DIY repair of broken cars

In detail: do-it-yourself repair of broken cars from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

The main part of the repair work to restore the car is carried out to eliminate the consequences of long-term operation, as a result of which extensive corrosion zones have appeared. Also, individual elements are repaired (or replaced with new ones) after an accident. Most of the "victims" go to specialized auto repair shops, but there are motorists who know how to do car body repairs with their own hands. Of course, this requires some experience and equipment.

If the deformations are simple and are outside, then a straightening tool and straightening devices are used to correct them. If necessary, overlays are cut out of a sheet of metal suitable for the thickness (they should overlap the damaged area by at least 3 cm). Before installing the lining, it and the prepared place must be cleaned to bare metal.... In such cases, you can repair the car body yourself. No special skills are required to work with a straightening hammer. Welding is carried out with a continuous seam.

Road accident

Complex damages are corrected with the help of a special installation for monitoring and straightening. For this, the machine is mounted on brackets and secured at base points. By means of hydraulic devices, the body is drawn out until the remaining control points are aligned. When performing such an operation, the entire inner lining of the car is removed to facilitate the control and installation of hydraulic devices.

The method can be hot, using a gas burner or cold (straightening hammers of various types, fast-hardening mastics are used). When using the hot method, the metal is heated to a dark cherry color (approximately + 60 ° C) and then straightened in the desired direction from the edges to the center. Correct welding of a car body is carried out using a contact device (point) and an autogen. The use of arc welding is possible only in places invisible to the eye where thick metal is used (for example, when welding a floor).

Video (click to play).

The cold method involves the use of polyester fillers (two-component). After application, the putty dries up within a maximum of 20 minutes. After that, you can start sanding the treated area.

Aligned wing

High-quality body repair of domestic passenger cars involves the use of one more material - thermoplastic. Its properties are manifested at a temperature of + 150C. The surface to be filled with this material must first be cleaned to metal and degreased. The area must also be roughened with an abrasive material (sandpaper) to ensure better adhesion.

Then the damaged area is heated to + 160C and only then the first layer of thermoplastic is applied, which is rolled with a metal roller. Then a second layer is applied and so on until the dent is filled. When the last layer has hardened, start sanding the restored area. In some cases, it is more expedient to use tin solder for body repair. In this case, it is better to refrain from using acid as a flux - this will reduce the risk of corrosion.

First, you need to diagnose the car body. In the car service, in addition to visual inspection, the EDV method (electronic data processing) is used. Identified damages are introduced and in response, recommendations for their correction, the sequence of repair work are issued.

The dressing system is equipped with a parallelogram lift.The car is attached to it by means of the ears located on the bottom of the floor, near the thresholds. Further, the laser system allows you to see in which direction and how much the geometry is displaced.

The return of the body parts to their original state is carried out using chains attached to tensioning devices (they are driven by hydraulic cylinders). The editing continues until the laser shows that the control points are aligned.

The use of the installation for the control of geometry and its subsequent editing allows you to clearly see what the car body consists of. When carrying out work in the area of the thresholds, the vehicle must be put on wheels.

If work on restoring geometric dimensions requires special knowledge, experience and equipment, then it is quite possible to prepare the car for painting on your own. First, you need to remove corrosion from the car body; this operation is usually done together with the removal of old paint, which can be done in several ways.

The simplest method is to sand the car body with sandpaper. To clean large, flat areas, you can use a grinder with a Velcro circle. However, hard-to-reach places will have to be cleaned manually.
A more efficient way is to sandblast the car body. Cleaning surfaces with a similar method allows you to get to clean metal with minimal physical costs. In addition, sandblasting applies the pattern to the "bare" metal, which contributes to better adhesion when painting.

Chemical removal of old paint. The use of strong solvents is advisable for full body painting.

