Basic Car Body Repair Tools / Skills?

[oldschoolcraft]

I have no interest in becoming a professional mechanic or body shop tech, but I am very interested in having some basic tools and learning the basic skills of body repair / dent work.

My idea is that I might have a dent in one of my cars or I might buy used cars to repair and flip that need some basic body work.

Now if these tools are thousands of dollars and take up a large amount of shop space then it's not worth it to me. But if I can get a few small tools for a few hundred bucks that would let me take a car that's been in a crash, has a door that's inoperable due to dents, and at least undo the dent enough that the door works, even if she isn't pretty, that would be worth it to me.

Also, maybe I can get into some of the fiberglass repair stuff because that seems like it would be the most labor intensive by hours that I could do myself to save the money.

My idea is that if I get in a crash or I buy a beater car, I can get it mostly looking good on my own and then pay someone else to paint her up. So I'd save hopefully half or 2/3 of the cost of the repair since I'd do everything but the painting part which seems to require a high level of skill and practice that I am not interested in learning at this time.

Is there any basic car body repair tools that non-pro body techs here own and use? Ideally looking for things that are relatively small and under $500

 

[sberry]

Doing some fix up is good. Appliance white in a spray can is your friend, marroon scotchbrite is the painters secret weapon. A paper machine, some 6 and 18 paper and a sleeve of 3/4 tape. A touch up gun is great for small amounts, paint some stuff in stock colors. I don't have a pic but masked scuff and sprayed the wheels a little and across a parking lot it looked really good, no one looked real close and it looked better than missing paint and brown rust, lasted till the car was in the junk,,, people said,,, sad to junk a fine looking car,,, ha
In this kind of work no one notices less than perfect paint, they do notice overspray. I mask, hoses, fan belts don't get spray, grommets etc. No one even notices less than perfect mask.

 

[sberry]

Got stuff on hand and not scared to use a spray bomb or sponge brush. If there is a factory color for particular piece of equipment I use it.
My paper machine was a problem to use/store, turned the wheels and handles and made it fit. You can mask with newspaper but it gets old fast. S couple rolls of body paper saves itself in tape, makes it so easy to do that its not so tempting to try to find an easy out.

 

[sberry]

Its worth learning the fundamentals of ventilation 101, I have rigged all kinds of booth, room, tent schemes when I need to spray, some simple, some more complex.
1st and 2nd pics, after and before. Looked one day and realize it was a 20 yr collection of stuff I wasn't using. I stripped, shoved it in to a locker and made 1 more shelf after the pic I think.

 

[Gew]

I'm interested in this as well. A ***** naked bashed into my car in a roundabout and sped off, so now there's an ugly dent in the rear side. I'm guessing I should start by getting a slide hammer and some special tin-smith kind of hammers, those with one sharp side?

 

[Copymutt]

I'm interested in this as well. A ***** naked bashed into my car in a roundabout and sped off, so now there's an ugly dent in the rear side. I'm guessing I should start by getting a slide hammer and some special tin-smith kind of hammers, those with one sharp side?

Check out paint-less dent repair. Select dolly tools slipped in to access the back side of the dent. No slide hammer holes, no repaint. Makes a good sideline.

 

[Elsinore13]

If you want some decent higher end quality spray guns without spending a small fortune, check into some Sharpe Finex guns. I have one of their HVLP gravity feed detail guns that I would put up against my Sata Mini Jets any day. Keeping a gun clean is key to any of them working as designed.

Get a couple cheap chinesium body hammers and dollies to get started with. When you decide which ones you seem to gravitate to, replace them with some nice ones from Martin.

Get a stud welder gun for dent pulling. Should come with a slide hammer and a small t-handle puller. These can be found pretty cheap new as well as used. Don't be drilling holes to pull dents.

