First experience dent and paint repair. Need help

[kazaroza90]

Hello everyone. And that's what I got from previous owner of car, not very big dent that start to destroy paint and rust came on it, so I'm pretty upset and understand that should do something with it.
So here is picture of the dent (it's clickable to see in zoom)

IMG_1739.JPG
Zoom version of photo #1 CLICK HERE

IMG_1740.JPG
Zoom version of photo #2CLICK HERE

And here is that I wished to know:

1.How to remove dent ? DIY only, I saw a lot of kits on amazon but don't trust without any reference of specialist.
2. Remove rust ? What kind of sanding I need ?
3.What kind of paintcorrection is better for price/quality.( duplicolor or something else) I know that it's better to repaint whole part but It would cost me a lot. So any suggestion would be appreciated from my side.

[Bob K]

This auto body repair stuff is a hobby for some of us, me included, a job for some of us and a profession for still others of us. For you on the other hand it looks like you want to do it to save money. I like saving money so I can’t fault you there but if this is the only repair you intend to do then I would advise you that you will not like the outcome unless you buy a lot of expensive tools.

To start with I would recommend that you take the car to two or three body shops and get a firm price to repair your car. You may be surprised at how little it could cost. If you can’t get an estimate you can live with and you want to do the work without expensive tools it is possible to do almost everything by hand. Let us know what you have for tools. An air compressor would be on top of my list of tools. A paint gun next. Then there is an endless list of nice to have tools. Compare the price of getting it done with the price of tools and filler, primer, surfacer, sandpaper and paint.

Bob K

[kazaroza90]

This auto body repair stuff is a hobby for some of us, me included, a job for some of us and a profession for still others of us. For you on the other hand it looks like you want to do it to save money. I like saving money so I can’t fault you there but if this is the only repair you intend to do then I would advise you that you will not like the outcome unless you buy a lot of expensive tools.

To start with I would recommend that you take the car to two or three body shops and get a firm price to repair your car. You may be surprised at how little it could cost. If you can’t get an estimate you can live with and you want to do the work without expensive tools it is possible to do almost everything by hand. Let us know what you have for tools. An air compressor would be on top of my list of tools. A paint gun next. Then there is an endless list of nice to have tools. Compare the price of getting it done with the price of tools and filler, primer, surfacer, sandpaper and paint.

Bob K

thank you very much for so warm reply!
I got your point and understand that here is the game of price/quality. And how much I should spent for tools to achieve desired result. But I saw some much advertising where people say that it so really easy to repair some scratches, dent and you not needed all this professional stuff like special build camera without dust etc.
I visited couple sites where people offer their paint that should match the body color.
Like this one site : CLICK HERE
So that's why I thought that I can do it by myself.
Anyway if I'm going fix the dent in body shop how much probably such kind of dent would cost ? Can I paint it with 99% of satisfaction or no then ?
Also I have air compressor, sanding materials and paint spray gun should not cost much as I understand.

[Len]

thank you very much for so warm reply!
I got your point and understand that here is the game of price/quality. And how much I should spent for tools to achieve desired result. But I saw some much advertising where people say that it so really easy to repair some scratches, dent and you not needed all this professional stuff like special build camera without dust etc.
I visited couple sites where people offer their paint that should match the body color.
Like this one site : CLICK HERE
So that's why I thought that I can do it by myself.
Anyway if I'm going fix the dent in body shop how much probably such kind of dent would cost ? Can I paint it with 99% of satisfaction or no then ?
Also I have air compressor, sanding materials and paint spray gun should not cost much as I understand.

In most production shops that dent would probably cost around $400 to $600 but if you can find someone working out of their garage it might only cost half as much.

[kazaroza90]

OMG 400-600$. I definitely wish to do it by myself. Why so much ? Is this really so nutcase or what

[Bob K]

Last week I filled a dent on the hood of my daughter’s car. I used $2 worth of filler but I already had paid $32 for about a 30 ounce container of Metal Glaze. Then I put about $1.00 worth of surfacer on it from a $35 container of surfacer I had on hand. Of course I had to buy a pint of paint for that car for $57.00 and I topped it off with $5.00 worth of clear coat that I took out of a $95.00 can of clear I have in the shop and I mixed that with about $3.00 worth of hardener I got out of a $25.00 can that also resided in my shop. So it cost me about $68 in materials but I still have some base coat left. I didn’t mention the etch primer I used and the other miscellanies supplies like the bag I covered the car with and the masking paper and tape I used. If I had to start with nothing I could easily need to buy $250 worth of supplies to get this done.

Like Len said in the second line you may be able to find a body man that would do it at his house for half price. Even using half of the $400 estimate that would give me $132 for my labor and I would be happy with that. The dent you have is similar to the one I did and you would be $50 ahead on the purchase of materials alone let alone buying tools.

That said, I still advocate doing it yourself if you like this as a hobby and have more than one dent to fix, but for a one time repair of a small dent you will never save money doing it yourself, and don’t get me started on the learning curve for filler and paint application. Just my opinion.

Bob K

[Skalabala]

I would charge about R1200($150) for that job.
Materials would cost around R500($65) and that is with pouring out of big cans I keep in bulk to make it a lot cheaper.
My tools I would use for this job costs around R20000($2500)

And not to mention a first timer do a silver metallic correctly.
I have been doing body repair for about 5 years now and my work has only recently started to look professional.

[James M]

An insurance estimate on that dent to repair and repaint would be close to a $1000. Someone bumped my '07 F150 in a home depot parking lot and put a small dent in the rear lower quarter panel. About the same size dent as in the picture you posted. The insurance company paid me $980.00 to repair my own truck (I am a professional bodyman/painter).

I wouldn't do that dent in the picture you posted for less than $700 doing it at home in my garage. Paint and materials alone are going to be close to $250.


