A Guide to Using Auto Body Filler

Auto body repair does not always need to be difficult. While most people let professionals handle their auto dent and ding repair, you might be able to do the work yourself if you are comfortable working with auto body filler. This article shows that auto body filler is actually quite easy to work with. It should help you decide whether you can repair your own dents and dings, so if you need to take your car into the shop.

Using Auto Body Filler

Auto body filler is kind of like wood putty, except it is stronger, and it dries more quickly. Also, it comes in two different solutions. The main solution is the putty, and the second solution is the liquid hardener. When you buy a tub of body filler, it will come with a small tube of liquid hardener. You just mix in a small amount of hardener in order to activate the putty. Once you do this, it will dry very quickly. So, you need to do all the prep work beforehand.

Prepping the Area

The most important prep work is to sand the area around the perimeter of the blemish that you are going to patch. That is, the body filler is going to overlap and go onto your car body. It is not just going to fill in the hole. A little sanding will remove the shininess from the paint, and create a surface that the body filler can bond better to.

Applying the Body Filler

The trick is to be very liberal when applying the body filler. You want to build it up so it sticks out a little bit. That is, don't expect to shape the body filler with the putty knife. Rather, you want to let the body filler dry and then sand it in order to shape it. The sanding process can be the most time consuming part of the entire job. As you sand, you need to try and match the original contour and shape of that part of your car body. Patching holes in your car is actually quite easy. The work can be messy and time consuming, but it is not overly difficult.

Once you have figured out how to do this, you can move forward with figuring out how to paint over the newly patched areas. Regardless, patching your holes soon as possible is going to save them from growing bigger and deteriorating any further.

To learn more about using auto body fillers, contact companies like Joy  Automotive Products Inc.