Clip removal tools from Mueller Keups are the best ever. Nice sharp edges for getting under the edge of the stubborn ones and getting down into the holes some of the MFG's are putting them in.

https://www.ebay.com/i/193197564919?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=193197564919&targetid=858224839363&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9027887&poi=&campaignid=6469750693&mkgroupid=89345420792&rlsatarget=aud-762207186714la-858224839363&abcId=1141176&merchantid=8273774&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIseWLnMrZ5wIVDfDACh3sNQX-EAYYAiABEgLkBfD_BwE

 

[sberry]

A can of Long and Strong, a gallon of the economy lightweight bondo. The other secret weapon is 6 inch DA with roll of 80, and 150 paper. I don't care if its the best, a 50$ generic is dandy. If you want to flat panels get a straight line.
This is from the perspective of a part timer. I have seen a few different guys in the body biz and there are a few ok painters but the good sanders are where its at. One of my buds got 8 inch and lays it on thick first and gets past it, nice, fast.
But they are trade guys and the OP wants to dodder off some to start. Where I had to work would be a factor. I have seen guys with a quart of bondo a sandpaper and a spray can do wonders, it kind of starts there.

 

[sberry]

Tape, sandpaper, some primer, some filler, some scuff pads, some masking paper.

 

[lilredex]

Start here for basic info....

 

[sberry]

Ya, in some California could do work in the driveway. Free light. If you got a bud in the biz wouldn't be asking here so finding someone to paint can be a problem. This is part of the thing would give some thought to. I done it a bunch of ways and took some of the best simple to the extreme. Being creative has allowed the same space to be used for different stuff. I painted a lot for a couple of years, now its occasional and use it for parking most of the time but can convert in a hurry, few minutes picking up stuff has grown in place.

 

[619DioFan]

I hate doing body work. takes me all day to fix a dent the size of a quarter. that said I have the hf body hammer and dolly set as well as a special long reach hammer from a body shop supply store. added in a few long sanding blocks ( i believe they call them panel sanding blocks ) and the 10.00 purple hvlp gun from hf. a few hf 4 1/2 inch grinders plus a random orbit electric sander and an electric palm sander. all I need to do what needs to be done. probably about 100.00 invested

 

[ZRX61]

I'm interested in this as well. A ***** naked bashed into my car in a roundabout and sped off, so now there's an ugly dent in the rear side. I'm guessing I should start by getting a slide hammer and some special tin-smith kind of hammers, those with one sharp side?

Start by getting access to the inside of the panel & give it a shove... post pics.




And for everyone:


The absolute *go-to* first hammer is the Proto 1427. Used ones can sometimes be spendy. If I didn't already have two I'd have bought this one:



https://www.ebay.com/p/1123889775



Martin make a similar one:


https://www.ebay.com/itm/Martin-Aut...823245&hash=item4d98699d65:g:MSkAAOSwxohdLvE~


The HF dollies are hollowed out on the back side, but the thing is you want weight. Even old Craftsman ones are way better than new HF & they're surprisingly easy to find at yardsales & swapmeets etc.
Don't be afraid to buy rusty ones, they're easy to clean up & if they're dented to hell, they can be refaced with a beltsander. If I see them for sale I usually end up buying them because they're always cheap. Just last week I found two that I'd forgotten I had. They haven't hit the beltsander yet. My dolly drawer is full & I have multiples of these two already (pic 3 & 4)...Makes me wonder why the hell I keep buying them.

 

[Lucid Moments]

Doing some fix up is good. Appliance white in a spray can is your friend, marroon scotchbrite is the painters secret weapon. A paper machine, some 6 and 18 paper and a sleeve of 3/4 tape. A touch up gun is great for small amounts, paint some stuff in stock colors. I don't have a pic but masked scuff and sprayed the wheels a little and across a parking lot it looked really good, no one looked real close and it looked better than missing paint and brown rust, lasted till the car was in the junk,,, people said,,, sad to junk a fine looking car,,, ha
In this kind of work no one notices less than perfect paint, they do notice overspray. I mask, hoses, fan belts don't get spray, grommets etc. No one even notices less than perfect mask.

