The Top Auto Body Repair Tricks for Dents and Collision Damage
Do you enjoy knowing as much as you can about your car? Do you want to know what the most common auto body repair tricks are? Understanding the most basic automotive repair issues is a must.
It doesn’t matter whether you want to fix some of these problems in your garage or if you aim for professional services. It would be best if you had an idea of what works or doesn’t when your car has dents and collision damage that needs attention. It also helps you improve the safety of your vehicle.
If you wish to learn more about auto body repair tricks, you’re not alone. Follow these 11 insightful tips to know more about your car dents and collision damage. Read on to find out more.
1. Use a High-Quality Filler
Knowing different auto body repair tricks helps you whenever you have unplanned dents and collision damage that needs a quick fix. Sometimes, automotive repair isn’t as complicated as you might think. For instance, when you opt for a high-quality filler, you can quickly eliminate dents and scratches.
The most important thing that you should do is ensure that you prepare the filler meticulously. When the filler is your only option, it’s essential to understand how it benefits you. The following are the main advantages of choosing filler as one of your auto body repair tricks.
- A high-quality filler should help reinforce your vehicle’s metal panel structure. The reinforced metal panel can protect your car if you are in another car accident.
- Another advantage of using a filler is that it can help disguise that your car was involved in an accident. It eliminates raised bumps and other imperfections when hammering out the dent or repairing a paintless one.
2. Focus on Proper Lighting
You’d be surprised to learn that proper lighting is integral to various auto body repair tricks you should know. At times, auto repairs require more detail than you can think. To ensure that the repairs to your dents are done efficiently, you need a lot of proper lighting.
Specific auto repair methods, such as glue pull repair, must be done faster and with minimal effort. The great news is that you’ll receive better results when compared to conventional methods. However, lighting is critical to your automotive repair technician’s lighting.
Exceptional lighting allows your technician to see areas that need attention more clearer. This helps to fix any damage while avoiding further harm to your metal panel structure. The main thing about proper lighting is that it helps illuminate flaws you wouldn’t usually observe.
Take highly bright lighting on the surface of your car; it works excellently if there are any darkened surfaces where your vehicle is getting fixed. Ensure that your auto repair shop has sufficient light if your dent and collision damage repairs are scheduled for nighttime.
3. Use a Compressor and Paint Sprayer
Most auto body repair tricks require you only to fix a portion of your car. It’s essential to know how to match the paint of the damaged section with the rest of your vehicle. Good auto repair shops know how important a good paint job is.
In most cases, you must go to your vehicle’s manufacturer to acquire the paint. When you have everything you need to repaint your car, ensure your technician has a high-quality paint sprayer. The one thing that makes a paint sprayer ideal is the light touch which allows you to apply the paint over a few days.
If you want to use spray paint, consider the following tips.
- Make sure that you’re using a clean and dust-free space.
- Sand down the car’s surfaces.
- Cover all areas that won’t get painted.
- Apply primary and wait for it to dry.
- Test your paint on a separate piece of metal before you start on your car.
4. Consider Sanding Tools
Did you know that a suitable sanding method is one of the essential auto body repair tricks you need to know? When you want to spruce up your car, you should sand it down when fixing any dents and collision damage. This is an essential step towards preparing your vehicle for auto body repair.
If you skip robust prep that includes sanding your car, you can have a poor-quality result. Sanding down your vehicle is critical. These are the main benefits you should expect when you choose to sand down the body of your car after an accident.
Removes Rust
The primary reason sanding is a crucial step that it removes any rust on your car. If your vehicle has any corrosion, sanding stops rust from spreading when wet paint is applied. This helps to avoid dents and cracks once your vehicle has been repaired.
Eliminates Pollutants
Other pollutants can potentially affect the result of your car repair. Things like oil spots, particulate matter, and dirt can harm the body of your car.
Protects the Environment
Did you know that sanding your car is considered an eco-friendly process? You can reuse the equipment. Another plus is that it’s a cost-effective option.
5. Use Finishing Glaze
Auto dent repairs come in many factors. When thinking of auto body repair tricks, you should ensure that you don’t leave out finishing glaze. This is an important trick that provides your car repair work is done accordingly.
This very crucial process serves two main benefits for your car. The first one is that self-levelling glaze can fix any minor flaws in your paint. Secondly, if you have major dents, glazing is a significant step before the final coats of paint are applied.
The glaze is excellent because you can apply it over any paint. It won’t affect the color of your car since it’s transparent to let it show through. If you want to add more depth to your lightly colored car paint, you should opt for a darker glaze.
