How to Repair an Auto Body Hole
- 1). Wash the area with rag saturated in a soap and water mixture.
- 2). Reshape the metal using a hammer and dolly, if access to the back of the panel is available.
- 3). Grind the damaged area down to bare metal using 40-grit sandpaper. Follow with 180-grit sandpaper to feather-edge the paint edge even with the undamaged area.
- 4). Fill in the damaged area with fiberglass body filler which can be purchased at an auto parts distributor. This filler does not allow water and moisture to seep through from the back side of the hole to cause cracks in the body filler.
- 5). Begin sanding with 80-grit sandpaper, gradually increasing to 320-grit sandpaper to level out the body filler until it there is a smooth transition between the damaged and undamaged area. This may take severeal spreads of body filler to achieve properly.
- 6). Using a red Scotchbrite pad, scuff three to four inches around the area that was repaired. This will give proper adhesion for the paint primer.
- 7). Clean the entire area with solvent-based grease and wax remover that is available at auto parts distributors.
- 8). Tape off the vehicle panel along the edge of the scuffed area to protect the rest of the automobile from paint overspray.
- 9). Prime the area according to the manufacturer's recommendations found on the paint primer label.
