Do-it-yourself local paintwork repair

Many car enthusiasts have faced the problem of damage to the paint layer of the car body.

Since this type of damage is one of the most common, it is important to work out the technology of its elimination to the point of automatism. The overall success will depend on how quickly and efficiently the master will cope with such damage.

There are cases that in an effort to complete the work quickly, the craftsmen make annoying mistakes: in some places they did not finish, something was not refilled, and as a result, a marriage occurs, which leads to a complaint. In addition, the quality of the work is also affected by the experience that newcomers lack. Most are not fully familiar with all the features of damage repair technology.

However, there are times when even experienced craftsmen make unexpected mistakes. Therefore, for everyone who wants to learn how to fix damage to the paint layer with their own hands, this material. It will describe technology that can help you cope with these kinds of problems.

The materials of the 4CR company will be used for the work. In our case, we will restore a body element from light damage. Removing it does not require restoring the shape of the part. We need to putty the area, since this will allow us to perform the necessary alignment at the micro level. Damage of this kind includes scratches, as well as scuffs, paint damage due to contact with reactive substances, etc.

The first thing that needs to be done is to prepare the site for repairs so as not to stain the car later. To do this, you will need to localize it. Body panels that are adjacent to the repair area must be covered with static foil. Attach it around the edges with tape.

After that, you need to degrease the surface so that all kinds of dirt do not interfere during sanding and putty. A water-alcohol cleaner must be used to remove inorganic substances.

Next, sanding should be done. To do this, you need to use a grinder and a P180 wheel. During this process, you will have to go a little beyond the repair area. This will smooth out all the irregularities as much as possible and prepare the surface for easy filling. In this case, you should go beyond the repair site a short distance, by 2-3 cm. We need this margin in order to make the most smooth transition from the repair zone to the unprocessed surface. It needs to be as smooth as possible.

After sanding, the surface should be blown off.

Next, you need to sand with a foam-based material, in a tape, with a gradation of P180. Then again you need to blow the repaired area. It is possible to apply a new filler to the old non-exfoliated filler, provided that it adheres well and does not come into contact with the degreaser. After doing a solvent test before, you can put a new layer. The main thing is that the old paintwork is not covered with a new filler. All coatings that lie under the old putty are considered to be dubious.

We demolish the old coating to the substrate. In the process, we use the P180.If, as in our case, a special material is used during the repair - putty for plastic, the repair area must be sanded down to the substrate. Then it needs to be blown off and degreased. At this stage, you do not need to use a water-alcohol cleaner.

Stir well the putty in the jar before use. It is important that the consistency of the material becomes homogeneous. For work, you need a small amount of material, which should be mixed with a hardener. You do not need to stir the putty with rotational ones, only performing the process with chopping movements, since in this case air gets into it, which will immediately appear on the surface.

Apply the filler carefully. Next, you need to dry it.

When processing the putty and preparing the surface for applying primer, it is necessary to use an abrasive with a gradation index of P280 and a soft substrate. The soil should not go beyond the cleared repair area, since it will cover the gloss, which should not be allowed. The permissible gradation for grinding under the ground is in the range of P220-320. It is not recommended to use abrasives with a gradation above. After you need to blow the surface. You can eliminate minor defects using a manual underlay.

Even minor damage to the paintwork of a car leads to disastrous consequences. They spoil the appearance of the "iron horse" and shorten the life of the body. Over time, scratches and chips become foci of corrosion, which spreads even under intact paintwork. Elimination of damage to the surface of the body is carried out immediately after their detection.

Remove the old paint completely before re-painting.

To restore the appearance of the car in case of not deep damage, re-painting the body is used. This procedure makes it possible to restore the car paintwork with your own hands.

Partial body painting, depending on the area of ​​damage, is of two types:

• retouching or directly spot painting;
• local painting is a technology of car repair, in which painting of a damaged part or a separate section of it is carried out.

Let's take a closer look at what local and spot painting of a car are, in which cases they are used, what tools and materials are needed to perform these works.

