Removing Dents

[brucejohnson]

I have not tried this and really never thought of it over all these years but I watched a guy apply wax around his chips as close as he could safely get then air brush the chip. After everything was dry he simply wiped the wax off and any over spray came with it.

Thanks for the info. I can see some potential in this method.
I've tried the method where you prep the chip for paint, cut a hole in a piece of paper just slightly larger than the repair area, then place spacers around the repair to hold the masking at a "particular" point above the repair, taping the edges of the mask. This is supposed to create a "blend" area around the repair. This takes a little practice to get the correct placement of the height to achieve a good blend area that you can polish out once cured. I used the "wax around the painted area" to help in cleanup. Darned metallic paints were most challenging. Could never get them "invisible" like the solid colors.

 

[DavidC]

Bruce, have you tried reducing the color 10 parts reducer to 1 part color and fanning on the last coat(s). Have to be careful as it is extremely wet. Whenever I painted metallic I had tiger stripes and applied the color 10:1 which then evened out the metallic.

 

[brucejohnson]

Bruce, have you tried reducing the color 10 parts reducer to 1 part color and fanning on the last coat(s). Have to be careful as it is extremely wet. Whenever I painted metallic I had tiger stripes and applied the color 10:1 which then evened out the metallic.

Thanks for the pointer. Is this for larger areas, or will it also work for those itsy-bitsy touch-ups? I'm used to making due with rattle cans which take a little patience and built up rattle can skills. I'll give your recommendation a shot next time I have the opportunity. Do you have a recommended paint gun for good blending?

 

[DavidC]

Never tried it on itsy-bitsy but I would imagine it to be the same as your trying to spread out the metallic. I never was satisfied when trying to blend. I would fold the tape up at a 45 degree angle to avoid the sharp line but I could always see where it happened. Maybe others could not find it but I could. I either used the air brush or a devilbiss with a 2 qt pressure pot that would allow air and/or pot pressure adjustments for larger areas. That was nice as I could adjust to spray in tight areas or under hood etc. without the paint bouncing and looking like sand paper. I bought some gravity feed guns but never used them. Trying to blend like the middle or so of a panel can literally drive you crazy if your looking for perfection like I do. Maybe that's where Dr. Colorchip comes in. If you should buy some mixed base coat get some clear also and mix 1:1 then reduce in the container for the air brush/gun for small chips as just the base coat is kind of flat where the clear will make it glossier and provide UV protection. I would like to tell you that you can blend flawlessly in the middle of a panel but unless there are body lines that you could paint up to to make the break I never found one

 

[Prairie Dog]

I use a paintless dent removal guy. You've got a nice truck so it's worth $150 to get it fixed perfectly.

 

[brucejohnson]

I use a paintless dent removal guy. You've got a nice truck so it's worth $150 to get it fixed perfectly.

I like the do it myself stuff...until I mess it up royally. Then I feel much better about spending "too" much for the repair. Just wanting to hone some long lost skills with the fancy "new to me" PDR tools. Beats the old way of removing panels then beating with a hammer and dolly and hope the paint doesn't suffer too much. Or, judicious use of a propane torch, cold wet rags and ice cubes...without scorching the paint....some beating, er, gentile metal coaxing required at times...and a LOT of patience. Learned from an old body repair guy 50+ years ago that didn't believe in "mud daubers...or mud slingers", and preserve the original finish the best way possible. He was a heat-n-beat guy. For serious body repair he used lead and maybe a micron of glazing, only if absolutely necessary. Should have seen his "lead sled" custom cars. Smooth, sweet and seamless!