So sorry if this sounds stupid but you are using a lot of shorthand I don't know. "paper machine", "6 and 18 paper" etc... For those of us ignorant of the terms you are using do you mind a few clarifications?

 

[ZRX61]

On the HF subject: Their ******* spoon is worth getting, it's a bit clunkier & heavier than a Martin version & requires absolute minimal dressing of the edges/face. This is assuming they still offer it by itself.
If not, there's this kit that appears to have heavier dollies:
https://www.harborfreight.com/autom...uto-body/door-skin-repair-kit-4-pc-63263.html


This ATD set doesn't look too bad for the price:
https://www.nationaltoolwarehouse.com/3-Pc-Body-and-Fender-Spoon-Set-P11415.aspx

 

[ZRX61]

So sorry if this sounds stupid but you are using a lot of shorthand I don't know. "paper machine", "6 and 18 paper" etc... For those of us ignorant of the terms you are using do you mind a few clarifications?

It's a rack that holds various width masking paper (the 6" & 18" etc) It also holds masking tape & attaches it to the paper as you pull it out.


This the spiffy spendy version:
https://www.autobodytoolmart.com/painters-prep-station-p-12280.aspx


This is actually pretty much all you might need:
https://www.autobodytoolmart.com/keysco-18-paper-masker-78002-p-12279.aspx

 

[ZRX61]

www.autobodytoolmart.com offers a free catalog that's worth having, as do www.tptools.com




Request both

 

[ZRX61]

Is there any basic car body repair tools that non-pro body techs here own and use? Ideally looking for things that are relatively small and under $500

Just noticed that part. If your max budget is $500 you could have a hell of a set up, in fact you'd be pretty much set for half that.

Couple of forums:
http://autobodystore.com/forum/index.php


https://www.autobody101.com/forums/index.php?sid=7068a7cefb5b63096b11b16167ffc557

 

[greenlizard]

A couple of body hammers - maybe a pick and a double header - and a heel dolly will go a long way for dent repair. Maybe a spoon dolly after that and you have the basic tools of the trade. A 4.5” grinder will be helpful although I still prefer a 9” for body work. Of course like any other field there are endless numbers of tools designed to make things faster and easier for professionals. I’ve repaired/rebuilt several cars and assisted with many more in your basic suburban garage.
A brief reference is “Metal Bumping” by Frank Sargent. If you get serious you’ll need a mig welder, a small one is fine. And/or a torch. We used to use brazing for panel attachment, but this has largely been replaced by the availability of inexpensive reliable wire welders.
And of course: practice. It is not a skill picked up over a long week-end, but definitely doable by anyone with patience.

 

[ZRX61]

A brief reference is “Metal Bumping” by Frank Sargent.

Which reminds me... A friend borrowed my copy & I've asked for it back every time I've seen him for the past 3 years... Beginning to tick me off.

 

[metlmunchr]

If you get serious you’ll need a mig welder, a small one is fine. And/or a torch. We used to use brazing for panel attachment, but this has largely been replaced by the availability of inexpensive reliable wire welders.

To add to this, an inexpensive mig welder does not mean you need a flux core only machine. While you don't need much amperage, you definitely need a machine with the capability to run shielding gas and bare wire.

I've been doing some rust repair on an old pickup, and decided to use a 90 amp Lincoln flux core I keep in my home garage because I was too lazy to drive 15 miles to my business shop and pick up my Hobart Handler and gas cylinder. The patch took about 3X as long as it should have, with all the extra time attributed to picking slag out of the weld with a tack hammer and ice pick. I've done a fair bit of this type work, so I just called myself an idiot and fetched the Hobart for the remainder of the work. But, for a beginner, this is the type thing that can turn you against the work before you're barely started.

 

[greenlizard]

To add to this, an inexpensive mig welder does not mean you need a flux core only machine. While you don't need much amperage, you definitely need a machine with the capability to run shielding gas and bare wire.

Yes, 100%. Mig = Metal Inert Gas = gas shielded wire welding. Officially called GMAW, Gas Metal Arc Welding. TIG works well too, but is a little more involved.