Car Body and Paint Repairs - By: Tauqeer Hassan

Whether its ownership or the intention of boosting your car’s morale, one can make repairs to body and paint. For instance, a cracked or leaking window, a door does not close properly, the car’s fender was attacked by the garage, the car was whacked by a rock or a boulder or the interior has a tear or a cigarette burn. These and many others body and paint problems can be fixed by DIY style.

Tips for Your Car
- Here are some tips and guidelines for troubleshooting paint problems and automotive body;
- If the car was parked overnight in a violent neighborhood, it would probably need paint and body works.
- Prior to spending huge amount on a new paint, a little money can be spent on cleaners, polishes and rubbing compound just for seeing if grease are of any help to solve the problem.
- Anti-rust products such as naval jelly are really useful for removing and stopping rust. The manufacturer’s recommendations can be followed.
- The auto parts dealer has a lot of aftermarket car care products which are designed to give a good look to the car. In such cases, they can be availed and used on the car to give it a better look.

Knowing the kind of a Crack
Car windows are really superb. They are helpful in seeing ahead without the wind mussing your hair. They also keep the rain and snow from getting in the car. So the question is what one can do if the car window is leaked or cracked. They can be easily repaired by using products that can be bought auto parts dealers and even many super stores. Depending on what is being intended to be done, there also might be a need for one or two glass suction cups for lifting and positioning larger glass pieces.

For repairing a car window with simple tools, these simple steps can be followed;
1. First, the damage to the window has to be identified. In case it’s a small crack or chip, it can be repaired by using an automotive window repair kit. It is possible then the damage can be checked over a few days to know if it’s even or if it’s spreading. In case its spreading, then the repair kit might not be able to help in stopping the spread. A new glass would be required.
2. For repairing the glass, the instructions on the package of different window repair kits should be read. Some are for chips, some for cracks while others are for both. Look for the one that seems best to solve the problem. The manufacturer’s instructions can be followed. Some kits require the removal of rough corners from the chip, installing the retaining cup and then installing the filler into the chip. In case of glass scratches, a glass abrasive and cleaner can be applied, it is available from bigger auto retailers or glass shops.
3. For replacing the glass, it has to be figured first how it will be taken out. Even though it is shattered into countless pieces, the glass would have to be removed from the edges before installing a new one. For a door glass, the door panel has to be removed to access the mechanism that moves the window up and down. The glass is attached below. The front and rear window glass requires the trim and the rubber gasket to be removed. The rubber gasket has to be replaced with a new one as the new one is installed. The car manual will be of help for removing and replacing the glass.
4. For repairing a leaking window gasket, pour water on it for identifying how it is getting it. If it is penetrating through the gasket, a putty knife can be used to lift the gasket away from the glass and a little window sealer can be applied. The excess can be cleaned and dried and then retest and repeat as required.

Sagging Doors gives an Old Look to the Car
Few things are more frustrating than standing by the car door in rain and banging it close tightly.

For adjusting doors using the car care toolbox, follow the simple steps below;
1. Look for the door sag. Open the door and close it slowly just stopping as it is about to touch the latch. In case the door is too high or too low for the opening then lift the door from the bottom below the handle. In case the door moves too much before it moves, then open the door completely and check the hinges for loose bolts or noticeable movement in hinges. For moving the door up, down, forward and backward, the hinge bolts on the body has to be slightly loosen, the door has to be moved to the correct position and then the bolts have to be tightened. For moving the door in and out, the hinge bolts on the door has to be slightly loosened, the door has to be moved to the correct position and then the bolts have to be tightened.
2. Once the door the correctly aligned, the door latching has to be checked. The door has to be carefully closed to see how it catches. Either the latch or striker bolt on the door can be adjusted. By opening and closing the door carefully few times, it can be estimated how much adjustment is needed. For guidance, the relative positions of the latch and striker on the opposite door can be checked. Once the door is adjusted, small changes can be done in the alignment by adjusting the screws at the bottom and top but not both of them at the same time. Once the door latches well, the screws can be tightened well so that the latch stays in alignment.
3. The rubber seal around the door can be inspected for presence of cracks

Un-Denting Unavoidable Dents
Here is what one can do to remove body dents. Some specialized body tools might be needed for the following job. Follow these steps;
Look closely to observe the nature of the scratch, in case of deep damage, some metals might have to be moved.
Tools for body repair can be bought form an auto retailer. They can be slide, pick and bumping hammers, and a variety of dolleys.
To hammer a dent, hold the dolley on the back side of the dent and bang on the front side with hammer.
For pulling out a dent, a hole has to be drilled, screw the slide hammer into the hole and move the handle back and forth for pulling it out.
For filling holes and finishing the repairing dent, a grinder or file can be used for removing the paint from that part and then filler can be used to shape. Filler can be of plastic or lead, the brand name of a popular plastic filler product is called Banda.

Permanent Makeup
Once everything is done, you can choose your desired color to give your car a good makeup. Sprays and paint cans can be used for this purpose, they can be easily bought from the market and easily used on the car.

About the Author

Also learn other methods of car body and paint repairs and car body and interior maintenance.

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