Spot painting of a car is carried out with single scratches that do not reach the primer layer. Such damage is conspicuous only in bright sunlight.

Spot repair of car paintwork is a procedure that every car owner can easily handle. It allows you to paint separately each minor damage to the paintwork. There are 2 types of retouching products: in the form of a pencil or a reservoir with a coloring compound and a brush. Painting a car with a brush makes the work easier and allows you to do it neatly.

It is important to choose a touch-up product in the body color so that the scratch does not stand out even more after painting. A wide range of coloring compositions is presented in retail outlets, and with the help of a consultant, you can easily choose the desired shade.

Powder coating is the fastest and cheapest

Spot painting a car body begins with degreasing the damaged area. To do this, use a solvent that is at hand (acetone, white spirit or alcohol). The retouching agent is applied to the damaged area in 2-3 layers in order to reliably paint over a scratch or chip.

Do-it-yourself spot painting of a car is possible even for a beginner. To achieve the necessary accuracy when performing work and "fill your hand", it is better to pre-practice on an old body part or an unnecessary piece of metal.

Local painting of a car body is called a "transition", since when it is done, it is necessary to achieve an imperceptible transition between the old and new paintwork. If such a repair of the car paintwork is performed poorly, you can see the boundaries of the overlay of fresh paint on the parts, especially in bright sunlight.

Do-it-yourself local painting of a car body does not differ from complete painting and consists of the following stages:

1. Preparation, during which the parts are cleaned, degreased, removed rust and surface defects, and primed.
2. The stage of painting, during which layers of paint are applied to the part and the border of the transition between the old and new paintwork is smoothed.
3. Polishing the damaged area after painting.

Do-it-yourself car paintwork repairs necessarily begin with the preparation of the body. The damaged part is thoroughly cleaned, and it is necessary to wash not only the immediate place of damage, but the rest of the surface of the part. If dust or dirt from neighboring areas gets on the wet paint, defects appear on the surface. Before painting, be sure to clean the room in which the car's paintwork is being repaired with their own hands. To clean the body, use special detergents. After the car is washed, it is wiped dry.

The next step is to degrease the surface. Thanks to this procedure, stubborn stains (traces of insects, fuel oil, car oils and others) can be eliminated, in addition, the primer is better applied to the degreased surface. For degreasing, household products such as acetone, white spirit, or special automotive solvents are used. The procedure is carried out with the help of special napkins or lint-free rags, since the fibers get into the paint and appear after drying.

Advice! Some car owners use kerosene for degreasing. Remember that heavy kerosene does not completely evaporate from the surface of the part, it interacts with the paint and negatively affects the painting result.

Metallic painting of the car is performed in three layers

The place of future painting is cleaned to metal using mechanical abrasives (grinder or sandpaper). This must be done for the following reasons:

• in places of old scratches and chips under an externally intact paintwork, there may be a center of corrosion;
• old paintwork will soon peel off after staining;
• when stripping, smooth the edges of chips that would otherwise stand out under the new coating.

If the surface of the part is covered with dents or other damage, the repair of the car's paintwork must be accompanied by leveling with a putty. The composition of the putty is selected depending on the depth and configuration of the damage. Small scratches are better filled with low viscosity solutions. It is best to use fiberglass material to remove the dent. To level the surface, several applications of the filler are required. After each layer has dried, the surface is sanded with fine-grained "sandpaper".

The last stage of the preparatory stage is the primer. The application of a primer layer ensures better adhesion of the paint to the metal, smoothes the surface and protects the part from corrosion.

For local staining, auto enamels or aerosol paints are used in a spray can. The choice of the method depends, first of all, on the size of the damaged area. The staining technology is different in both cases, so we will consider each of them separately.

Do-it-yourself car paintwork repair with paint in aerosol cans is carried out with a small area of ​​damage.Shake the can of paint vigorously for 3 minutes before use. This is necessary so that the coloring pigments are evenly distributed in the solvent. The paint is applied from a distance of 30 cm from the surface in the direction from bottom to top to avoid dripping off the wet composition.

