Panel Repair & Paint Prep - Safety First! Always select appropriate personal protective equipment

Sep 27, 2026

Uploaded by Stanley

Panel Repair & Paint Prep provides step-by-step instructions for preparing a damaged automotive panel for body filler, sanding, priming, and paint blending. It emphasizes personal safety and selection of proper PPE, including respiratory, hearing, and face protection, plus gloves and reusable workwear. The workflow covers surface cleaning with VOC-compliant products, paint removal beyond the repair area, epoxy primer use, filler application and curing, progressive sanding with guide coat, refinement through featheredge and scratch control, de-dusting, and final blend prep to match OEM clear coat texture.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Panel Repair & Paint Prep

Personal Safety • Respiratory Protection

Hearing Protection

Face Protection

Cleaning the Surface

Sanding the Repair Area

Body Filler Application

Body Filler Shaping

Scratch Refinement

Repair Featheredge

Prime and Block

Edge Sanding

Scratch Refinement (Primer)

Blend Prep

Panel Repair & Paint Prep Personal Safety • Respiratory Protection • Hearing Protection • Face Protection • Reusable Workwear • Safety Gloves Safety First! Always select appropriate personal protective equipment-eyewear, gloves, hearing and respiratory protection for your job and workplace. |
Cleaning the surface | | • Degrease the surface using paint company or other recommended VOC-compliant water-based and solvent-based products. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for surface cleaning instructions. | | | | | | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | |
Sanding the repair area | | • Remove paint 2-3 inches (50-75mm) beyond the repair to prepare the surface for body filler application using a 80 grade abrasive disc affixed to a random orbital sander.
• To remove paint from hard to reach or deep portions of the damaged area, consider using grade 80 grinding discs or grade 80 file belt, followed by grade 80 on a random orbital sander.
• Clean with a VOC-Compliant cleaner and a dry lint free cloth. Apply cleaner to the towel NOT the substrate. Wipe on wet, turn cloth over and dry thoroughly. |
3M™ Cubitron™ II Hookit™ Clean Sanding Abrasive Disc

3M™ Precision Random
Orbital Sander, 150 mm (6 in) | | | | | | | | | | |
Body fil ler appl ication | | • 3M recommends application of epoxy primer prior to applying filler. Follow the paint manufacturer’s recommendations for applying filler over epoxy primers. Apply epoxy primer immediately after the sanding/cleaning process or repeat sanding/cleaning process before epoxy primer application.
• Apply a thin tight coat using firm pressure to ensure maximum adhesion being sure to “wet out” the surface completely. Apply additional filler in layers, building up the damaged area higher than the surrounding surface. Maximum filler thickness should not exceed 1/4 inch / 6mm. Allow curing time of 20 minutes.
• Note: Avoid application of solvents & body filler over feathered layers of paint to avoid repair mapping. Always follow OEM recommendations. |
3M™ Platinum™ Select Body Filler |
3M™ Disposable Paper Mixing Board | | | |
3M™ Spreaders | | | | | |
Body fil ler shaping | | • Using an appropriately sized hand block, shape sand using grade 80-120 sanding sheets.
• Highlight sand scratches and high & low spots using guide coat.
• For best results and the most-efficient process, always use dust extraction. |
3M™ Hookit™ Hand Block | | |
3M™ Cubitron™ II Hookit™

Clean Sanding Sheet Roll 3M™ Dry Guide Coat | | | | | | | |
Scratch refinement | | • Refine the sand scratches from the previous shaping step using grade
150-180 sanding discs.
• Continue to use guide coat to highlight sand scratches and surface imperfections. |
3M™ Cubitron™ II Hookit™ Clean Sanding Abrasive Disc | | |
3M™ Platinum™ Plus Glaze | | | |
3M™ Dry Guide Coat | | | |
Repair featheredge | | • Complete the final refinement of coarse grade scratches within the repair area and around the featheredge perimeter using a grade 320 abrasive disc.
• It is advisable to work with a soft interface pad when sanding curved areas.
• Continue to use guide coat to highlight sand scratches and surface imperfections. |
3M™ Cubitron™ II Hookit™ Clean Sanding Abrasive Disc | | |
3M™ Interface-Pad | | | | | | | |
Prime and block | | • Clean with a VOC-Compliant cleaner and a dry lint free cloth. Apply cleaner to the towel NOT the substrate. Wipe on wet, turn cloth over and dry thoroughly.
• Apply primer surfacer immediately, referring to paint company recommendations for application of primer and dry times.
• Use guide coat to highlight the texture of the primer.
• Using an appropriately sized hand block and a grade 320 abrasive sheet, level primer-surfacer texture paying attention to body lines, high & l

FAQs

What PPE should be selected before starting panel repair and paint preparation?

Select appropriate personal protective equipment for the job and workplace, including eye protection, gloves, hearing protection, and respiratory protection.

How should the surface be cleaned before sanding or priming?

Degrease using VOC-compliant water-based and solvent-based products recommended by the paint company, and always follow the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions.

What is the correct approach for sanding and scratch refinement through the repair process?

Remove paint beyond the repair area, apply filler as instructed, then progressively sand using specified grades while using a guide coat to highlight high/low spots and scratches, finishing with de-dusting and blend prep for OEM texture matching.

Sep 27, 2026

Uploaded by Stanley