It is necessary for minor damage resulting from an accident, corrosion. After treating the damaged area with a putty, it is necessary to apply a primer. There is an important point here; the color of the primer affects the future tone of the paint. Therefore, choose a primer that has a color that is as close as possible to the tone of the substrate. It is better to apply the primer with a spray gun or by means of an aerosol can. High-quality painting of a car body element is possible only with a spray gun. The can is used only with a small area of \ u200b \ u200bpaint. Image - DIY repair of broken cars

Door painting

The paint is prepared - brought to the desired viscosity, filtered. Usually 2-3 layers are sprayed; each must be dried and dust removed before applying the next layer. The viscosity of the 1st layer must be at least 26 s. subsequent ones should be diluted to a more liquid state. When painting, pay attention to the technique of this process. If the nozzle is too small, the color of the individual body element may turn out to be slightly lighter (this is especially true for metallic shades). In this case, reduce the pressure of the spray gun - then the color can be evened out.

One of the most efficient and effective methods of processing after painting is polishing the car body with liquid glass. Such a composition will not only give a dazzling shine to the surface, but also protect the body from the effects of an aggressive environment due to the formation of the thinnest film. The water-repellent qualities of the coating are maintained for at least six months.

An automatic transmission requires some skill in using it. Our article will provide the necessary knowledge.

Such polishing gives a spectacular look even to a far from new car. Therefore, for the VAZ 2103, tuning a car using liquid glass is an operation that will unrecognizably change the face of a veteran of the domestic auto industry. When using liquid glass, a thicker layer is obtained when compared with conventional polishes (the difference is more than two times). The high qualities of liquid glass used for processing the car body are due to the use of nano technologies in the manufacture of polishes of this type.

An article about local repair of a car body - preparation, procedure, subtleties of work.At the end of the article - a video about car body repair.

There are many reasons that lead to the repair of one or another part of the body. These can be mechanical damage to the paintwork by road debris, the consequences of minor accidents, chemical damage due to improper use of reagents, and, finally, the manifestation of ordinary corrosion.

Of course, as a result of these damages, the car does not lose its technical characteristics, and therefore there is no reason to hand it over to scrap. Only the external aesthetics of the car suffers, and this problem is quite simple to solve. And if you repair everything with your own hands, then the economic benefits will be obvious.

Before local body repair, you need to wash the car well, and then diagnose for defects. This is necessary in order to know for sure which parts of the body need to be repaired, as well as what tools and equipment will be required for this.

The first step is to investigate the nature of the damage. For instance:

dents resulting from an accident, as well as from impacts of stones from under the wheels;
violation of the integrity of the paintwork: chips, cracks, scratches, etc.;
corrosion.

If this damage is mechanical and at the same time it is associated with a rupture of metal surfaces, or if it is typical corrosion, which has “eaten through” the metal through and through, then it would be reasonable to replace the damaged part with a new one. The same can be said about those damaged places in which the stiffeners suffered. But if the part cannot be replaced (the model is outdated), it can, in principle, be restored, but it will be much more difficult to do this than to replace it.

In addition, it is necessary to find those places that require correction of geometric deformation, and also note all minor damage that can be easily removed with a putty. As a result of such a defect analysis, you will know which body parts will require subsequent repair.

The most effective way to repair a damaged body part is to replace it. But if you nevertheless decided to repair the part, then in this case it will have to be dismantled. So let's start with dismantling.

Most of the body parts can be bolted or self-tapping, so it is not difficult to remove them, and without the use of welding. By the way, if the repaired part is installed already painted, it will be much better and easier.

However, there are parts that are assembled using spot welding. To dismantle them, use a special chisel and hammer. With these tools, a weld point is cut between the parts at the attachment point.

It is better to install the repaired part using special mastic, as a result of which the elements will connect to each other much more tightly and tightly. This will create additional waterproofing. It is advisable to do this with any method of connection, but if you use welding, you must keep the welding points clean.

No local body repair can do without putty. The fact is that, having repaired the damaged body parts, in any case you will have to go to the final cosmetics.

The first step is to close the deepest irregularities, the depth of which exceeds 1 mm. To do this, use a coarse filler. At the same time, do not forget that among the parts that make up the body there are parts that are subject to vibration and can deform from this.

When processing such parts, use a putty containing an aluminum filler. Fiberglass putty can be used for the rest of the parts.

To begin with, the places where you plan to apply the putty will have to be matted. This can be done with a medium-grit emery cloth for better adhesion to the surface.

