I bought my car (2017 ford focus hatchback) in 2021, and last year I moved up to the rust belt without knowing that it was a thing, and I’m worried that my car is beyond repair. I haven’t been able to take it to my local mechanic in a while because of financial issues, and now that I’m finally in a okay financial position, I’ve been looking into getting general maintenance done. I looked underneath and took pictures today, and I’m concerned it’s a goner. With even brake service being so expensive now, I know I can’t afford significant body work. I could afford a car payment, but I figured I’d post here to see what everyone’s thoughts are.

Thank you all for your help in advance!!❤️❤️

I’m thinking bad substrate not compatible with 2k?

Steel bumper sanded it down 400 grit sprayed sealer and then first coat of base this happened. Did not occur on the other panels painted.

Wtf is this 😂

Hi there,

I'm 19 and purchased a used camry back in March. Before that I had a really old beater car so I didn't care too much about appearance upkeep, but since this one is in good condition I was to make my investment last so l've just recently started doing some research into car paint maintenance.

That being said, I washed it for the first time since I first got it—definitely need to be doing this more regularly given I park under a tree-and I noticed some rust spots right on the front of my hood closest to my front license plate. I was wondering if anyone has any advice in terms of treating this? Also, is tree sap/debris something that causes this? These weren't there when I bought the car, so I would imagine that'd be the culprit since there is no other possibly damaging environment my car is in if that helps inform. Is there a specific product I should be looking at? Car paint pen? Taking it to a shop? I have no prior experience with this kind of stuff, so any tidbit helps. Thanks!

What’s my best bet to fix this bumper? Trying to avoid a shop and DIY this. Any specific glues, tapes, etc.

My girlfriend side swiped a concrete pole with her newish Mazda CX-5 and I’m looking for advice on the repair. I’m relatively mechanically inclined but haven’t done auto body work (have done brake jobs/struts etc). I fully realize this may be beyond my capabilities, but we’re not necessarily looking to get it perfect.

I’m wondering how others might proceed with this considering the tricky location.

Hello, in July 2025 I inherited my grandfather’s 2005 Honda Accord with less than 90k miles. It had previously been in an accident and received repair 1. Repair 1 failed and it sat and rusted quite a bit. When I received the car my parents got it repaired for me (the quarter panel was not replaced). The repair began to fail in August 2026 and has been getting worse since. I attached photos of the failing now and the original damage. I would love to keep the car cause of the sentimental value and it is in very good mechanical condition.

Is there anything I can do to prevent further damage? Will it take long to be a complete mess in the Northeast?

Thank you, I appreciate any help

I’m willing to attempt to fix this myself (seems both inner and outer rockers are shot and part of the floor)

The car is really sentimental but I also don’t wanna throw more money at it (buying material to fix it) if it’s a complete lost cause

I was thinking of cutting the pinch welds out and the rockers and welding square steel tubing in its place and then welding sheet metal in place and fabricating my own rockers

im pretty sure someone hit my car in a parking lot a few months ago and this giant dent is super noticeable. I was wondering how i could make it look better. The paint is fine, I can definitely polish it out but i've never delt with a dent before. I should be able to get access to the inside of this door so maybe instead of a dent puller I could hammer it out?

So I've got this rust right on the edge/corner of the roof where it's drops down to make a seat for the windshield. I'm a car guy, not a body guy. But I've mixed a few quarts of bondo over the years. Even tacked a couple quarter panels in. But this, I'm kinda stumped.

Where do I even start? Should I cut it out and replace that small piece of metal? Fiberglass patch? If so, what am I putting behind it? I guess it's the same question for bondo.

My first step is gonna be pulling out that window seal a little, then I was just gonna get to sanding and see where I end up. I'm just looking for a little guidance in the right direction and am very open to any suggestions. Except getting it done professionally. My wallet says that ain't gonna happen. It's a 21 year old work truck. Anyway, thanks!

Oh yeah, it's about 2.5 inches wide for reference

Hello, I was curious if any one had any suggestions on how to fix this tiny dent and paint chip on my car door?

I’m thinking about attempting a diy repair in this order.

1. Gently Pull dent with a glue dent puller tool
   
2. Apply touch up paint pen

Could I potentially just fix the paint chip only and leave the dent? My main goal is to prevent rust.

Any advice is appreciated!

Hey everyone,

I recently noticed a perfectly straight vertical crack in the center section of the rear LED light bar on my 2021 Porsche Panamera (971).

The crack runs from top to bottom, almost exactly in the middle. It's not just a surface scratch either, as I can actually feel it with my fingernail.

