Re: Body Repair & Painting, Glass Repair, Detailing etc. - Trend Automobiles (Bangalore) Quote:
Originally Posted by mazda4life Option 1: Is this repairable by body shops like Trend
Option 2: claim insurance and get it done by the dealer? |
This can be repaired by any and all body shops wherever you are. The finish just depends on how honest they are and how proud they are of their work. Removing the dent can be done in these ways:
1. Use a dent puller which is a spot welding machine. The points of the machine are welded into the dent and then it is pulled out back into shape. (Reverse action of the dent).
2. Some garage guys who do not have a dent puller will cut that portion of the running board and take it out. Then they will tinker it back into shape and rejoin it back on the body by welding. (I personally do not think this is a good idea)
3. Fill the dent with putty.
On top of this, painting is a complex and time consuming job and not as simple as some garage guys make it seem.
1. After smoothening the tinkered area with metal putty, the paint is sprayed on in a paint booth. Spraying it in an open surrounding will cause dust to settle on the paint and fine spray of paint can get carried by wind and settle elsewhere on the car.
2. The clear coat is sprayed on. The thickness of the coat must be enough to deal with the following steps of polishing it.
3. After this there are 2 or 3 stages of wet sanding with varying grades of emery paper.This will cut out any imperfections on the coat and it will become perfectly smooth. It will minimize the orangepeel effect also that causes the paint to look like an orange peel due to the spray pattern.
4. The sanding will cause the clear coat to become dull like a matte finish. So this is polished with an abrasive rubbing compound using a hi speed rotary polishing machine. The pads of the machine are again changed in steps using varying grades to obtain a very fine finish and to completely eliminate swirl marks. The sanding and polishing of the paint is a very sensitive process because there will be the risk of cutting through the paint if not experienced.
5. On top of this there will be the final touch of waxing and paint protection using a rotary buffing machine.
These steps have to be taken to obtain a mirror like finish. The ASC do not do all this. At least not in those that I have experienced. They just take it into the paint booth after tinkering on the dent, spray the paint and clear coat, let it dry and give it back to us after a light polishing work. In my visit to Trend Automobiles last week I managed to see them working on a newly painted panel on an Alto and a Liva following roughly the same process as above. This finish was not bad. I believe the stages of polishing were less but yes they were doing it at least. Since your colleague's is a new car they may keep a more keen eye on it. They have also got a dent pulling machine which I saw. The only issue that I foresee here is that you might end up with a colour mismatch. They have not invested in a paint mixing machine which ensures the formula matches to a T. |