painting soon, but tons of lil dents...

[Realchaos1]

I was wondering if you guys think it matters that I perfect my s13 coupes body.

It has small little dents all over, one annoying door dent (that I'd like to have straighted out).

I have the base coat and primer, I'm waiting on clear coat and some bondo... This is my first time painting my car, I'm aiming for NO orange peel, just a smooth finish... Is it worth spending time on all the little indents?

[Irukandji]

Yep. Fix em all, you'll regret you didn't.

You can try popping them out, but I would just bondo it. Even if I rattle canned a car I would try to get rid of as many dents as possible.

[az_240]

Just use bondo on em and smooth it all out the best you can. ANY little indents or the slightest roughness will show through the paint.

Its hard to avoid orange peel your first time.... Just be sure you have your paint settings dialed in correctly on your paint gun. Practice shooting on a piece of metal or something similar. The key to making the final clear coat look ohhh so good is wetsanding with high grit and polishing afterwards

[unwed_transient]

i didn't fix mine because it was meant to be temporary anyway. one year later, needless to say, i'm still kicking myself.

[spdfreek0o]

I'd say get all the dents out. I wouldn't worry about it being wavy unless its black or a metallic/pearl color. As far as no orange peel, upwards of 5 coats of clear and wet sand. Becareful of sanding on edges though.

[!Zar!]

Take the dents out. Paint doesn't hide imperfections.

What you see now, is what you will see when you are finished.

Hammer and bondo the whole car before you paint it.

[McRussellPants]

What you see now, and much much more, is what you will see when you are finished.


Fixed.


Paint prep sucks so bad. the tiny stuff it what makes a good paint job a good paint job.

[Team Rootbeer]

make sure you feather everything out well too, and take care of the sand scratches

spray lots of surfacer(high-build) too, that can take care of *very* small problems........

[Ricks15]

Do you have any rusty stops where the dents are at? Also dont use Bondo that stuff is crappy most autobody reapir people will tell you the same thing too, I reccomend using 3M bodyfiller its by far the best to work with.

[Jonnie Fraz]

Before I go to paint mine I am going to run it by a Painless Dent repair and have them remove what they can, what they cannot I will use filler, not Bondo brand. Like it was discussed earlier Bondo is not a good brand, use a good filler like 3M or I use PPG Technifill. Buy your products from a bodyshop supply house, not Kragen or Pep boys.

[Irukandji]

Before I go to paint mine I am going to run it by a Painless Dent repair and have them remove what they can, what they cannot I will use filler, not Bondo brand. Like it was discussed earlier Bondo is not a good brand, use a good filler like 3M or I use PPG Technifill. Buy your products from a bodyshop supply house, not Kragen or Pep boys.

Word, my bondo (brand) has already started cracking in a few places. :bash:

[s14xman]

hope you get that thing preped soon man, can't wait to paint it!

[FlyingChicken]

painless dent repair does not mean hole-less

the guy that did the dent repair made a whole bunch of holes on my door jam.


beware!!!

[ThatGuy]

If you REALLY want to get rid of little dents, learn how to use these...
http://www.cj-3a.com/DSC01940.JPG
Learn them well, and you usually need only minor, if any, body filler.

[REDSH!FT]

Or get a good job, so you can pay someone who knows how to use those


Whatever you do, don't half ass prep work, or you'll pay for it in embarassment when you car looks worse than before, $1000 later

[MOUNTAINGARAGE]

Or get a good job, so you can pay someone who knows how to use those


Whatever you do, don't half ass prep work, or you'll pay for it in embarassment when you car looks worse than before, $1000 later

:werd:

I painted my s13. 1 week of prep, a couple hours of shooting. Get this kit and spend lots of time with featherwieght body filler. tons of prep with crappy paint looks better than a little prep with expensive stuff.

http://www.autotoolmart.com/9095.jpg

[Maximamike]

There is an article in this months edition of Hot Rod which covers the basics of hammering and dollying. Its not a bad read. Also has the Hot Rod Solstice or whatever it is in there too.

[Pennyman]

I worked in a body shop for a year, and anything underneath will only be magnified when shiny paint is added. If there are waves in the metal, use high-build primer like someone said above, and wetsand it down smooth.

If there are dents, try to get at the back of them with a happer and dolly, and if you don't have the supplies, use a ball peen and a chunk of flat wood covered in electrical tape (non-marring surface). Make sure you start in the middle of the dent and work outward, tapping the hammer with a wrist motion rather than banging it hard. Hold the dolly or the wood on the concave side of the dent and press inward while hammering to make sure the force of the hammer blow doesn't warp the surrounding metal. You won't get it perfect this way, but it will sure be better than thick bondo in spots.

Just my 2c, hope it helps.