Repair of rusted holes and holes

1. Using a sander or a wire tool clamped into the chuck of an electric drill, remove all traces of paint from the damaged area and in an area about 3 cm wide around it. In the absence of the possibility of using an electric drill, the work can be done no less efficiently by hand with sandpaper.

2. After removing the paint, you can assess the degree of damage to the metal by corrosion and decide whether it makes sense to start repairing or whether it would be more reasonable to replace the entire panel (if it is possible in principle). New panels can be purchased not as expensive as many motorists think. It is often much faster and even more economical to install a new panel than to repair extensive damage to the body.

3. Remove all body trim from the damaged panel, with the exception of those that can serve as a guide to recreate the original shape of the deformed areas (such as headlamp trim, etc.).

4. Using metal shears or a hacksaw blade, remove all freely dangling, loosely fixed and hopelessly corroded pieces of metal, then bend the edges of the hole inward with a hammer to form a recess for putting putty material into it.

5. Use a wire brush to remove powdered rust from damaged metal.

6. If there is access to the reverse side of the damaged area, treat it with a corrosion inhibitor.

7. Before starting puttying, the hole must be plugged. This can be done by riveting or screwing a piece of tin to the damaged area on the reverse side of it, or by covering the hole with wire mesh.

8. After blocking the hole, the damaged area can be puttied and painted (see Puttying and painting).