Basic Auto Body Repair

Basic auto body repair has been a lucrative vocation since the advent of the automobile, Why? Because no matter how complex and high tech the automotive industry has become, nothing has been able to negate the need for basic auto body repair and painting skills. This is why a simple estimate to repair a tiny dent, scratch or ding on your recent model vehicle can cost upwards of $1000. And it is these type of estimates that make it very tempting for individuals to try to do it themselves.

As any weekend warrior or member of the DIY (DO IT YOURSELF) club will admit, completing any satisfactory work or enhancement of your own vehicle can be extremely gratifying if you know what your doing. This is mainly due to the fact that even very rudimentary bodywork and basic painting skills fall into the classification of advanced DO IT YOURSELF techniques. These jobs really require a higher skill level as opposed to say changing your oil or fixing your brake pads. And besides the skill level needed to complete this task you must also consider the cost of supplies and materials.

So if we are concentrating on minor to moderate damage say from a run away shopping cart at the mall, a haphazard swing of a car door at the grocery store or a unexpected fender bender on your way home from work we need to analyze the damage to determine how to fix it. To repair and eventually repaint a car surface one needs to gauge a few things. How and from what direction was the car hit and how great was the force of impact. These are all things a capable bodyman must figure out. A good way to gain experience is to examine dents at your local junkyard. Locate a totaled vehicle and try to determine how the impact to the car occurred. If the dent is somewhat uniform, without any type of mark to the painted surface, it can probably be determined that the impact was from a straight hit. If not or if the paint is scraped and the dent is nonsymmetrical, it can be assumed that the damage was caused by an indirect hit. And by also analyzing the direction of the paint scratches you can determine which side the damage came from.

On occasion painless dent repair can be used to shape the dent back to its original form. But when the damage is such that the suction method will not cut it, the damaged metal must be carefully maneuvered back into its original state. A damaged panel must be properly diagnosed before one blindly goes about trying to correct it with a hammer and dolly. The hammer and dolly method can be very effective if used properly. This means using an actual hammer and a dolly system to maneuver metal back into its original form.

If you examine the damage to a panel closely, the hit will usually cause a multitude of noticeable ridges on the surface which radiate out from the point of impact. The ridge furthest away from the actual impact is where a bodyman should begin his repair work. Why you ask, because working the ridges from the outermost region towards the origin of impact makes the surface simpler to hammer and dolly back into its original form.

Your mission if you so decide to accept it is to hammer and dolly the metal to relieve the stress of these ridges/indentations. You want to maneuver the panel back into its original shape without unnecessarily stretching the metal. Pounding the center of the dent will cause the metal to stretch the most making it very difficult to return the metal back to its original form. Not to be repetitive but make sure you work the ridge or crease that is furthest away from the point of impact first. This will make the metal much easier to maneuver back to it's original form.

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