiar with my doors, so I will pull off the interior door panel tomorrow and see if I can figure out what is going on on the other side. I’m still believing its metal and cracked all the way through… though you all have made me less confident then before. lol
Here is another picture with flash.
[IMG]http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b313/Mikaila31/P1190778.jpg[/IMG]
ya looks like filler to me metal is not white or light colored and since it has been repaired before thats a almost 99% chance that its body filler I dont know anyone who could straighten metal that good to put base and clear back on and be that smooth
but ya wait till its warmer grind it all down and start over, Just did a job like that on a 05 Caddy last fall whole dang quarter was complete filler didnt know it was there when we bought it.
but it was a good weekend project
[IMG]http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc277/Dwydir/cadillacrear.jpg[/IMG]its body filler for sure now that you mentioned the accident. Metal just doesn’t crack nicely like that, in fact metal doesn’t really crack, it tears and leaves rough edges. You would dent your door before you tear it or “crack it”
So if it was filler would you expect it to be rough or noticeable on the other side? I know 100% the lower half of that door is metal. I can’t see the upper half of the outer door panel very easy when I take it apart, but I will definitely be able to reach up there.
If it is filler how do I fix it? My 1st attempt at body work looked decent when I was first done. I know I didn’t do much of it properly… it looked good for the first two years. There is definitely a crack in the bondo. And the “I guess” cheap clear coat is coming off :unsure: .
just to clear things up, the door is metal and the bondo is on top of the door (the surface), that’s what is cracked. Not sure if you know this, but it seemed like you may think the top was made out of bondo or something.
Maybe it would be best if you take it to the shop.
To fix it you will grind/sand off the old filler completely and recoat with filler sand to shape then primer/base/clear, And since you have done bodywork before this should be no different than the first time ( althought I dont know what you did the first time ) This is a good learning job, If you really want to learn , You will have to take care of it pretty soon before the metal starts to oxidize(within a month or two the longer you wait the more surface rust viens you will have to deal with) then you will need to sandblast (more likely spot blast) the rust that forms to give you a good clean surface to start with.
And after you get the door finished, Next on the todo list is maybe get a new door latch. As to keep you from doing this again.
Yep you are all right it is filler lol :blush:. No idea if it covers any more area then what is cracked. The best I can assume is most of it is cracked. I won’t take it too a shop. This kind of damage is a lot different then my last one. Last one was rust and was on the rear fender by this door. I basically cut a chunk out of my car, bought a piece of galvanized metal. Shaped a new piece attached it to my car w/ pop rivets. Then the normal bondo, sanding, then aerosol spray painting(primer/color/clear). The door should be much easier with the body work then my last one. However the painting on the other hand…. I will probably just repaint the whole door. Unless anyone knows some great articles on blending. I read about it/watched some videos online before trying my first repair and did by best, which was fine for that area on my car. Door though is much more line of sight :unsure:. There is that crack up top, then lower down some other damage from when a car backed into me that I sealed with paint but never properly fixed. I need a different clear coat, but not too sure how that will effect the base coat color. I need to find something that lasts but comes in a spray can.
When I did my first repair to this car, the paint already on the fender was layered primer, color, primer, color, clear. If I end up painting the whole door do I just do the same thing? sand off clear coat and prime on top of color?
[IMG]http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b313/Mikaila31/P1190785.jpg[/IMG]
These are from my first attempt at body repair. Basically the area I cut out and when I was finished. This was actually done last summer, I’m terrible with time lol. There is one crack in it already :unsure:.
[IMG]http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b313/Mikaila31/P1170091.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b313/Mikaila31/P1170124.jpg[/IMG]
you will have to paint the whole door no doubt, And about the paint , Rattle cans are not a good product to use for a repair you want to last, And the finish wont even be close ,
The other repair more than likley cracked already due to the pop rivets, As that piece should of been welded back in place.
and why do you want to use rattle cans so much? Lack of compressor and paint guns?
maybe you can grind off the old work including your fist attempt,
Take it to someone with a welder and have the piece welded in.
Then you can use filler to build it up and shape back in to place.
Then take in for primer/paint/clear and have a job that will last
you will have saved yourself some cash and would have learned something in the proccess[quote=”ding” post=19746]Thats not cracked metal. thats body filler[/quote]
:agree
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