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The Difference Between Repairing Early Model Cars and Cars of Today – Metal Straightening

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The Difference Between Repairing Early Model Cars and Cars of Today – Metal Straightening

The Difference Between Repairing Early Model Cars and Cars of Today – Metal Straightening
By Donnie A Smith

Repairing Early Model Cars

On early model vehicles the metal was thick, which had advantages and disadvantages. First of all, they had a lot of metal to work with. This allowed body men to hammer, dolly and pick on the metal, then file the top surface knocking the high areas down. Then they could repeat the process, work the metal and file the surface level. This allowed the body man to metal finish much of the damages without the need of body fillers. This is called metal finishing. If there were still a few imperfections remaining, the body man would use lead to fill the lows and file the surface level and smooth.

Advantages and Disadvantages

The advantage they had was the possibility to straighten and work the metal without the use of fillers. If we tried to use those methods on vehicles today, we would have a hole in the part from filing through the part. If we didn’t file a hole through the part, it would be very thin and weak. Another advantage of working on early model vehicles is being able to get to both sides of the panel. Vehicles today have limited access. It is hard to get behind most panels to use the hammer and dolly method. The disadvantage of working metal on early model cars was the strength of the thick steel; it hard to move, unlock, and reshape. It took a lot more force to move the thick metal when straightening. The lead filler that was used also took more time and skill to fill the small imperfections. We are also more educated about lead today and the safety hazards of it.

Repairing Vehicles of Today

Today’s vehicles are thinner and have very limited access. However, improved fillers, such as body filler and tools have made the job easier. The most common tool to use for repairing dents is a stud nail gun. The cost of a stud nail gun ranges between $200 to $500. This tool tacks a small nail to the surface. Then you get a slide hammer or t-handle to pull on the nail. Therefore, you tack the nails to the low areas and lightly tap on the high areas with a body hammer. It is important to do this at the same time. Just pulling out on the low area will cause the metal to be over pulled and stretch the metal. Just hammering in on the highs may cause the entire area to be hammered in too much. This is referred to as chasing your damage around. It is always better to have multiple forces at one time. You need to think of it as rolling the damage out, rather than hammering or beating it out. The metal wants to go back to its original shape, you just need to help persuade it to. Forcing metal will result in stretched metal.

KISS Keep It Simple Silly

When you have access, a hammer and dolly can be used. This is probably going to be the fastest way to repair the damage if you have access. When performing auto body repair, think like electricity. Electricity move where ever it is easiest for it to pass through. The path of least resistance. This is why a ground wire is used on homes. If lightening hits your house, it will follow that ground wire that is attached to a ground rod that in hammered in the ground, as that is the path of least resistance. When determining how to repair a dent, just try to think of what would be easiest. Just because you have an expensive piece of equipment does not mean that you have to use it every time. If you can reach behind the panel and pull out on the low with one hand and push down on the high with the other hand, then simply use your hand to repair the damage. It may still need a little hammer and dolly work afterwords, but I have repaired many dents with nothing but my hands. Remember today’s metals are thin and it does not take much to dent or repair it.

What Ever It Takes

Whether you’re working on early or late model vehicles, just remember to select the tools that will make the job easiest to repair. Don’t over work the thin metal on late model vehicles, as the metals are thin. The use of body filler will help repair the surface back to its original shape.

To learn visit the simple secrets to body repair. There you can learn more about collision repair and painting.

I am a lead collision repair instructor for a college. We teach our students how to properly repair vehicles. I am ready to teach you too. For free training and learn about auto body repair and painting visit simple secrets to body repair.

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Auto Body Shop – Avoid Getting Cheated

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Auto Body Shop – Avoid Getting Cheated
By A Aaronson

Everyone who owns a car will most likely need to visit an auto body shop at some point in their lives. Since many everyday people are not familiar with automotive repair, it can be tempting for some providers of this service to be less than truthful with their customers to make extra money. It is not uncommon to hear stories on the news about a repair place scamming customers and tricking them out of hundreds or thousands of dollars, so it is crucial to educate yourself and be wary of any location you go to.

You can narrow down your choice of an auto body shop by referring to the list of approved providers your car insurance has decided on. After that, try to find friends or family who have been to one of the shops listed to find out if they provide quality work. You can also check the Better Business Bureau or look for online reviews to see what kind of reputation the place has. The best way to be sure of a garage’s work is to research other customer’s experiences rather than simply taking the word of the shop.

It is an added bonus if the provider you go to is part of an organization that encourages attentive care and ethical treatment of customers. Also check to see if the employees are certified to do body work, instead of just being mechanics who dabble in car repair. Sometimes it is better to have the auto body shop do their own estimate of the damage, rather than waiting for a representative from the insurance company to come out and look it over.

If the auto body shop does not look professional and you only see them working on low quality cars, chances are they do not make enough money to provide higher quality parts and service. Check if they have worked on your make and model often and carry the parts needed to service it. If you opt for generic parts to save money, make sure they are certified by the Certified Automotive Parts Association. After the repairs are finished, thoroughly look over your vehicle to make sure everything works and nothing was accidentally damaged in the process of fixing something else.

When you find yourself needing car repair, try to choose a reputable and honest provider who has experience working with your particular car model. Ask for a breakdown of all charges to find out exactly what your money is going towards in order to prevent being overcharged. Do not let yourself become another victim by trusting the first place you go.

When your vehicle is in need of repair in Seattle, auto body shops can fulfill your needs. For more information, visit http://www.yodle.com/.