The next stage is directly puttying. And this process should take no more than 20 minutes.In any case, most putties have this setting time. Therefore, in order to be in time, proceed as follows:

Dilute the filler according to the manufacturer's instructions. After that, mix the solution thoroughly enough so that the composition excludes air bubbles, has a measured color and the same consistency.

Start applying the solution to the surface with a spatula. At the same time, be extremely careful not to overestimate the required layer thickness. Therefore, it is better to apply thin layers in several steps to achieve the desired level. And if the surplus does appear, they must be removed immediately.

Allow the putty to harden.

Note: of course, it is impossible to immediately apply the putty so that later this surface does not require mechanical processing. Therefore, it will be very good if you come to a result that is as close to ideal as possible.

As already mentioned, mechanical processing of the putty surface in any case cannot be avoided. Therefore, wait until the composition has completely solidified, and then proceed to processing.

To do this, stock up on emery cloth and a wooden block. For a start, you can use a medium-grained skin, and try to pick up a block that is not very large, but fairly even.

The method of such processing is quite simple: wrap the block in "sandpaper" and begin to process the surface to be repaired with it. It is due to the even block that you can identify where it is necessary to remove excess putty, and where it needs to be added.

You can use an orbital sander besides the sandpaper-wrapped bar, but it takes care and a lot of experience to use it. And if there is no such experience, then it is better to grind by hand, as described above - you will make fewer mistakes.

Despite the fact that this procedure is quite simple, rare specialists manage to do everything the first time. Therefore, after the first treatment, check the result and, if necessary, repeat it all over again. Your ultimate goal is to keep the surface level and free of pits, bumps, or seams.

So, you have done the "blackest" work, the repaired surface already has a favorable appearance, and now there is little to do - to eliminate small defects. The problem is that sometimes it is even impossible to notice them with the naked eye, but after repair they will definitely show themselves.

And here you will need another, fine-grained putty, which is also called finishing. You apply it in the thinnest layer to those places that require it: scuffs, scratches, an excessive layer of coarse-grain putty.

The condition is the same as with the use of a coarse-grained putty - you need to have time to apply the composition before its initial hardening. After this comes the stage of mechanical finishing, and fine-grained sandpaper is already used here, which is popularly called zero.

This work should also be done manually if there is no experience in using special tools. The necessary result of this procedure is the complete absence of irregularities, both visible and invisible, and tangibly tangible.

In this final step, sometimes it is possible to apply the putty in several layers, but in most cases one is enough.

Once you have done all this, the repair can be considered complete. All that remains is to paint the repaired areas and your car will look like new.

Video about car body repair:

Stretching the body is a very complex process, which is usually performed after an accident, when all the distortions of the geometry of the car body are eliminated by applying the opposite force obtained during the accident.To repair damage of this nature, special tools are always used that can return any part of the car to its previous state, these are hydraulic and screw jacks that can be used on:

door openings,

hood and trunk lid,

openings of the windshield and rear window.

How much a body hood costs always depends on the method of work, but sometimes you can repair a car after a minor collision, for example, an unsuccessful parking, with your own hands.To perform straightening with your own hands using the heating method, you need to arm yourself:

rubber or metal hammers of different weights;

protective equipment - gloves, glasses;

heat source - burner or hair dryer.

Pulling the body

Aligning the body shape with jacks should take place in several stages:

Dismantling of all parts that in any way interfere with the repair and access to the damaged areas.
Installation of a car body on special supports.
Installation of a hydraulic jack and determination of the angle of impact.
Starting the hood. During the pulling process, it is always very important to take measurements with a special body ruler and compare the indicators according to the control points of the primary drawing of the body.
While pulling, the mechanics also "tap" with a hammer on all distortions and bends of the metal, which helps to give the body its primary shape.
In cases when the first time it was not possible to pull the parts to their previous position, repeated pulling with squeezing is performed, in this position everything is left for a day for the metal to "get used to it." If the damage is very large, then the dent can be pulled out by two or three jacks at once.

This method may imply the use of a vacuum in cases where the concave part has retained the integrity of the paint layer, it will avoid the need to make "cosmetics". It can be more expensive, but considering how much it costs to paint a car, such a hood is still cheaper.