What's strange is that I have absolutely no idea how it happened. The car hasn't been in an accident, and there's no visible impact damage or scratches around it. The fact that it's such a straight line makes me wonder if it could be caused by thermal expansion, stress in the plastic, or some kind of manufacturing defect.

The LEDs work perfectly fine, so the damage appears to be limited to the outer plastic lens.

A few questions:

1. Has anyone experienced something similar on a Panamera or another Porsche model?
2. What do you think could have caused this, especially considering how perfectly straight the crack is?
3. Is there any way to repair or seal it properly, or is replacement the only realistic option?
4. Most importantly, can I replace just the outer plastic lens instead of the entire rear light assembly? If anyone knows where to source the plastic separately (AliExpress, eBay, aftermarket suppliers, etc.), I'd really appreciate a link.

I'd hate to replace an otherwise fully functional and expensive light assembly over a crack in the plastic.

I've attached a photo so you can see exactly what I'm talking about.

Any advice or experiences would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hi all!

I just got my Honda CRV-15 front bumper fixed at an auto body shop and noticed this part seems to be off. What do you recommend I should do and is it an easy fix? I’m not sure what could have caused this to happen? Or am I just being paranoid and this is the correct alignment? The car looks great overall and I’m very happy with it.

Thank you!

The most underrated tools aren't the expensive ones. For car paint diyers, a Dura-Block flexible sanding block. Foam blocks leave waves. This one keeps panels dead flat. $30 and it outperforms gear that costs 10x more.

What's the one tool you bought for one job and now can't live without? Drop it below! the more niche, the better.

Going about replacing my side skirts in my corvette and the previous owner used self tapper screw to secure it but that’s kinda a 1 time deal as the holes are too big to go back in with the same self tapper.

I could go up another size or try to patch the fiberglass and redrill it. I would love to do rivnuts but I’ve heard that can crack or damage fiberglass.

So yeah what should I do? I’ve seen someone recommend plastic rivets as a good solution and I was kinda planning on doing that. The only issue is if I use rivets and I have to drill them out they’ll be lost in the rocker panels forever 😭

Hi all, I’ve never done any body work but I’d like to try tackling these rust spots. Is it a matter of grinding the paint and rust off, filling it, sealing it and then paint/clear coat? I know that’s very high level but it’s potentially my first go at it. Thanks.

I’m attempting to redo clear coat fade for the first time and would like some guidance. The texture before sanding seemed like the base and the clear coat failed. Wiping your hand over it the black would flake right off. I used 400 on a sander and that seemed to smooth things out but there’s still this dry skin like texture close up in the last pic. Even though its not flaking anymore I was wondering if I should cut through it more? I avoided the seemingly good paint in the center. I’m using single stage paint.

So I've welded in a few patch panels, primed everything with 2K brush on epoxy primer, put some polyurethane 1K seam sealer over the welds. I was thinking of putting another coat of 2K epoxy primer over everything for another layer of protection, but I got to thinking, is there actually any benefit of covering the seam sealer itself with the primer? These are all concealed areas so the appearance doesn't matter at all

In my mind, putting epoxy primer over the seam sealer just leads to a cracking risk doesn't it? Would it be better to try to avoid the seam sealer and just put another coat over the surrounding surfaces? Or just send it and prime everything?

Hi guys i’m fixing up my accord today after collecting parts for a bit. I have a brand new headlight assembly, fender@bumper from the junkyard, also got a used headlight support bracket and a couple others since obviously it’s bent. looking at the pictures, am i okay to put the new bumper fender and headlight on, how does the radiator look and supports and what not. also, that lining i’m holding in one of the pictures, should i just cut it off? Any advice it’s appreciated. Trying to do it today as I still use it. Thank you guys

It’s not super thick but I don’t like how it looks, thanks in advance

I’ve never been much of a cat person, nor have I had much assistance from family. I bought my first car from my friend when they wanted a new one and have an MOT that runs out in December. I was just slowing down onto a junction when this electric bike came off the junction and tore into the lower side skirt (as google refers to it) off my car. I’m halfway home so figure I could try some glue I’ve got in my car (which I now realise was stupid) and now I’m home I don’t know what to do. I don’t have a local mechanic, or even know if this would be a job for them as it appears to be somewhat cosmetic? Is this something I can fix myself. My knowledge is very limited to changing a tire and a battery. Is it something a YouTube video and the proper equipment can fix or should I find a mechanic?

Also, I do realize once I get done sanding, I need to enclose this to kind of resemble a paint booth.

My car had the passenger side fender changed, along with the front bumper and a headlight, and my hood was repainted. Is this acceptable? My left fender which wasn’t changed is now more out of place than the new one, or am just too picky? Thankfully I had a dash cam otherwise I would have been on my own.