Just remember - when it comes to auto body repair and paint - you can have it done cheap or you can have it done right, but you can't have both.

[Henry]

OMG 400-600$. I definitely wish to do it by myself. Why so much ? Is this really so nutcase or what

What you don't know is how far into the car that ROT has traveled. The dent is the least of your trouble. That rot needs to be dealt with. If you plan to keep the car you shoule have some welding done to the area. I'm sure there is rot in other areas of that body just hiding and waiting to bust to the outside.

Henry

[kazaroza90]

You right dude!!! Actually it was my first car that I bought. And as everybody learning on their own mistakes that what I do.
But I'm still stay positive, may be have not enough money to do it professionally but have desire. Hope it's going help me.

So, I found out that I could try to do it with stud gun, and then bondo, block sand and will use some rust inhibitor primer. But know is question what exactly to buy, and it's a big challenge for me but staying positive, read a lot and hope with help of God will done it.

Would be appreciated for any advice !!!

Watching this guy on youtube Really body repair master may be would learn something.

Thank everybody

[ARDan]

Cleaning the rust off, pulling or filling the dent, sanding and applying some primer can be done fairly inexpensively by someone with some feel and an eye for detail and contours. But when you get to painting you are stuck with using some Duplicolor touch up paint that is going to look really bad, or spend a thousand dollars for air compressor, spray gun, paint materials, etc. And then you need some place to paint. Get it fixed by a pro. Much easier and safer.

[kazaroza90]

YES, MAY BE IT WOULD BE MUCH EASIER. BUT IT WOULD COST ME AT LEAST 1000$. AND THIS IS NOT NICE. AND ACTUALLY THIS REAL MY PITA.

CAN EXPLAIN ME SOMEBODY WHY IT WOULD BE HARD TO MATCH COLOR PAINT, AS I FOUND BY PAINT CODE THEY HAVE THE SAME PAINT TOUCH. SO REALLY NEWBIE IN ALL THIS QUESTION. BUT KEEP READING

It is not gods who make pots / Not God but man makes pot and pan / It doesn't take gods to make pots. So man can do it.

[Len]

YES, MAY BE IT WOULD BE MUCH EASIER. BUT IT WOULD COST ME AT LEAST 1000$. AND THIS IS NOT NICE. AND ACTUALLY THIS REAL MY PITA.

CAN EXPLAIN ME SOMEBODY WHY IT WOULD BE HARD TO MATCH COLOR PAINT, AS I FOUND BY PAINT CODE THEY HAVE THE SAME PAINT TOUCH. SO REALLY NEWBIE IN ALL THIS QUESTION. BUT KEEP READING

It is not gods who make pots / Not God but man makes pot and pan / It doesn't take gods to make pots. So man can do it.

Well then make some pots and maybe the guy that owns the body shop will work some kind of trade with you.

[stanclub]

I started with same thought thinking of painting is not so hard, but why a shop will charge for much of it. Well, it didn't take me too long to realize that I have actually spent more money than I was trying to save originally.

Couple years ago, my stupid brother left a drawer open right next to my RX350. Since the opened drawer is so close to my car on the passenger side, it just crashed my right fender when my wife try to back up the car out from garage. I knew it is going to cost a fortune to repair by shop, due to the fact that is a Lexus, and the color is PEARL WHITE ......... yep, 3 stage nightmare. So, I thought that I can do it myself with a huge saving. Well, I shot that panel 6 times to get it right. And ended up with over $1000 worth of upgraded tools, and plus quite a bit of cost on materials used in each attempts. Not to mention the my time spent and frustration when trying to get it right. But, I got it done right at last!

If you truly want to learn how to paint, then it will be ok to try out different things, and get your experience with it. But, still, it will be wise to ask for different opinions before trying/buying. For example, I made a mistake at my first time buying paint gun. I took the advise from a sales guy at SW, buying a set of startingline gun set for my very first paint job ( my dad's truck ). It didn't take my too long to threw them into trash can, and replaced them with a 670plus & SRi Pro. That $125 waste gun set has never done a single job correctly, not even shooting primer

Anyways, you will save money ( or even making more money ) in the long run once you have the right skill, right knowledge, and right tools. But, these things does cost! If you are just trying to get this ONE car done right, don't fall into those "advertisement", and shop around for a reasonable cost to have it done by a pro.

My 2 cents

[James M]

YES, MAY BE IT WOULD BE MUCH EASIER. BUT IT WOULD COST ME AT LEAST 1000$. AND THIS IS NOT NICE. AND ACTUALLY THIS REAL MY PITA.

CAN EXPLAIN ME SOMEBODY WHY IT WOULD BE HARD TO MATCH COLOR PAINT, AS I FOUND BY PAINT CODE THEY HAVE THE SAME PAINT TOUCH. SO REALLY NEWBIE IN ALL THIS QUESTION. BUT KEEP READING

It is not gods who make pots / Not God but man makes pot and pan / It doesn't take gods to make pots. So man can do it.

One simple question -- Do you make your own pots and pans ? If the answer is yes, then you could probably do a decent job of straightening out the metal damage on the car. That still leaves the paint work which will need to be done. The simple truth here is that repairing the damage to your car that you posted pictures of is a LOT more complicated than you apparently believe, at least to where the finished job would look like right. Maybe you should go buy a quart of Bondo some sandpaper, a rattle can of primer and a rattle can of silver paint that is supposed to be the same color as your car and do the whole job yourself on the cheap.

When you're all done - come back and tell us how well the job went and post some pictures of the work you did along with the completed job. And then you can share with us how you feel the finished car looks to you. Keep in mind that the only person you have to please in connection with your car is YOU. If you do the job yourself on the cheap and it looks like a mess to your other