How to fix hail damage on the car body?
How to fix hail damage on the car?
Fixing dents after hail is a serious problem, but solvable. The most annoying thing is that there is no protection against hail damage. You can store your car in the garage, drive out only in sunny weather, but a thundercloud does not pick out cars that it doesn’t like. Hail will damage all the cars that are out and about.
However, the advances of the 21st century represent 4 ways of body repair. We will cover removing dents without painting. It is no longer necessary to dismantle the external body parts and the interior of the car.
Each of them has its own undeniable advantages and disadvantages. Also, each method differs in the complexity of implementation and execution time. We also pay attention to the tools that must be available from the person who performs the body repair.
The lever-operated method
This is the most popular in repair shops. It involves the use of special levers. The difficulties of repairing this method include the impossibility of positioning the levers directly under the damaged parts of the body. In addition, in the event of serious damage, it is necessary to dismantle some of the interior trim elements.
The glue method
This is possible only with the help of special tools. They literally pull out the dented surface and level it. Technological solutions that are implied when using this method consist in gluing special caps, which, as a result, stretch and pull the damaged surface of the body.
The vacuum method is
This is almost completely similar to the glue method. Only instead of caps, suction cups are used.
The thermal method of leveling the body consists in a sharp heating of the damaged part and the same sharp cooling. As a result, the metal takes its original form. As a rule, in order not to damage the paintwork, the damaged area is heated using industrial hair dryers and cooled using compressed air under high pressure.
We strongly advise against delaying the elimination of defects on the body of your car after hail. At the impact site, the paint may burst or thin out. As a result, moisture and air have direct access to unprotected metal. And then – oxidation will do everything for you. As a result, the amount of body repair at the service station will be multiplied several times for each day. You shouldn’t let this happen. Although it is entirely up to you to make the decision.
Next, we will take a closer look at the lever method for removing dents. It is widely used due to the fact that it works on large surfaces, which, due to their structural features, are located far from the stiffeners. To perform the procedure, it is extremely important to use professional tools – long levers, which with one end point pointwise on the dents from the inside and correct them.
For smaller dents, levers of a smaller diameter are used, for large ones, correspondingly larger. Then you need to inspect the car for damage to the paintwork. If the craftsmen did not identify any damage, you can finish the work by lightly polishing the work surface.
Removing dents from hail using the glue and vacuum method can be used only if there is no damage to the paintwork. Car service technicians use a variety of tools for this job. These are usually mini lifters. They are intended for straightening parts with dents not exceeding 2 cm in diameter.
The technology of working with this method of removing dents begins with cleaning the damaged area. The car must be washed, and the damaged part is recommended to be decreased. You can use alcohol or white spirit, and if not available, it is recommended to use gasoline.
What do when hail damage is extensive and cannot be repaired?
If your car has been damaged by hail so badly that it’s beyond repair, you may consider selling it if you don’t have comprehensive insurance. With insurance, you can make a claim and have your car either fixed or paid for. However, if you don’t have insurance, your best option is to sell the car. You won’t find many buyers for a hail-damaged cars but Cars Wanted Newcastle will pay cash for hail-damaged cars. Call us now and get a quote for your hail-damaged vehicle.
