How An Auto Body Shop Repairs Hail Damage

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Hail damage can cause serious damage to the roof, hood, and trunk of any vehicle. If you were stuck driving in a hailstorm and your car is now pitted with minor dents and damaged paint, an auto body shop offers the repair services you need. This article covers the basic process automotive technicians take when restoring a vehicle after hail damage.

Dent Removal

In the past few decades, dent removal has come a long way. Most dents to aluminum and steel body panels can be repaired using paintless dent removal. During this process, technicians gain access to the underside of body panels by removing them from the car or removing interior trim. When they can access both sides of the dent, they use modern tools to slowly apply pressure in exactly the right places around the dent to pop the panel back into its original position. This process doesn't disturb paint, so if your paint is undamaged, the hail damage repair will end here.

Body Filler Application

For exceptionally large dents, paintless dent removal may not be an option. In this case, older techniques are required. Technicians will strip the paint around and inside the dent and fill the dent with body filler. They will then expertly blend the body filler with the rest of the body panel to ensure the final result will look invisible under a new coat of paint.

Using body filler requires more time, skill, and resources than paintless dent removal, so it is only used as a last resort. Your technicians should inform you of the need to use this technique before starting the process so that you are aware of the amount of time your vehicle will be in the shop. Make sure you get a written quote for this service because it tends to be as expensive as it is time-consuming. Luckily, dents from hail damage tend to be small enough that they can be removed with paintless dent removal instead.

Paint Restoration

If your vehicle's paint has been damaged, you will likely need to have the paint refinished. Leaving the paint damage as it is will likely lead to rust problems in the future, and it just doesn't look good in any case. Work with your auto body shop to see if you need a completely new paint job or if they can protect your vehicle with products that will block rust. Let your budget guide your decision process here.

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11 May 2020

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