why did i agree to this body work "repair" ... [PICS]

[fenixus]

hey,

posting this one more as a warning for others wondering how cheap wandering handy men can fix dents on your car in a parking lot ... anyways if you ever considered this and like your car then abandon this idea.

I unfortunately agreed to a guy met in a parking lot, so he fixes small dent on passenger rear quarter panel and bigger dent on driver side (same area).

now, why did i say do not ever agree ? because they will puncture new holes in car body!!!! THAT's how those crooks do it in 30 mins. dent look nicer, but i now need to cover holes with something ...

they punctured side of quarter panel (by driver door) on one side, so they could pry the panel out and make the dent flatter:

this is old pic of dent on rear driver panel:



new pic of dent after "repair"


and this is the hole they did by driver door, another one (small one) is under that plastic strip going across panel visible on above pic


this is how now passenger rear quarter panel looks like. this one is actually good, except for the damn hole ...



looks not that bad (i'm partially satisfied), however those holes (!) in middle under plastic strip and by door on driver side piss me off and makes wonder why i agreed to those unprofessional "repairs" ...

I guess only explanation is i wanted to save 80% of shop price for professional repairs from inside (not outside as they did).

do you think i can use epoxy or silicone to cover up smaller holes and maybe some kind of a rubber plug and glue to fix the big one by driver door ?

I don't want rain fall or a puddle splash to get inside car body, i guess in a long run it could cause rusting or rotting from inside!

... i'm so dumb i agreed to this ... don't do it at home, let a friendly pro do it, not the wandering handy man driving white '08 Lexus in Wallington, NJ area. they suck big times. after it's been done, he only said "this is how it's done" ... dumb ass hole. you get what you paying for....

[BlueGoat]

well considering the area of holes, being that there in an easy place to cover. Its not that bad atleast theres not 10 of them all over... but epoxy/bonod the hole lightly sand it and get a touch up paint kit using your color code and its a easy fix no-one would see it again. (i'd use bondo) But thats why body shops charge so much is cause drilling a hole to use a dent rod is required, but they fix it so as you cant tell there ever drilled. (or they use a big sunction pump) It looks as though you could have pulled the door panel and pushed the dent out yourself, atleast a good portion. I'll get you write-up an touch up repairs if you'd like one

[73sport]

Don't use silicone. The acid will leach and ATTACK creating a rust spot! I'd use some thick Epoxy.
Bondo will work, but its porous and absorbs moisture. The resins in the Epoxy will seal the covered side and prevent moisture penetration.

If you buy some Epoxy try this. I've done it with excellent results on other things, but never a car finish. Take Mix the epoxy per directions. Now drop in some touch up paint and continmue stirring. See if the epoxy hardens with the paint added. If after say 4 days, it remains hard, mix and fill.

[fenixus]

thanks guys.

you can post or send me the write up if you have it ready. i'd like to get it fixed, so it's not obvious someone was messing with those dents unprofessionally.

i still have some leftover paint for my color code from a year ago when i was painting the rear bumper after similar fix. i guess i never learn to stop trusting such people ... on the other hand i saved a lot of cabbage, just need to finish it off now.

[BlueGoat]

#1 make sure the area your doing is clean.

What you'll do is apply the epoxy or the bondo your choice. Fill in the holes enough to prevent water leaking in. Give it time to harden.
Get some spot glazing putty and use a razor blade as a straight edge to fill in the remainder of the hole. Allow 30mins for it to dry. Use some 1500 grid sandpaper and LIGHTLY sand just to smooth it out.
Now get some touch primer and lightly brush some on the area. Give it plenty of time to dry and then sand it again to bring out any rough spots.
Now apply your color. Once its dry you'll want to get a new piece of sand paper and get it wet (maybe even go with some 2000 grid) very gently wet sand the area's. Dry it off an use some touch up clear and apply. Now wait 24hours for it to dry and go back wet sand it very lightly again. When thats done get some finishing compund and micro-cloth and apply some on the cloth and buff in really well and your done!

[BlueGoat]

I hope this helps you sorry bout the holes.

[fenixus]

need to get bondo and sand paper. will do as advised, i will take my time on it.

