After purchasing a car, a lot of time has passed, the shine of novelty has faded, and instead scratches, cracks, and marks from unsuccessful parking have appeared on the body. So the moment has come when it is impossible to tolerate without a major update of the appearance, that is, without a full repainting of the car body. This problem can be solved in two ways: contact a car service center or paint it yourself.
Contacting a car service center can solve the issue of refreshing the paint coating in a short time, if it is not the repair season when a queue forms. The cost of services is quite high: it depends on the car brand and the painting technology used with equipment such as a compressor for painting and a spray gun. But the car owner is freed from the need to perform unfamiliar work related to the preliminary preparation of the body surface, and also has the opportunity to personally monitor the process itself.
And the process consists of several mandatory stages. The first of them is, naturally, washing and cleaning the car from dirt, dust, all sorts of grease stains, bitumen, and other substances that have appeared on the fenders and hood during operation. Such operations can be done independently (if the car owner decides to paint it himself), but in a service center there is no need to prepare the room (that is, to rid it of dust). After all, the main advantage of a car workshop is not the professionals, but the presence of a special drying chamber, where cleanliness of the surrounding space is a natural state.
Before proceeding to the second stage (priming the surface), all parts that do not need painting are removed. If there is a need to repair individual body parts, it is done at this point. Then the surface is degreased, puttied, and treated with abrasive materials. Moreover, the abrasive grit is used sequentially – from coarse to fine. As a result, the surface should be so smooth that nothing hinders the sliding of a thrown rag.
Priming is done in two layers, with an interval of several hours. If it is done at home, you will have to buy a compressor to ensure uniform spraying of the primer. In a car service center, the break between applying primer layers is only 15 minutes, as drying occurs using infrared radiation in special chambers.
And only after all these operations can you proceed directly to painting, which is also done in several layers to avoid drips and uneven spreading of the paint.
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