Whether it's a simple collision fender repair or a more complicated vehicle restoration of your damaged classic car, panel beaters can help make your vehicle look as good as new.
What is a Panel Beater?
Panel beaters are auto body mechanics that remove dings, dents and other damage from motor vehicle bodies. Many are also skilled in auto body painting. Some panel beaters specialize in collision work, while others prefer working on vehicle restorations. While sometimes the beating of car panels is required to "smooth things out," panel beaters also use auto putty, welding, and other metalworking techniques to turn a crumpled up fender into something as smooth as glass.
How Panel Beaters Handle Collision and Restoration Repair Work
Collision panel beaters deal not only with auto crashes, but also with those annoying dents you get in car parks and the pitted damage often caused by hail stones. Auto body parts are either repaired or replaced, depending largely on the severity of the damage. Sometimes it also depends on the make and model of the car involved. If it's an older vehicle, such as a muscle car from the 1970s, then parts are harder to come by. If the owner just wants the car to be repaired and you can use the parts off of a similar model, a collision panel beater can usually handle the job.
Vehicle restoration panel beaters usually work on classic vehicles that the owners want to keep all original. Take that muscle car example. If the owner decides that he wants the damaged car restored, then the panel beater must either repair the existing parts or use all original parts in the replacement. If a suitable part can't be found, the panel beater will usually end up manufacturing the part in house.
How Panel Beaters Handle Collision and Restoration Body Paint Work
Depending on how the body shop owner runs his firm, and the skill level of the worker, panel beaters may or may not do the actual painting of the car. Sometimes a panel beater may be allowed to respray the collision repairs, but the restoration jobs go to a paint specialist. For example, a later model car brought in for collision repair on the front end will usually have just the front end repaired and repainted. The paint is easily matched by using the colour code.
Paint matching some of the old colours is more complicated because of colour fade. The sun leaches out pigment over time. Even though the panel beater/painter will use the colour code for that particular vehicle, the mixed shade will usually need tweaking. This requires a more practiced eye. On a vehicle restoration, the match must be exact so the car retains its original status. Even with that perfect match, sometimes the body shop and/or the owner will opt to have the entire car repainted.
For more information, contact Southern Smash Repairs.
Share27 October 2014
If you drive a lot for business, you probably put a lot of kilometres on your vehicle. Whether you are driving from client to client in the same city or driving across the country, your vehicle needs to be well prepared for the journey. You don't want to miss out on a great opportunity because your car has broken down on the way to the meeting. Hi, my name is Carla, and I've been stranded on the side of the road, desperately trying to reach a client to reschedule. After that experience, however, I decided that I needed to pay more attention to auto service, and recently I decided to create this blog to help others in similar situations. Thanks for reading! I hope my tips help you!