[lcarocha]

I did some PDR (paintless dent repair) a while back. Yes, we drilled holes in some parst of the bodywork (supposing there was no other way) to insert the steel rods to push the dent out but nothing THAT sloppy. We always resorted to drilling as a last resource and NEVER EVER on the edge of sheet metal like in picture 3. To cover the holes we used small rubber plugs that you can find at any hardware store cause silicon will attack and corrode the metal and bondo would absorb moisture and eventually inflate.

[fenixus]

Originally Posted by lcarocha

I did some PDR (paintless dent repair) a while back. Yes, we drilled holes in some parst of the bodywork (supposing there was no other way) to insert the steel rods to push the dent out but nothing THAT sloppy. We always resorted to drilling as a last resource and NEVER EVER on the edge of sheet metal like in picture 3. To cover the holes we used small rubber plugs that you can find at any hardware store cause silicon will attack and corrode the metal and bondo would absorb moisture and eventually inflate.

that's what i suspected. this "repair" (despite the price) was nowhere near professional ... those guys (father of one of them did my rear bumper in similar sloppy way, just no holes). when i asked them why they do not own a shop guy said they had to close it down (no wonders why hahaha!). he also said his father has been doing this for 35 years (no comments) ... nice people ...

thanks for insights on this one lcarocha. so epoxy would be better than bondo ? i can get it from local autozone or harbor freight.

i need to find a rubber plug for driver side big hole on edge. this is the place they used my 90 degree angle OEM wheel pry bar with 21mm lug nut socket on the other side (they took it from my trunk).

after second thought they didn't screw it up completely (despite holes), if i manage to finish it off properly it might still look nice

[73sport]

Hmm - - my 2 cent - you still have an obvious dent. You're simply trying to avoid the collateral damage of dent with a rust chaser.

All that extra work is unwarranted. Fill it with epoxy, add your touch up paint and walk away. No sanding and no priming; just apply till flush let it cure and dab some color on it. Besides, most epoxy doesn't shrink near as much as bondo.

[fenixus]

Originally Posted by 73sport

Hmm - - my 2 cent - you still have an obvious dent. You're simply trying to avoid the collateral damage of dent with a rust chaser.

All that extra work is unwarranted. Fill it with epoxy, add your touch up paint and walk away. No sanding and no priming; just apply till flush let it cure and dab some color on it. Besides, most epoxy doesn't shrink near as much as bondo.

ok, this sounds fair. something a caveman can do
and yeah i still have an obvious dent on driver side haha, you're right... anyways, i will just visibly fix whatever i can and forget it. this car is not worth body work at serious shop ... not unless insurance covered 100%. what matters it drives good and that is what counts most

[BlueGoat]

Well post pictures let us know how it works out as said bondo prob not the best idea. But if you don't feel the need to go through all the steps i've suggested you dont need to just a suggestion. But whatever you do let us know how it goes ^_^ best of luck

[fenixus]

for now i used transparent epoxy 5min to plug small holes on both sides of rear quarter panels. i used a small blob to plug them. after hardening it seals OK i think. over time i will try making it nicer by sanding it a tiny bit and maybe using some touch up paint on that to cover up.

my biggest concern was big finger size hole by driver door, on the edge of rear panel. good thing that door seal does not come in contact with that hole. however now i can sometimes hear wind whistling in it while driving haha!

i went to Home Depot and spent an hour over there looking for anything made of rubber i could use as a plug. did not find anything, so decided to make my own plug with this:

http://www.polymericsystems.com/epox.../faststeel.htm

i plan on forming a plug and once it fits the hole and is still soft I try plugging it into the hole and let it cure for 60 mins so it turns into steel. does anybody know if it will stick to metal plate around or i should use some epoxy glue on edges so it holds ?

[73sport]

If the holes that big, stick seal puller in it and work it back out until the puller just comes out (assuming its not a drilled hole). Then epoxy or use that other stuff. Did you find no run epoxy? The stuff I have won't budge after being mixed so you could fill a darn big hole with it.

[Chris Crash]

I thought drilling holes was how shops did it?