Pulling equipment installation locations

The use of a reverse hammer is also possible, but painting cannot be avoided here. The method works like this:

A thick wire hook is welded to the bent section.
A reverse hammer clings to the hook, which with blows will pull the metal back to its original position.
When the process is successfully completed, the hooks are cut and the body is sanded and painted.

Sometimes, to install the hammer, a hook hole can be drilled into which a nut and washer is threaded. After completion, the hole is treated with a putty or welded.

Another method of repairing the body is stretching using a gas burner, it is mainly used to settle the stretched metal and smooth out folds. Here you need to work very carefully, keeping the burner at a distance, otherwise there is a risk of burning the body.

Please note that the extraction must be completed on time. This means that you must complete all work at the same time as the surface has completely cooled down, otherwise it may return to the wrong position.

Car straightening stand

The most popular among the devices for eliminating deformations of the car body is a special stand:

The body is installed on it and fixed with clamps at four points for reliable fixation - at the points of connection of the car floor with the sills.
Suitable grips are selected based on the location of the damage. They are then attached to the vehicle and the correct pull-out angle is set.
The hydraulic jacks are launched and pre-stretch the hull. After that, control measurements are made, if necessary, the process is repeated.
Next, the body is straightened.

Also noteworthy is the simplest way to repair deformations - dismantling the damaged part using an amplifier, which will pass along the perimeter of the weld with a 6 mm drill and separate part of the body from the body. It is straightened and welded into place.

If the entire body is being repaired, then it is necessary to prevent the doors from sagging by supporting the front and center pillars of special tragus in the amount required for reliable support.

For each type of deformation, different stretching and straightening methods can be applied, all of which are aimed at reducing the scale of interference with the integrity of the body. Therefore, the preferred method of extraction is considered to be working with the car body on the stand or using jacks. Small dents can sometimes be eliminated with your own hands with a household hairdryer, using heating.How to paint a car by their by handCar painting by their hands, according to the views of many car owners, the matter is very difficult and difficult for ordinary mortals. Meanwhile, virtually everyone can paint a car perfectly at home, if there is a desire and some experience. In this article, we will carefully tell you how to paint a car yourself after repair.Painting the car body, like other parts of the "tin", consists of several steps, followed by a sequence:

Preparing the car for painting (cleaning, priming, putty);

Body painting, doors, hood, bumpers and other details;

Grinding and polishing.

Apart from this annotation on painting cars, on our website you can read and look at the following materials:For painting do it yourself auto in the garage, some craftsmen use an ordinary vacuum cleaner. But you can't paint the whole car with a vacuum cleaner, so we still advise you to rent or purchase a compressor for painting cars.We also recommend stocking up on 2 spray caps. It is useful to add a few spare tubes with the smallest and largest diameter of the nozzle to each of them, the proper rubber plugs and O-rings (see example in the video at the end of the article).Before painting a car, try to protect all non-paintable body parts by covering them with the means at hand (for example, plastic wrap, tape, paper, etc.).

Video (click to play).

The surface of the car must be very painstakingly prepared: cleaned of dirt and rust. For this procedure, coarse sandpaper is usually used.

Where ancient paint and soil hold firmly, you should not be zealous. It is better to “fog up” such places by removing the top layer with a sandpaper, and degrease by washing with gasoline.

To remove old, cracked and weak paint from huge areas, it makes sense to use chemical compositions, in other words, to apply etching. Apply a 30% caustic soda solution with a brush and after 10-12 hours the paint will simply be washed off with hot water.

You can also use a homemade paste for etching. Here is one of the recipes for making it:

Knead half a kilogram of potato flour in half a liter of cool water and add a solution of 2 kilograms of caustic soda and 2 liters to this mixture. water.
Then, stirring continuously, pour another 5 liters into the mixture. boiling water.
The resulting homogeneous paste is applied to the painted surface and left for one hour.
Then the paint is removed with a spatula and washed off with a strong stream of cool water.

Want an express course in car repair? Buy yourself a rusty bucket. The best way to learn how to repair cars is to study their structure. Especially if you are young and you don't have the extra money to repair your car. Perfect option.

