After a hailstorm, you may find that your car's hood has small dents and chipped paint. Learn how to remove these imperfections with the following steps and restore the hood to its original condition.
Materials To Use
- water hose
- mild detergent
- sponge
- mallet
- wooden block
- hand plunger
- electric sander
- course and fine grit sandpaper
- tack cloth
- touch up primer pen
- touch up paint
- buffing cloth
- rubbing compound
- lint free cloth
Clean The Damaged Areas And Remove The Dents
Clean the hood off with soapy water and a sponge. After all of the visible dirt is removed, you can clearly see how much damage is present on the hood. Lift the hood and place a wooden block underneath a damaged section. Strike the block with a mallet until the dented section pops back into shape.
If you are having any trouble repairing some of the dented areas, press the rubber suction cup of a hand plunger over the dent until it is firmly attached to the hood. Pull the handle on the hand plunger toward yourself. Repeat doing this until all of the remaining dents have been removed.
Sand The Damaged Areas And Apply Primer And Paint
Attach a piece of course grit sandpaper to an electric sander. Move the machine back and forth, in straight lines, over the areas that contain chipped paint. After the paint stops chipping off the hood's surface, attach a fine grit piece of sandpaper to the sander and move it over the same areas until they feel smooth. Remove sanding dust that is on the hood's surface by rubbing a tack cloth over it.
Shake up a touch up primer pen to mix the contents inside of it. Press the tip of the pen against the areas that were previously sanded to apply the primer. Dab the primer on each section, being careful to apply it evenly. Wait for the primer to dry. This may take a couple hours, depending upon how warm it is outside. Apply touch up paint by brushing it over each spot that primer was added to. After the touch up paint dries, add a second coat if the first coat is a lighter shade than the rest of the vehicle.
Apply Rubbing Compound
Pour a few drops of rubbing compound onto a buffing cloth. Move the cloth firmly over each repainted area to smooth out the edges of the paint until they blend in with the rest of the paint on the vehicle. Wipe off the excess rubbing compound on the car with a lint free cloth.
Your vehicle's hood should look like it previously did after completing all of the previous steps. Maintain it by cleaning it off regularly with soapy water and a sponge. Make sure to avoid using abrasive materials when removing surface stains to prevent further damage.
For more tips, contact a professional like those at Auto Body By Duie LLC.
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