6. Fix any Windshield or Glass Cracks
You’re not alone if you don’t know that chips in your windshield cause extensive and annoying damage. When you learn the most essential auto body repair tricks, you’ll understand that any auto glass repair should be done immediately. Whether you’re planning a German car repair, you should ensure that you don’t skip fixing the cracks on your windshield.
The good news is that it’s easy to fix your windshield cracks before they cause further damage. There are windshield repair kits that you can order or pick up from most auto body repair shops. These kits use resins that help to block cracks and chips on your car glass before the damage escalates.
If you have more damage already, you should consider replacing your side power windows. You can easily do this yourself and save money on labor. With primary and proper repair tools, you can get this done in the comfort of your garage.
7. Replace Your Headlights
In most cases, an auto collision repair job includes replacing your headlights. Headlights generally suffer the most damage during a collision. In other instances, low visibility from your headlights is the leading cause of your crash.
If you want to avoid this scenario, it’s crucial to include replacing your headlights as part of auto body repair tricks that you should know. Ensure that you choose headlights that offer you more visibility. For example, luxury cars are equipped with high-intensity discharge headlights.
If your car doesn’t have these, you can still get custom headlights. If you’re not convinced about why you should replace your headlights, the following reasons should change your mind.
- LED headlights are more durable when compared to typical halogen headlights. As a result, they help you save money.
- LED headlights reflect more natural light due to their color temperature. This reduces the light reflected on other drivers.
- They have improved lumen and require fewer filters for color.
- They produce less heat when compared to halogen headlights and don’t require maintenance.
- It’s easy to install them when you’re a beginner.
8. Invest in High-Quality Performance Tools
There are times when auto body repair tricks require your car to undergo extensive auto repair work. Auto body shops sometimes need to fix car wheelchair lifts or other related damages after a collision. When looking for someone to repair your car with extensive damage, you ought to consider someone who has invested money into high-quality performance tools.
These kinds of tools ensure that specific auto parts are fixed. In certain instances, you need to remove or shape car parts after a collision. If your technician doesn’t have the ideal tools, you won’t be impressed by the results.
The fact is that high-performance tools ensure that the repair work is done correctly. Fixing your car can take longer than expected without the correct tool set. Essentially, this can end up costing you more money and time.
9. Remove Old Side Molding
Removing old side molding is one of the many easy auto body repair tricks you should know. Once you notice that it’s starting to come loose or look ragged, you should remove it. What’s great about this auto body repair trick is that it’s inexpensive.
The only thing that you need is a putty knife to pry off the molding. Once you’ve removed it, the area needs to be thoroughly cleaned. After that, you can reattach your new molding.
The molding on the side of your car plays a significant role in ensuring protection. It’s one of the things that you can rely on to prevent scratches on your car’s doors. If your car door hits anything, your side molding acts as a buffer to avoid dents, paint blemishes, and warding off.
10. Replace Broken Mirrors
If you have any bashed side mirrors after your car accident, you must replace them as soon as possible. You can take your car to your local auto body repair shop to get them fixed. Alternatively, you can follow one of the simplest auto body repair tricks and do it yourself.
If you prefer to fix your side mirrors, you must ensure that you have panel removal tools. You should follow these easy steps to do the job well.
- Use the door panel remover tool for popping off the side view mirror trim panel.
- Find the hidden screws under the decorative vanity caps and remove them.
- The door handle bezel either snaps into place or is supported by screws. Remove it once you’ve figured it out.
- Three mirror mounting screws hold the mirror in place. Remove them and replace your mirror.
- Test the new mirror with the connected electrical connector. When it works, reassemble everything in reverse order.
11. Use Paint Film
One thing that any technician will tell you is that paint film is one of the most reliable auto body repair tricks to fix dents and collision damage. The paint film is the best way to protect the repaired parts of your vehicle and your new paint job. The protective film won’t only smooth the surface of your car, but it will also preserve the work you’ve done.
In summary, when you have a car, it’s vital to improve its lifespan by all means possible. One of the many ways you can do so is by knowing what the most beneficial auto body repair tricks can come in handy. While you can’t avoid accidents, you can still use measures to ensure that your car isn’t severely affected by any impact.
Depending on the types of damage sustained, you should make sure to take your car for a much-needed assessment. A qualified technician should offer more expertise in fixing your vehicle. However, when you’re a DIY automotive guru, you can save a lot of money outsourcing labor.
It helps to have a guide you can use when fixing dents and collision damage on your car. When you follow these auto body repair tricks, you should have more knowledge the next time you need to repair your vehicle after a collision.