With damaged panels comes the difficult task of repairing them. To help, Mirka lays out the best practice for panel repair so that commercial vehicle technicians can make a vehicle look brand new.
Replacing damaged panels can be a time-consuming job, and with businesses looking at reducing key-to-key times and not including the added expense of purchasing new panels into the cost of the overall job, repairing as opposed to replacing is becoming a mantra that they are living by.
Best practice:
First stage
STEP ONE:
Action: Surface preparation is key. De-grease the surface prior to sanding.
Use: A water borne and a solvent degreaser.
STEP TWO:
Action: Remove paint from the repair area and feather out the edges.
Use: P80 or P120 disc.
STEP THREE:
Action: Pre-clean the repair area and apply relevant filler.
STEP FOUR:
Action: Apply dry guide coat.
Use: Either Mirka black or white powder guide coat, depending on filler colour.
STEP FIVE:
Action: Block sand filler area.
Use: Abranet P80 or P120 or P180 strip, dependent on repair size.
STEP SIX:
Action: If required, apply additional filler to imperfections in repair.
STEP SEVEN:
Action: Re-apply Mirka dry guide coat and block sand.
Use: Abranet P120 or P180 strip.
STEP EIGHT:
Action: Clean and inspect repair, and move to the second stage.
Second stage
STEP ONE:
Action: Sand the repair area. Feather out the paint edges from panel repair even further.
Use: P320 disc and Gold Flex Soft P320
STEP TWO:
Action: Prepare around the repaired area for primer. De-grease and inspect the repair area.
Use: P500 disc
STEP THREE:
Action:Apply dry guide coat to primed area.
Use: Use either Mirka black or white powder guide coat, depending on the colour of the primer.
STEP FOUR:
Action: Block the sand primed area to the shape and curvature of the panel.
Use: Abranet P240 or P320 strip.
STEP FIVE:
Action: Sand awkward areas.
Use: Mirka Gold Flex Soft P500-P800.
STEP SIX:
Action: Re-apply Mirka dry guide coat and machine sand primer.
Use: P400 or P500 disc with interface pad.
STEP SEVEN:
Action: Blend the panels either by hand or with a machine.
Use: Mirlon Grey UF with water for hand sanding. For machine sanding, use P800- P1000 Gold, Abralon or Polarstar.
STEP EIGHT:
Action: De-grease, inspect the repair and move to paint.
