Advice Needed How To Repair These Dents & Scratches

[mysticbertie]

Hi guys

I bought my girlfriend an 02 focus zetec the other day, its low mileage and drives like a dream. One of the things letting it down are the 3 damaged wheel arches and scratch on the rear bumper. I have done painting with spray cans etc many years ago, i was never impressed with the results. Can i do a respectable job on these damaged areas and should i get one of those dent-less paint repairs on the front wing? What materials do i need to do these repairs?

pic time

[steveo3002]

no harm in having a go , id try and keep the repair local and make a soft edge off that arch swage line

for filler , ulitima or fantastic are both good

etch prime any bare steel -then high build

aerosols have come along a little bit from years ago- if you want budget stuff the upol range is trusty enough , although now theres a few sellers that have high build and clear coat in 2k cans , its far better than traditional stuff but have a read up on what masks you need etc as its a health risk

[mysticbertie]

Hi thanks for the reply.

Do i need to paint the entire wheel arch if i use the soft edge or can i just paint the damaged area?

If i get any bare metal, how many layers of etch primer would i need and would i then put primer on top?

I had a look on you tube for instructions but i never found exactly what i was looking for.

[steveo3002]

you can paint a local area ..but it easier to do the whole section up to that swage line

for bare metal one light coat then on with the high build

have a look at these vids to give you an idea- these are the dearer 2k cans i mentioned they use epoxy instead of etch

[steveo3002]

this is how i would tape off the swage line for the top coats , try to keep the primer away from the swage line if you can

[superbean]

any decent dent guy will be able to sort out that dent on the front wing cheaply and quickly

[bigfella2]

I would be tempted to look out on ebay for matching coloured front wings or bumper. There are alot of Focus' out there and parts are cheap, also some of those scratches could be made considerably less noticeable by using t-cut or similar to remove the paint that is off other cars that has rubbed against it.

[rr69h]

Aug 18, 2014 21:50:56 GMT bigfella2 said:

I would be tempted to look out on ebay for matching coloured front wings or bumper.

This.

Colour-match can be an issue, especially when it comes to metallic paint. I have a tendency to collect bodypanels in the same colour as my cars are - not (only )because I'm cheap, but since these panels offer the best colour-match.

[VIP]

Silver is notorious difficult to paint match and there will inevitably be a colour difference in the repaired area. It will be especially noticeable under sodium lighting, the repaired area will look a totally different colour.

[montythemole]

Get a quote from one of those localised repair specialists. We had the same guy repair both of our lease cars before they went back for similar issues and he did an amazing job and passed the very stringent checks on return (they picked up a lot of other areas inside and out we'd missed). You'll be suprised how cheap they can be, and if you don't have much in the way of materials etc the cost can soon mount up for a DIY job.

[mysticbertie]

Aug 18, 2014 19:13:32 GMT steveo3002 said:

you can paint a local area ..but it easier to do the whole section up to that swage line

for bare metal one light coat then on with the high build

have a look at these vids to give you an idea- these are the dearer 2k cans i mentioned they use epoxy instead of etch

Firsty i want to apologise for my late reply, i have just been a bit busy this week and did not get a chance to get back online till now.

Thanks for the advice and the links for the vidoes, this is very helpful. In the video where they treat the rust, do you not need something to kill the rust, they did not use.

The spraymax stuff is very pricey, is there cheaper alternatives?

I checked the damage to the paint and none of them can be polished out, they are too deep, so they will need filled and painted. The front dent in the wheel arch has damage to the paint too, so its not just a case of getting the dent pulled out.

[steveo3002]

well honestly rust needs totaly removing to last , so they were doing a bit of a tart up job , i don't really find any of the rust killers work - removal is best

yes theres alternatives - upol is a trusty brand for primers and clear coat , metalflake.com does a few cans for fair prices too , for the silver you will most likley need a local paint factor or ebay to custom mix you some

[dallow]

A 2nd hand silver wing is gonna cost about £30, it will match up better than a repair and will probably end up costing less.

[mysticbertie]

Aug 24, 2014 12:29:27 GMT steveo3002 said:

well honestly rust needs totaly removing to last , so they were doing a bit of a tart up job , i don't really find any of the rust killers work - removal is best

yes theres alternatives - upol is a trusty brand for primers and clear coat , metalflake.com does a few cans for fair prices too , for the silver you will most likley need a local paint factor or ebay to custom mix you some

Ok many thanks, ill have a look at these brands, ill need to buy the supplies soon and get busy. Thanks for your assistance.

Aug 24, 2014 13:54:25 GMT dallow said:

A 2nd hand silver wing is gonna cost about £30, it will match up better than a repair and will probably end up costing less.

I could replace the wing and the bumper but i still need to fix the rear wheel arches, so as i still need to buy the supplies i would be just as well repairing the wing and bumper too. If it was just the one panel then yeah it would be best just replacing it.

[montythemole]

I'd be tempted to swap the wing, and then practice on the old one. A silver car I pass on way to my parents had a smallish dent on the arch. The guy seemed to try his hardest but by the time he'd done with the repair and attempt to blend in he had an entire rear quarter slightly off colour and off shine that just screamed "dodgy accident repair, run away" - far more likely to put off any buyers when he came to sell than a minor dent in the arch would have done.

[joem83]

If you are up north, try Firefly:
retrorides.proboards.com/thread/153995/firefly-speedshop-northwest-tuning-paint#.U_2RCGOW81I