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Prepping for Body Repair
In addition to standard automotive-mechanic's tools, some of the pecialty tools required for body work may include:
- Disc grinder with wire-brush attachment
- Body hammer and dolly
- MIG and stud welders
- HV-LP paint sprayer
- Dual-action sander and sanding supplies
- Plastic and fiberglass body filler
Safety equipment required includes :
- Welder's helmet and gloves
- Respirator
- Disposable face-masks
Note :
Always wear eye protection - goggles or safety glasses - when using any power tools.
Procedure :
- Since the damage is in and around the driver-side door, begin the project by removing the door from the vehicle. First, unfasten and remove the door panel and any trim. This will make work on the door easier once it has been removed from the vehicle. You may be able to remove the parts using just a screwdriver, but you may also need a panel tool.
- Disconnect any electrical wires running from the door to the body of the car.
- With the wires disconnected, remove the pins and/or bolts that secure the door to the vehicle.
- Once unbolted or unfastened, carefully lift the door off of the vehicle.
- To make work easier, we placed the door on a padded stand. The padding protects the surface of the door during the repair. Since some of the repair will take place inside the door, we also rolled the window-glass up to avoid damaging the glass during the procedure.
- The damage on the door itself is inspected closely, revealing that the damage extends all the way through the sheet metal.
- The first step is to manually bend the damaged areas back into place as much as possible in an attempt to close up the gaps. The tools used for this part of the procedure will differ depending on the nature and extent of the damage. In our case, the necessary work could be done using a pry-bar and a large metal-punch and hammer. Use whatever tools are necessary to bring the damaged areas together as much as possible.
- Using a body-hammer and dolly, we were able to continue working to close the gashes in the door fairly effectively.
- Next, a small disc-grinder to remove rust and paint from around the damaged area.
- After preliminary work with the grinder, a wire-brush attachment was used on the grinder to continue clearing away the surface. The wire-brush attachment is especially useful for cleaning into small cracks and crevices. A sandpaper disc (80-grit) may also be useful
- Because the grinding area extended out slightly beyond the damaged spot, tape was used to mask off the body side-molding and trim.
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