To obtain an evenly colored surface, 3 coats are sufficient. Each subsequent layer is applied only after the previous one has dried, the time required for this is indicated in the instructions from the manufacturer. Do not use the entire can unnecessarily. The paint is stored in it for a long time, and it can be used with the following local staining.

To blur the line between old and new coatings when using spray paint, the transition is treated with a special aerosol solvent. After the border is blurred, the surface is opened with a colorless varnish.

If the area of ​​damage is extensive, it is best to use regular car paints. They are mixed with a solvent and sprayed onto surfaces with a spray gun. To evenly paint the surface, 2-3 sprays are enough.

To make the transition between old and new paint smooth, experienced craftsmen use the following tricks:

1. Each subsequent layer of paint should go beyond the border of the previous one, but in no case should it fall on areas with an old paintwork.
2. The first layer of paint should be the most viscous, and the paint for the next applications is diluted with a large amount of solvent.

You can open the painted area with varnish after the final drying of the last layer of paint. For local staining, automotive varnish in spray cans is predominantly used.

After painting, it is better to polish the part, this will protect the paintwork and eliminate defects that have arisen during painting. Prices for polishing a car body vary depending on the processing method and range from 1900 to 20 thousand rubles. You can save this amount and polish the car body after painting with your own hands.

Local polishing of the car body is carried out only after the final drying of the varnish and paint. If no defects appear on the surface of the part during painting, a protective polish is performed. With this method of processing, a polish is applied to the surface of the body and rubbed in a circular motion with napkins. Thanks to protective polishing, the body acquires shine and protection from adverse external factors.

If, after the paint has dried, irregularities appear on the surface, abrasive polishing is used. This method consists in mechanical surface grinding: using a grinder and special polishing pastes or fine-grained "sandpaper".

Do-it-yourself local body painting does not differ from the complete painting of a car. But experienced craftsmen use some tricks when doing it:

1. For its implementation, dismantling of the body is not required, the car is covered with plastic wrap, and its edges are fixed with tape around the painting site. Dismantling the part is only necessary if access to the damaged area is difficult.
2. The putty of scratches is performed in the following sequence: the solution is applied across the damage, and leveled with a spatula along it.
3. The color of the primer affects the final shade of the surface, so the primer is matched to the paint.
4. Local polishing is not always necessary. If the damage is located in a recess, near the edge or molding, then polishing is not carried out. If the damage grasps the edge or middle of the part, a partial polishing of the car body is carried out.

The body is considered one of the most vulnerable parts of a vehicle. Small stones that fly towards the car while driving at high speed damage the lacquer coating.Scratches can also appear as a result of a minor traffic accident or after contact with branches. Even a shallow scratch is dangerous.

If the varnish coating is damaged, moisture gets on the metal sooner or later, which can cause the development of corrosion formations.

To restore the car and give it a spectacular appearance, the car's paintwork is being repaired

Because the faster the car's paintwork is restored, the better. Tidying up the paintwork of the car body with your own hands is a real event. It is worth noting that a self-performed procedure will cost you two to three times cheaper than the services of a specialized auto repair shop. If you want to know how to repair paintwork (with or without paint), this article is for you!

There are three types of scratches and chips that can be seen on the surfaces of the machine. These include:

1. Light damage. In this case, only the outer layer of the varnish is damaged. Scratches of this type are easy to eliminate - an ordinary pencil paint will do. In addition, you can make liquid glass on a car with your own hands.
2. Injuries of moderate severity. In this case, both the protective film of the car and the ground layer are damaged. You will have to tinker more to fix moderate scratches. However, if you have the tools and experience with them, you won't run into problems.
3. Severe injuries. It is quite difficult to eliminate them, because the varnish layer, and the primer and metal are damaged. In this case, it will not work to repair the car without painting. In the presence of severe damage, a rational solution is to contact a specialized service. But if you have all the necessary tools and experience in such work, you can still remove deep scratches on the car with your own hands.

