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Automotive restoration: How to repair the body

by Sharon Brook

Created on: June 19, 2009

You will always like your car to look like new and shining. But due to usage it loses its shine, looks older and may get discoloration like any other painted objects. There are many factors which cause the paint to gradually lose its charm as it gets weather worn. The paint is affected by snow, wind, dust, heat, wind, sunlight and other things. It has to endure with scratches, abrasions and pollution, bird droppings etc which make the car paint shabby and worn out. You may like your car to look shining again.



If you want to make it shine again, you have to clean the painted surface exhaustively. Wash your car with soap or shampoo so that no soil or dirt is left any where on its surface. The top layer of the paint always gets oxidizes with the atmosphere. The oxidized top film of the paint is to be removed. To remove this layer foam compounded pad is used. You should rub off the paint top surface with this. The painted surface will get misty look. Next thing to be done is to polish the painted surface to get back the gloss. Always use the mild quality of polish for this purpose.

The polishing is done with a power tool. The rotary buffer or polisher is used. Excellent results can be obtained using foam polishing pads on the polisher. The orbital buffer can give the final finish. You should start to buff slowly from a spot, then gradually move forward and finish all over.

In case you like to repaint your car, the first step is to add a coat of primer on the surface. Proper painting of the car is no that easy. If you want to paint the car, think how are you going to do it? The best method is using a proper spray gun with air pressure. This way you can apply the uniform layer of paint and can obtain the correct feel. You can get a smooth and shining surface with the spray painting. It requires some skill and proper equipment. If you are confident of handling it your self and can arrange the all equipment, then you can go for it. It may prove cheaper. But if you can't do it yourself, get help of a specialist, rather than spoiling the car or wasting the material

A normal spray gun with 70 psi air pressure can be used. If you use a non standard gun or lower pressure, you may get a thick and smeared coat of paint. Most of the paint manufacturers provide instruction booklets about the selection of type of spray guns for different types of paints. Spray guns are provided with knobs for adjustments for flow of liquid paint and the air. You should purchase the standard quality of the spray gun from a paint shop.

Mixing of the solvent or hardener in the paint in proper ratio is also important. This has direct bearing on the thickness, quality of the paint deposited and uniformity of the thickness of paint. Proper mix should be put in the cup of spray gun. When using a spray gun point it properly to the targeted area, keep proper distance from target, press the trigger to get right amount of paint flowing out, and move the gun gently to cover the surface smoothly without smudging etc. See that paint is done uniformly and you get the best results. If you are not confident, use the specialist

This way you can impart a new look to your car and feel happy to own and drive it.

Learn more about this author, Sharon Brook.
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