Many excellent craftsmen until the age of twenty did not know how to change oil or candles. But then they bought a car that was older than themselves, and began to sort it out, thus learning the art.

Ask for advice from friends, from your father, from your grandfather. Learn the basics. Change oil, candles, air filters, look through the technical documentation and everything will go like clockwork. A rusty bucket will help you fall in love with cars and learn how to care for them.

2. Buy a tool kit

You cannot screw nuts with your hands, especially if they have already become rusty for ten years. Go to the store and invest in a good set of tools.

I advise you to start with a screwdriver and a rich set of replacement bits. If you have no money at all, then you can go to FixPrice and see something there, but do not count on the long service of such tools. I recommend immediately investing 3-4 thousand and buying a good, branded kit.

3. Watch videos on YouTube

Even if you don't have a wreck, you can always get a certain set of knowledge from the training videos.

It is difficult to count how many videos I reviewed in search of answers to my questions about car repair. In fact, the assortment of them is simply huge.However, I advise you to be choosy and look at the reviews and the number of views, since YouTube is open to everyone. Therefore, if you see that the guy in the video cuts the clutch cable or breaks the brakes, then turn on your brain for a second and be aware of what is happening.4. Buy a repair manual
Image - DIY repair of broken cars

A very useful thing. A step-by-step guide on how to repair your car will help you deal with any problem. They are not expensive, and if you are ready to read from the screen, you can download one for free on the Internet. These books will save you a lot of time and effort.

5. Register on the forum

Most of the useful information can be found on the forums. Dozens of knowledgeable guys share their experiences, photos and step-by-step instructions. In addition, they will tell you how to do a particular job, while losing as few fingers as possible. A useful thing!

6. Help your friends

A friend has a car? Rather help him. You will gain invaluable experience and prove yourself. In addition, if something breaks with you, your friend will come to your aid more willingly.

7. Talk to sellers

In the aftermarket markets, there are often hardened auto repairmen who can give you any advice. Don't underestimate their talents.

If you have a fuel pump screwed up, go to the market and chat with a salesperson. He will tell you how to replace it, what parts you need and maybe give you a little discount.

But you shouldn't throw yourself at every seller. First, make sure that he is well versed in his business, and then start a conversation. As a rule, a good auto repairman is visible at first glance (see point 1).

8. Sign up for courses in mechanics

It is not at all necessary to go to school and get an education, because today more and more private courses are being opened.Take a couple of lessons and you will learn a lot of new and useful things about the automotive world.

9. Read books

Buy or download several books on mechanics and electronics. After reading them, it will become much clearer to you how your car works. Once you figure it out, repairs are no longer a problem for you.

10. Read auto-blogs

For example, CARakoom.com. Every day we post a lot of interesting material dedicated to the world of cars. In addition, our regular columns on the structure of various parts of the car, such as the suspension, or the engine, will help you easily understand the basics of the structure of cars. We try to use the most understandable analogies with the help of which we explain complex automotive concepts. We also have a community of mechanics where you can gather a lot of knowledge and ask questions of knowledgeable people. Join us and you will also become crazy about cars!

A very old car, not to mention a completely decrepit one, can be found in the civilized world only because its owner is either an eccentric or has such a hobby - old cars do not make the weather on the road there. And in any case, their technical condition and dashing appearance are admirable. In our country, decrepit, worn-out cars still form the basis of the traffic flow. Cars in our everyday life are not thrown away, but they are repaired, restored, changed bodies, sold and resold. According to statistics, by 1969 the private car park was quite old. However, already at that time, with the release of 1.2 million cars, 2.1 million cars were sold through the distribution network alone, and the number of owners increased by more than 9 million. Since then, the share of old cars has been constantly growing: the production of new ones is decreasing and used ones are being imported from abroad. The social environment is also not conducive to renewal. The once elite part of society - doctors, university teachers, engineers, employees of ministries and departments, the military, who acquired personal transport in the first place, today can no longer do this. New cars are not available for them, and it is impossible to remain without a car at all. The way out is to patch up and patch up the existing ones.