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Featured Auto Body Repair Shop in Derry, NH – Express Auto Body & Collision Repair

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At Express Auto Body and Collision Repair they perform all types of repairs from minor dings to major collision repair.  The stand by their work by guaranteeing the work they do for as long as the customer owns the car.  They have testimonial of happy and satisfied customers and go the extra mile by repairing small dents in blend panels.

To learn more about Express Auto Body and Collision Visit Their website www.expressautobodyandcollision.com

or stop by:

Frank & Kathy Wool
Express Auto Body & Collision Repair
15 Central St.
Derry, NH 03038

Phone: 603-432-6071
Fax: 603-432-6227
 “We Treat Our Customers Fair And We Always Provide Quality Work”


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Why Should You Keep Auto Body Repair Tools in Your Car?

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Why Should You Keep Auto Body Repair Tools in Your Car?

By Danielle Sage

Maintaining basic car repair tools in your car can be of great advantage. The auto body repair tools can really come in handy in a situation where you do not have access to a mechanic who would fix your car. Having the repair tools can not only save some precious time which would have wasted behind calling a mechanic but also money that would have been charged by the same person.

At times the problem with your car can be very minor, but the mechanic may charge you high, simply because it is an emergency situation. But if you have auto body repair tools in your car and if you know how to use them, it can save you from falling into such a situation.

In order to keep your car out of trouble, it requires good maintenance and care and it would certainly ensure less necessity of summoning mechanics and also use of auto body repair tools. Apart from some cases where the car needs to be taken to the auto shop for oil replacement and other common maintenance verification, it can be handled by the owner itself with the help of the auto body repair tools.

There are few cases where the amateurs should never attempt to repair things on their own, for instance you should never try to replace a conked out clutch all by yourself rather you should make a safer attempt to organize fuel filters or repair the spark plugs.

Kind of auto body repair tools and the related problems you can fix with them

In most of the cases of car repairing, you require basic knowledge on the different parts of a car and their functionality. No one prefers to call the mechanic for every other problem that a car faces as it consumes more money as well as time and is certainly avoidable in most of the situation, only leaving a few.

Some of the used auto body repair tools are air compressors, dent pullers, jack, tire tools and engine hoists. These tools vary in length, shape and weight in case of different car models and their manufacturing companies. A quality auto body repair tool kit includes wrenches and sockets with which the bolts and the nuts can be detached but always keep it mind that you need to know about the thing you are doing and do not take the risk of attempting a repair without knowledge. In such a case, it would be safe to call a specialist who usually deals in such matters and would perform the repairing more smoothly and effectively.

As mentioned earlier, there are different tools used for different types of repairs. The fault codes and the faults in an engine are identified with the help of an electronic device known as the scan tool. The dings and the surface dents are fixed with the help of a dent puller. Tools like spray guns, air brush kit, touch up and paint pen helps to deal with the body paint problem. Equipments like tire mount, curved spoon, bead breaker and tire changer deals with most of the tire related issues. Tools like metal wash cleaner, rust converter and rubberized undercoating helps to remove the oxidation from the body parts of the car. It always helps to keep most of these simple auto body repair tools in your car for emergency situations.

Writing is my life and I love it. I write a lot of Articles and Blogs to relay all of my experience about Automobile Body. To know more about various Auto Body Damage Repair Click Here.

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Looking For the Best Auto Body Repair Shop

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Looking For the Best Auto Body Repair Shop

Looking For the Best Auto Body Repair Shop
By Danielle Sage

If your car is damaged, what you need is a good auto body repair shop to help you restore it to its original glory – without unnecessary expenditure. Good auto body repair shops will repair the car; paint the dents and other damaged portions of the car with properly matching paint. They will also repair the vehicle frame as well as the electrical and electronic system of the car.

Opting for auto body repair instead of a replacement of the damaged portion of the car, will not only help you save money, but will also help the environment in a positive manner. This is why; you should choose the best repair specialist in your area.

How will you choose the repair specialist?

Remember that the best way to come across an auto body repair shop that you like is by shopping around. You should check all the aspects of a number of repair shops in your area and then compare them and see which shop scores the most. Needless to say, the Internet is one of the best places to get started in your search.

Ask your friends, family and colleagues at work. Reference is a great way of determining which auto body repair you should choose. Even your two truck company or insurance agents are a good source for the reference. However, when someone tells you that they like a particular shop, make sure that you ask them why they like it.

You need to ask them various questions about the repair shop that they are referring, before you can choose the shop. If your friend says that she likes it because they gave her a waver in her Insurance Deductible, it will be a much weaker reason to choose the shop than if she says that she really loved the work of the shop and her car works great after the repair job.

You should also check out the car of the person who is referring you the particular auto repair shop. This will help you to get an idea about the kind of work that they do.

You should also check the background of the auto body repair shop and see how long they have been in this business. The age of the company will help you to understand its quality – after all, a company can stay in business only if they are doing good work. Check if the shop is locally owned and if it has any connection with the local community.

Sometimes your insurance company may have an agreement with some of the local auto body repair shops. This Direct Repair Program will help you make a good decision about the shop. However, make sure that you check the credentials and the work of the shop, before you entrust them with your car.

Sometimes, you can recognize quality service just by interacting with the company. Call the local auto body repair shop and see how they behave – were they welcoming and friendly? Do they have a clean and attractive office? The very “feel” of the local auto body repair shop may help you to make your decision.

Some of the best auto body repair shops like Collision Shop Phoenix will also provide you extra services like free pick up and delivery, 24 hour towing and of course, free estimates. Always take your time while choosing an auto body repair shop – because the repair is not only about making your car look good, but also about your safety.

Writing is my life and I love it. I write a lot of Articles and Blogs to relay all of my experience about Automobile Body. To know more about various Auto Body Damage Repair Click Here.

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