Car body dent repair (Honda CR-V 1)

1. When performing dent repair, the first thing to do is to straighten the dent so that the damaged area is as close to its original shape as possible. There is no point in trying to completely restore the original shape, since the metal in the damaged area is stretched and cannot be restored to its original contour. It is better to level the dent so that its level is approximately 3 mm below the level of the surrounding metal.

2. If the dent is very small, there is no point in straightening it out at all.

Caution: Hold a wooden block firmly against the back of the metal to absorb the hammer blows and prevent stretching of the metal.

3. If the dent is in a part of the body that has a double layer, or something else makes it impossible to access from the inside, a different procedure must be used. Drill several small holes into the metal inside the damaged surface, especially in the deepest parts. Screw long, self-tapping screws into the holes until they engage firmly with the metal. Now you can straighten out the dent by pulling on the protruding screw heads with pliers.

4. The next stage of repair is to remove paint from the damaged surface and from the surrounding metal by about 2.5 cm. This is done with a wire brush or a sanding disc attached to a drill, but it can be done just as effectively by hand using sandpaper. To complete the preparation for puttying, use a screwdriver or file to clean up the exposed metal surface, or drill small holes in the damaged area. This will ensure good adhesion between the metal and the glaze. To complete the repair, see the Filling and Painting subsection later in this chapter.

(Article source on the website HondaBook.ru)