But where and how? Logically, it is more expensive to reanimate a rusty ten or fifteen-year-old car: the cost of restoring it will exceed the market price for which this car can then be sold. However, having received the assignment to “repair” your old car - as well and cheaply as possible - the journalist of the Automobile Life and Service publication was surprised to find that we are still taking up old cars and, moreover, this business turns out to be profitable for a car service ! Ways have also been found to significantly reduce the cost of such repairs.

Firstly, it is not at all necessary to buy replacement body parts in stores or markets. Almost at any dump or near a garage cooperative, there are abandoned car bodies of all brands. Despite the external ugliness, on each such abandoned body it is quite possible to find high-quality parts, without exaggeration, for millions of rubles. On the bit, as a rule, spars, mud flaps, trunk floor remain in good condition. On a very rusty one, the roof and pillars are practically intact. It's even easier with foreign-made bodies. It's no secret that most of the imported cars are not even cleared through customs, but are dismantled for parts. First of all, they sell attachments from them - headlights, lights, glass, an engine, and what remains, a bare body, is thrown into a landfill.

The only problem is to isolate the necessary parts from the trash and turn them into a set of necessary spare parts. Those who specialize in such "mining" usually need a car with a trailer, a battery with a capacity of at least 150 ampere-hours and a voltage converter from 12 to 220 volts with a capacity of at least 1 kW, the manufacture of which is available to any competent radio amateur.

A team of two, armed with an electric hammer drill and an angle cutter, cuts any body on site in approximately 2 hours. At the same time, experienced "carvers" do not isolate the elements separately (for example, side members, rear panel), but cut off everything that is required in the assembly.For example, if the rear of the car is damaged, they cut off and then weld with several seams everything that is located further than the rear cross member of the body. Seams are reinforced by decreasing the pitch of the weld points. And in the racks and sills, additional reinforcing elements are laid to compensate for the decrease in the strength of the body. With this approach, the cost of parts (and work!) Required for the restoration, for example, "Zhiguli", in this case, decreases several times!

The next stage is to reduce the cost of restoration work. Here, first of all, it is necessary to reduce the depreciation costs of the equipment used. Old cars do not need expensive lifts, slipways, etc. To repair, say, the underbody and everything that requires access from the bottom, three old tires are enough to put the car on its side. (True, you need to lay it down skillfully so as not to damage the paint.)

To fix parts that cannot be replaced, screw ties and guy wires are widely used. They are not as convenient as hydraulic cylinders, but can be easily handcrafted. The effort achieved by stretching with a screw diameter of 40 mm is quite enough to tear the Zhiguli body apart. In addition, the stress created by such a device remains constant and allows the parts to be kept under load for several hours.

It is known how old-school tinsmiths relate to putties. Like dirt. A thick layer of this material is applied each time in order to hide defects in the tin work. But with a layer more than 2 mm, ordinary polyester putty either peels off or cracks along with the paintwork, giving moisture access to unprotected metal. Rapid corrosion of metal is not long in coming.

Now, with the appearance on our market of fillers with fiberglass filler, the situation has changed. New materials do not crack even with a layer of several millimeters. Putties are distinguished by the length and the amount of fibers present in them. The longer the fiber length, the stronger the hardened filler. Even small through holes can be repaired with very long fibers such as ABRO RUSTHOLE FILLER. Almost all glass putties have low porosity and excellent corrosion protection. True, it is much more difficult to use them than ordinary ones: after the putty hardens, it can be difficult to remove excess material from the body.

For repairing severely corroded panels, ultra-short-fiber fillers such as duraglas are more suitable. The metal around the hole is cleaned of dirt and paint residues, and then using a hammer to deepen it by 1-3 mm. In this case, the rusted parts of the edges are not removed. The more notches and small holes, the stronger the adhesion of the putty to the metal.

First, a thin layer of ultra-short-fiber putty is applied to the edges of the hole, and then, until it hardens, the hole is tightened with glass mesh or other reinforcing material. Then one or two more layers of putty are applied, bearing in mind that a large area of the hole is reinforced several times. Four or five layers of fiberglass create a patch strength that exceeds the strength of metal.

