Repairing Dents

• 1). Attach sandpaper to the sanding block. Sand the surface to locate the low spots in the metal that must be filled. Once you have located them, clean the paint out of the low spots with sandpaper.
  
  
• 2). Mix the lightweight body filler with its catalyst until it is completely blended, and then apply it to the low spots on the car's aluminum body with a plastic putty knife. Allow the body filler to cure for approximately fifteen minutes.
  
  
• 3). Sand the spots where you added body filler to the body with the sanding block. Avoid using your hands, as the curves of your hand will be transferred to the car body. After sanding, run your hand across the repaired area. If you can feel any ridges between the body filler and the aluminum body, sand it again.
  
  
• 4). Mask off the car with masking tape and masking paper to ensure that you don't apply the high-build primer to anything other than the repair area of the car. Once the car is adequately masked to protect it from over spray, apply three coats of high-build primer to the repair area and allow it to cure for approximately 45 minutes to an hour.
  
  
• 5). Sand the primer with the sanding block and 220-grit sandpaper to complete the preparation of the aluminum-bodied car for paint. The primer should be perfectly smooth with the edges of the repair area so no ridges are present.
  
  

Finishing the Aluminum-Bodied Car

• 1). Clean the surface of the repair area with wax and grease remover applied to a clean rag. Quickly wipe the wax and grease remover off of the repair area with a second rag. The vehicle is ready for a second coat of primer.
  
  
• 2). Apply a coat of automotive primer sealer to the repair area. Allow it to cure for approximately one hour before continuing. Unmask the part of the vehicle you are working on, then clean the entire panel with wax and grease remover. Scrub it gently with a gray automotive scratch pad. You will have to do this on vehicles with base, or clear coats, because the top clear coat has to be sprayed over the whole repair panel, not just the spot being repaired.
  
  
• 3). Fill the paint cup on your HVLP spray gun with your choice of automotive base coat. Aluminum-bodied cars all use base, or clear coat color systems for their paint, whereas aluminum-bodied cars produced before 1980 will almost always use single-stage paint. Consult the vehicle manufacturer if you are painting a vintage car.
  
  
• 4). Mask off any parts of the vehicle that should not be painted, and then spray the repair area of the aluminum-bodied car with three coats of your choice of paint, until the primer, or surfacer under the paint has been completely covered. Allow the base coat to dry for approximately 15 minutes before applying the clear top coat. While allowing the base coat to dry, fill the HVLP spray gun's reservoir with clear top coat.
  
  
• 5). Unfold a tack cloth and bunch it up in your hand to warm it to body temperature. This will allow the wax impregnated in the cloth to pick up any dust that may settle onto the paint. Gently dust the surface of the vehicle with the tack cloth over the area that you will be applying the clear coat. Immediately after you have cleaned off the dust from the surface, spray the panel with three medium-wet coats of the clear top coat, overlapping each coat by 1/2 to ensure that you don't form lines in the surface. After you have finished, allow the vehicle to dry for one hour before removing the masking paper and tape, and then allow it to dry for another 12 hours before touching the repair area.