For most car owners, the thought of restoring a car after a collison is daunting. It can be very pricey if the car has been severely damaged. However, these can be easily fixed without the expensive paint jobs and bodywork repair involved

Most minor bodywork issues can be repaired in a matter of minutes, when done by a well-trained, skilled professional. Understanding the process will help you to know what to look for in these unfortunate circumstances.

Usually, collision shops don't do these smaller repairs themselves they outsource them to a smaller mobile service or they will offer paintless dent removal as an additional service. Dents from the size of a dime to 2 to 3 inches in diameter and larger can be handled by a qualified professional in anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes.

In many cases the dent is so completely gone it will look like nothing was ever there, and in some other instances, all you would see to know that work had been done is a small black plug in the door end. Paintless dent removal is often the best way to retain the integrity of a custom paint job. In the hands of a qualified professional, 10 to 15 vehicles a day can be done with amazing results.

Not Always the Answer The main concern in paintless dent removal is how much the metal was stressed (stretched) by the accident. The reason for this concern is that if the metal is stretched too much, then pushing it as it?s done in paintless dent removal can distort the metal and ruin the paint. The other consideration in paintless dent removal is the nature of the coating. Its age can make the coating brittle, or simply its condition as it left the factory. The reason that this is a concern for paintless dent removal is that a heat gun needs to be applied, and the above conditions can be very susceptible to heat ruining the coating.

Light is also used to determine all of the intricacies of the dented surface, so that there are no flaws showing when the job is complete.

Training, Techniques, and Tools It takes more time than you might think to train as a paintless dent removal technician, it takes about 12 months to train to be a good one, and that?s because you need to know all about access to the dent. Paintless dent removal technicians need to spend around $3,000 on tools because specialized tools are needed to access difficult areas in different makes and models.

So the next time you have a dent, ding, or crease, think about the paintless dent removal system, and ask if it can be done, if it can your pocketbook will thank you.

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In the fine art of paintless dent removal, there is more of a fine art involved than you might think. Not only does it require good training skills, it also requires the touch.

The tools used for this procedure are long and delicate, to allow access to difficult to reach places. One wrong move can cause a wrinkle in the surface, making a highpoint that is visible when looking at the smoothness of the surface.

Wrinkled metal is one of the most difficult, if not, almost impossible repairs to do, it all depends on the force of the slip.Most often you get one chance only in paintless dent removal, it is a finesse job that requires great skill, combined with a lot of knowledge and a gentle touch.

Gaining Access When doing paintless dent removal, the first thing that has to be done is to gain access, whether it is the hood, roof, door, trunk, or quarter panel. Once access is gained, you have to select the right tool, not forgetting the length, tip size and diameter when you are selecting that tool.

Starting the Repair Once you have started the repair, delicate, and precise movements are required, many times over, it?s the repetition that works the area. The metal can?t be pushed, it has to be "coaxed" back into its original position, and ?coaxed" is the right word being you can only remove small amounts of metal at a time. There are four major types of damage, and different ways to repair each of them. The standard dent is reversed by a massaging action at the center. For a crease, you use work from left to right, while gently applying. If you start with the smallest dent you can repair double rings can be repaired by starting.

The best way to start with is the smaller area then move to the larger one. Once you have repaired about 90 % of the damage, then you need to work on the distortion evident in the larger dent.

The trick of doing the actual repair is to get the light right on the painted side of the surface. You have already got your tool in place from the other side and now you are ready to get into the finer work.

You need to find the precision point of the tip of the tool. To do this shining the light in the same direction stand perpendicular to the crease. . Don?t work at an angle as the surface will look distortedLooking for the tool tip is like stretching a piece of foil and running your fingernail across it from the other side. When you are repairing the surface, you can see the tool tip you gently move it back and forth, much like the fingernail example. Start at the center, and apply pressure steadily, in finite strokes. The larger the dent, the less pressure you need.

Completing the job. If you did have to make a hole to gain entry, apply sealant as a paint protector and continue to mend the hole.

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There are new ideas and research being done within the realm of fasteners when it comes to repairs.

One welcome change that has been observed is in the bumper mounting area now coated fasteners are being used. This means an added replacement expense during repairs but it also means less corroded bolds.

A new trend is headed toward fascia plastic fasteners being used. They are perfect because they are corrosion free and will release then they are suppose to. Continued research and changes like this are going to create a need for new types of fasteners. A good example of this is aluminum panels demanding aluminum fasteners. Again another significant way of reducing corrosion meaning a cost reduction because assembly times are faster.

Routine Uses for Fastener Applications. -any of the sheet metal parts such as body panels, trunk, lid and hood. Usually attached with a Grade 2 screw or rivet. Screws may all look the same but there can be differences in and long and strong, they are as well as the pitch.

-treaded fasteners are most common for assembling bumpers. They have to be high strength as the bumper provides safety to the occupants of the vehicle.

- Steel, plastic threads or plastic clips can be used for the headlight, grille and fascia.

-For interiors fasteners or screws that are threaded are used for the dash board, while the pads may be plastic fasteners of varying types. Door trim panels are normally clips but some are bolts. Be very careful with the plastic clips as many are designed for one time use.

- Steel bolts and screws are for the fiberglass items as well as plastic lips.

-Steering and suspension are crucial to safety therefore demand high strength bolts.

Proper Fastener Management Means Less Profit Loss

You can actually stop your losses and increase your profit by about $50 on every repair done if you itemize the supplemental materials needed in your repairs. Items such as your chemicals, fasteners and even masking tape. That may seem like gouging the customer but actually these costs can mount up to thousands of dollars per year because they are not factored in when doing the estimates. If your shop does about 200 car repairs, a month then you are going to exceed $100,000 in revenue alone just in this one small change. You can actually create a snowball affect just by implementing a small change like this. You can re invest that extra money into other cost saving equipment, which allows you to increase the workload yet cut down the labor expense. The same goes for being astute at keeping control of inventory. You can dramatically cut down on your losses.

Once you have cut these costs down then naturally, your profit level rises. It?s the little things that can really make a big difference in the profit margin in this particular industry. The same with not wasting product is another issue to keep track off. By the same token, though don?t start cutting corners to save money. In the end, it could end up costing you more by having customers returning for repairs and this is damaging to your businesses reputation.

Posted under Cars