The glass putties are sanded with a coarse sandpaper, and then covered with a thin layer of two-component fine-grained putty to fill in marks and scratches. At the same time, some modern easily workable glass putties of the “dyuraglas” type retain their plasticity for a long time even in the hardened state. At this time, they can be processed with a coarse file or simply cut with a sharp knife. The processing does not create dust and is especially convenient for DIY repairs. Usually a hole with an area of 100-150 cm2 takes about 100 grams of putty, and self-restoration of a heavily rusted wing does not cost more than 20 thousand rubles, which is certainly cheaper than the cost of a conventional body repair.

Even not very old cars are littered with relatively minor corrosion damage, and if urgent measures are not taken, then after a year or two such a car finally rusts and falls apart. Especially dangerous here is the corrosion of internal cavities - "boxes", thresholds, spars, struts. In this case, the usual recipe “remove old rust” does not work, inside racks or “boxes” such an operation cannot be performed. Therefore, the method, seen at one small, service station, amazed us. The elements of old cars are preserved there by filling the internal space with construction foam (of the "penoflex" type) from spray cans. O6 Possessing the ability to expand, it completely fills the internal volumes, preventing the access of moisture and oxygen. We saw a car disassembled for repair after an accident, previously processed in this way. The foam adhered firmly to the metal and did not peel off anywhere. Despite the fact that the car was operated all year round, there were no traces of fresh corrosion.

The old tried and tested method of protecting seams and places that do not need painting is not forgotten, using ordinary plasticine. The material impresses with its availability, low cost and excellent properties. It does not fall off and does not require thorough cleaning of the surface from rust. However, the labor intensity of the work is so high, especially if it is required to coat welds with plasticine, that only the owner himself, who has patience and a lot of free time, can do it. For sealing joints, special automotive sealants are still used. You just need to follow all the recommendations: some of the sealants require thorough cleaning and degreasing of the surface, which is not always feasible in a small workshop (otherwise, literally in 5-6 months, the dried paste will simply fall off the metal).

When preparing restored panels for painting, one-component air-dried anti-corrosion primers are often used as less expensive. However, when the solvent evaporates, it creates pores on the treated surface when it dries, which are sufficient for rust spots underneath to grow rapidly. The best results are achieved using two-component anticorrosive epoxy primers, which polymerize in volume and thus completely block the access of oxygen and moisture to the foci of rust. Some of them, for example, the “2300” brand by Morton Paint Co, can also be painted over with Sadolin-type paints without an additional layer of paint primer. But two-component materials are significantly more expensive than conventional materials.

And in conclusion, about one more curious solution that is offered at one of the stations that repair old cars. We are talking about bodies, whose surface is completely covered with small spots of rust. Fighting them, as you know, is a dreary business that requires repainting the entire car. Here, the rusty spots are lightly sanded and tinted in places with a swab. Then the whole car is treated to a matt state with fine sandpaper and covered with a two-component polyurethane varnish, the quality of the factory paint is preserved, and the car sparkles like a foreign car. We were convinced that when using high-quality polyurethane varnish, rusty spots did not appear for many years.

In general, reanimated old cars did not make a depressing impression on me. Of course, they are no longer able to win pole position on the roads, but they are able to faithfully serve their owners for many years to come.

Tips for owners of old cars who want to make body repairs as cheap as possible

1. Estimate the amount of work required and decide which of them you can do yourself.

2. Try to get used, but still good parts yourself or find a discarded body from the same model in the area. Calling those who recently bought a new body gives good results. Their phones can be found in the company that sold the body, or in the traffic police, where the new body must be registered.

3.Choose your workshop carefully. The main thing is that they have experience working with old cars and welcome participation in the repair of the owner himself. At the same time, on the outskirts of cities and in districts, prices for repairs are significantly lower than in the city itself.

4. Try to get your car repaired in the first autumn months when the stations are no longer so busy and warm weather allows most of the work to be done outdoors. The latter circumstance significantly affects the price of repairs.

5. Do not rush the masters. The longer the repair, the cheaper.

6. Buy all consumables (putties, paints) yourself. Craftsmen are indifferent to how to prime and paint your car. Whereas the durability of the car depends on the quality of consumables.

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