The paintwork of the car performs not only an aesthetic function (giving the car a spectacular appearance), but also protects the body from damage and the appearance of rust

Before starting to restore varnish on a car, make sure that you have the following tools and materials in your arsenal:

1. Putty materials.
2. Lacquer materials.
3. Primer mix.
4. Sander.
5. Abrasive skins.
6. Materials for abrasive work.
7. Fragments of felt fabric.

Restoration of car paintwork should be carried out in accordance with this algorithm:

• Ensure that all non-working surfaces of the vehicle are properly protected. For this, covering materials (such as construction films) are usually used, fixed with adhesive tape.
• To clean the area of ​​the surface that is being processed (and the entire area around it within a radius of five millimeters). For this, a sander or abrasive paper with a high grit index is used. Scrubbing is necessary to remove dirt and rust that may already have formed in the scratch.

• Rinse, degrease and dry the problem area. It should be clean when you start work.
• If the scratch has affected more than just the varnish, apply a coat of primer to the surface and spread using a rubber trowel
• Once the primer is dry, sand the problem area with a sander or high grit abrasive paper again
• After that, the direct restoration of the car paintwork begins. The varnish is applied using an aerosol can (it is important to observe the principle of matching colors).
• Now start polishing the surfaces. Abrasive material is applied to felt rags, and with their help the coating is polished.It is important to take into account that it is necessary to gradually switch from products with coarse grain to products with fine grain, as well as from hard to soft rags. Polishing continues until the surface is completely matte.
• The process of restoring the paint and varnish coating of the car without painting is completed by applying a protective layer to the surface of the body. It can be a special polish containing wax-based compounds.

A device for measuring the thickness of a car timber complex, which will be indispensable in this matter, is a thickness gauge, which you can familiarize yourself with on our website.

After the defect is eliminated, the car is finished or polished.

If the scratch is located in a conspicuous place and does not differ in depth, it is quite rational to use a pencil-paint.

It performs rather an aesthetic rather than a protective function, but allows you to completely hide all traces of damage. The advantage of a pencil paint is the speed of its use. The main thing is to choose the exact color shade (this should not be a problem, since there are more than one hundred varieties on the market). Before using a pencil paint, the damage is treated appropriately: clean, rinse, degrease, dry. Use clear varnish after painting.

The car body is a part that requires care and careful handling. Careless driving, poor quality of roads and other factors are often the causes of defects in the car's paintwork. The appearance of small chips on the paintwork requires repair, because it spoils the appearance of the machine and causes further damage. Therefore, drivers sometimes need information on how to remove chips on the car body.

Not a single car owner is insured against damage to the paintwork. In addition to careless driving, chips on a car appear for the following reasons:

• adverse weather conditions - hail, temperature drops;
• a road strewn with rubble;
• insects crashing into the car at full speed;
• carelessness of others, physical damage;
• incorrect car wash.

The car owner does not notice the formation of small paint chips. Only a careful examination of the body after a trip and cleaning the car from dirt helps to find possible defects. If they are found, it is advisable to repair the body as soon as possible. Leaving minor damage unattended is fraught with consequences.

Microdamages violate the integrity of the paintwork and become the reason for its further corrosion, and an increase in the area of ​​the defect will make repairs expensive. While waiting, the situation will be aggravated by the beginning of the rusting of the body. Damaged paint will not inhibit metal oxidation. In this case, the car body will require a long and costly professional repair.

The paintwork of a car consists of a primer, paint and a transparent varnish that serves as additional protection. Some paints already have varnish in their composition, so they do not require additional protection. In terms of depth, chips on the machine are divided into damage:

• varnish;
• varnish and paint;
• varnish, paint and primer.

By type, paintwork defects are divided into:

• traces of polishing;
• "Cobwebs" - minor damage to the upper layer;
• water marks - small but visible defects on the varnish layer;
• some small scratches;
• deep scratches;

Repair is required when damage occurs to each layer, and not just scratches that have reached the ground. Small chips are much easier to repair.

