Proper puttying of the body: preparation and sequence of work

Every car owner wants their car to always look like new. However, during operation, scratches and dents appear on it. This happens due to unsuccessful parking, a collision with another vehicle or some object, and also because of the stones that fly from under the wheels. It is difficult to avoid adverse factors and no one is immune from an accident. Therefore, it is useful to know how to properly putty a car so that the body looks proper again. Of course, you can give the car to the master, but it will be much cheaper to do the putty with your own hands.

Car preparation

Before proceeding directly to the puttying of the vehicle, it is necessary to prepare the body and the surfaces surrounding the restored part. It is important to determine the degree of damage, deformed areas, so that later you know what to pay special attention to.

The car will need to be washed well and wait until the body is dry. After that, you need to wipe the surface with a degreasing solution with your own hands. Perhaps during this it will be possible to identify some more defects - small scratches or chips.

It is very important to perform the following procedures before applying putty:

• Grinding is needed in order to remove peeling paint and corrosion. For this, coarse abrasives with a large grain size are suitable.
• Dust cleaning.
• Degreasing of plastic and metal surfaces. If this is not done, then in the future the putty material may peel off.
• Carry out a series of anti-corrosion measures, for example, treat the surface with a rust converter or primary acid primer (but not under polyester putty).

You may need to purchase sandpaper and a special brush. They will help to cope with the task if the damaged areas are of small diameter. Otherwise, it is better to use a grinder. When working with your own hands, accuracy and thoroughness are important, otherwise the end result will not please you with quality. If there is no desire to redo everything later, then it is better to try right away and perform the preparatory procedures properly.

Puttying process

Not every person knows how to properly putty a car. The process cannot be called very laborious, but it is not easy either. You will have to spend time preparing the car, and then do the processing yourself. In addition, you will need to purchase a putty, which must be diluted before use. You will need other tools that will facilitate the process and help achieve the desired result. If everything is done according to the instructions, then the body will eventually shine, as if it was processed by professionals.

First you need to wash the surface of the machine with plain water, apply a solvent and alcohol. You will need to determine the defects, their depth, and then decide how many stages to carry out the work.

After that, you need to mat the surface, for which P220-240 abrasive is suitable. You need to apply it with a machine to facilitate the process. Using it with your own hands is quite simple, and anyone can handle it. It is important to remove all rust, work out dents and scratches.

Be sure to sand down small scratches and chips to remove any sharp corners. This will make it easier to put putty on the body. Before filling the damaged area, it is important to treat the traces of corrosion, if any. Yes, and degreasing the surface will not hurt. Now, after all the procedures, you can apply putty.

How to use this tool, how to properly putty a car? First you need to dilute the main component with a hardener as written in the instructions for a particular putty, and immediately apply the resulting composition to the surface.

In the absence of indications of the proportion of putty and hardener, use a ratio of 1:100, but rather look for information on the manufacturer's website. Stir the composition should be carefully, achieving its uniformity. It is not recommended to add a solvent to the putty.

It will take several steps to completely fill the deformed area. It is important to dilute the putty in small volumes for each step, because due to the presence of the hardener, it quickly hardens.

After that, you need to apply grinding with P120 abrasive on the area that was recently putty. Then you need to process all the places where defects are possible with sandpaper. At the end, you need to apply putty with a special rubber spatula, which will help close the pores. After drying the last layer, the repaired area is sanded to remove excess relief and achieve the correct outlines of the body. Then the entire surface must be degreased and it is already possible to prime the body for painting.

Possible defects

It is important to properly putty the car, because if this is not done, then there will be problems with painting. Because of this, the body will not look the way you want, and you will have to redo the work. For example, stains may appear on the treated surface. They appear due to an overdose of hardener or due to poor mixing. To get rid of them, you have to remove the layer and make a new one.

Also, the putty mass may not dry well. This happens due to the small amount of hardener and high humidity. In this case, it will also be necessary to remove the layer, and then apply it again, taking into account all requirements.

Putty tends to sag if not allowed to dry completely, so take your time and allow enough time for each layer to dry.

The presence of pores can also become a serious problem. They arise due to an excessively thick layer or applying it to a wet substrate. The defect can be eliminated by applying another layer. Scratches on the ground can also sink if the abrasive was chosen incorrectly. In this case, it is advisable to remove a poorly applied layer and make a new one.

To avoid such problems, it is necessary to immediately perform the work with high quality and adhere to all requirements. Then the car will be in great shape.