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Dent removal and full restoration of my Maruti XL6 boot

21st October 2021, 14:30 by Dev Shah

Well, many people think replacement panels are same as factory panels. At least in the case of Maruti, they are not. There is sealant applied in factory panels along the folded seam. Not so in the replacement panels.

BHPian Leoshashi recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Well as promised, here is the entire body work report, entire saga of getting the factory finish back. Do note that I'm mentioning finish and not the quality. Factory paint quality cannot be replicated. Period!

I do have some experience of body shop work, and I do know the mistakes they commit which affect the end result. I went all out in this one to get the best possible finish. Stay tuned.

Starting with few questions:

Why didn't I claim Insurance?

Firstly I'd have suffered loss on NCB. Secondly the amount quoted by my old MASS was a miniscule 2500+taxes, which was anyways to be given by the WagonR owner. So I had nothing to lose. Also if insurance is claimed, they mostly push for panel replacement and not denting.

Why didn't I go for panel replacement?

Well many people think replacement panels are same as factory panels. At least in case of Maruti, they are not. There is sealant applied in factory panels along the folded seam. Not so in the replacement panels. That was the biggest bummer and this causes rusting along the seams. Take a close look at the panels of Baleno:

RH RR door replacement panel, note the absence of sealant:

LH RR Door Factory panel, note the presence of sealant:

Secondly, the fit and finish of glass and panels won't be as perfect as it is now. Thirdly, we had enough access to the dented panel from behind, so the dent removal was easy in this case.

Why did I opt for conventional denting, and not pulling using a dent puller?

Conventional denting by beating is easier on the galvanized panel, gives a near perfect finish. Dent puller is quicker but we need to grind the panel post use and that makes the panel even thinner. That panel is eventually more susceptible to get minor dings and rust.

With the questions out of the way, let's dive straight into the main content.

Day 1:

We fixed the dents.

In its position:

Boot inner panel removed, it's a complex surface.

The dent from inside:

Denting in progress, also made sure the boot closes as softly as it used to earlier

Video: Undoing the damage: Fixing the Dent on my XL6, Panel Beating

End result:

Back at home, I noticed that the panel beating had resulted in some primer and wax loss from inside the boot door, well applied both things generously. Finish didn't matter much, but protection did:

I also noticed that the bumper was pushed a bit, and the lower most cladding appeared twisted. Went underneath the car to find that one of the bumper mounting brackets had caved in. Fixed it by pulling with bare hands.

Video: Pulling out the bent bumper bracket on my Maruti XL6

Day 2:

I reached the MASS early. Also since it was expected to be a long day, I had taken leave in advance. Usually the junior guys do all the sanding and putty work, but painter knew what I wanted, and he did all the work himself. Usually they paint 3-4 cars in a day, but that day they could do just 1 panel of my car. So you can expect the effort they had put.

They quickly began sanding the surface. I also informed them that the entire car is ceramic coated and hence they'll need to sand any surface they intend to paint on.

After sanding, followed body filler and putty work, dry sanding intensively to get smooth finish. One has to keep in mind that the final putty layer should be as thin as possible. It should only be used to achieve final application, and not fill any dents. They then masked the rear partially and prepared for primer application.

Video: Primer and wet sanding | Maruti XL6

Once the primer dried, it was wet sanded and the panel was cleaned and dried:

It was time lunch and I asked the painter if they have paint filter screens in stock. They didn't. This is one thing which is standard across all body shops in Ranchi. They use a mesh like cloth like old sarees to filter the paint. This eventually leaves lint on the paint surface. The painter was kind enough to give me his scooter and I set out to find the filter. It turned out to be harder than I thought, since rarely anyone uses it. At last, I found one paint shop where they had the filter. Bought 10 of them. Also refueled his scooter and reached the body shop just in time.

The Devilbiss story: Looking at the cheap guns most body shops use, I had invested in a Devilbiss GTi Pro in 2019. My MASS uses a good gun but it's upkeep is very poor, and hence it leaves a very poor finish with lot of inconsistency and orange peel.

Gun Used by MASS:

My Devilbiss:

The painter did an excellent job of matching the paint, we used Axalta Paint System for the job. I also got my Devilbiss cleaned since it's rarely used.