Before proceeding directly to the repair, it is necessary to find all the chips on the body and assess the damage. To do this, you should carefully inspect the car, especially in the area of ​​the front bumper, headlights and radiator.

In order to properly restore a car, you should assess the general condition, determine if the soil is damaged. If the damage is not too serious, it makes sense to start repairing yourself with the help of specialized tools. There are the following ways to restore paintwork:

• restoration of varnish with polish;
• restoration of paint with a brush;
• using an aerosol can;
• repair of chipped paintwork of a car using varnish.

Before starting to apply coatings, it is required to thoroughly clean the surface from corrosion. The place of damage should be cleaned from dirt. Using sanding paper to smooth the surface, create a base for the coating.

Never use a rust converter. When applied, a stain will appear on the site of corrosion even after painting.

Next, the main restorative coating is applied. There are different methods of application, so we will consider them in more detail below.

The last step is sanding and polishing the surface. Sanding is done with P2000 paper using a rigid backing and polishing with polishing paste and a cloth. To evaluate the result obtained, it is most convenient to use water and make sure that it spreads evenly over the surface.

This restoration method is used to remove small chips on the machine. Shallow damages are covered with a special paste, anti-scratch, after drying. This helps to stop further corrosion and make the chips less noticeable. The main advantages are the simplicity of execution and the reliability of the coating. Among the disadvantages is the duration of the work.

Some car owners prefer to periodically polish the entire body. This allows you to get rid of subtle defects in the early stages, prevent further corrosion and renew the appearance of the car, giving it a shine like after painting.

Chipping with polishing paste will be noticeable if:

• in case of damage to a large area, the shade changes to matte;
• for deep scratches, the coating will not give an effective result.

This method refers to the restoration conditionally. Pencils are most often used as temporary removal of chips. This is the easiest way to repair chips on a car body with your own hands. There are three types of restoration pencils available:

• wax;
• gel corrector;
• coloring pencil.

Wax stick - used to remove chips of any depth. In appearance and method of application, it resembles lipstick. The composition of the substances of such pencils contains a corrosion inhibitor, so it is a reliable, but short-lived protection. For temporary repairs, coat the surface with a pencil without cleaning it from corrosion.

Concealer gel - the ability to do without polish for the restoration of paintwork. The liquid in such a pencil has a high viscosity and hardens for a long time. After the restoration of the defect with such a pencil, the surface does not visually differ from other areas.

Coloring pencil - a bottle of paint, ready to use. It works well to cover up small chips on the car or light damage. Particularly sensitive to corrosion. It is recommended to varnish and polish the surface after use.

The optimal tool for eliminating large-area chips. It is made after sanding and cleaning the damaged area from the old paintwork layer. With the right color matching, the painted areas do not differ from the rest of the body.

Spray paint lasts longer than pencil paint thanks to even application. An additional advantage is the ability to paint over hard-to-reach areas.

In addition to paint, the spray cans have an auto-primer, which is necessary for painting small but deep chips. There is also acrylic paint that does not require varnish.

Varnish is the top protective layer of the coating. In case of serious damage, opening with polish is not enough. After local repair of the chip, varnish is required.

The surface is coated with varnish after the paint has completely dried. The varnish is applied in several thin layers before the surface of the damaged area slightly protrudes beyond the level of the outer part of the paintwork. After that, the unevenness is corrected by leveling the surface with the help of grinding.

Neglected defects cause corrosion. If the damage has reached the metal, an urgent repair of the chip on the car body is required.

To remove such a flaw, sand the surface around it with coarse sandpaper. In order for the paint to lay down better, the boundaries of the restored area must be flat. After cleaning the surface, treat it with a primer and wait for the layer to dry.

It is advisable to seal the chip with paint containing varnish, since when it is coated over the paint layer, the place of elimination of the defect will be noticeable.

To eliminate defects on the body, special kits are sold in car dealerships. These include primer, paint and varnish, and coating brushes. The body chip repair kit has a wide range of colors and allows you to repair almost any defects and scratches.