DIY Auto Body Repairs Car accidents occur an estimated eighteen thousand times a day across the United States; that works out to more than six million car accidents per year in throughout the nation. While this average changes from year to year and even from day to day, the fact remains that automobile accidents are a daily part of life in the U.S. and that means that people need to be prepared for the consequences. Each car wreck will vary in severity one from another, but nearly all will incur some form of auto body damage that will need repair. But heading off to your local Dallas auto body shop for every ding and scrape can quickly add up.
Basic Auto Repair That is why Dallas car owners should learn how to do a few basic auto body repairs themselves from home. One should keep in mind that larger or more severe accidents should be repaired by professionals in order to maintain safety, and that a non-professional auto body repair job will not be as pleasant looking as a Dallas auto body repair professional could make it. Still, for the everyday ding, scrape and dent, private car owners can do more than they may think in repairing and patching up their rides. Because how many such “minor” damages can a car incur in a lifetime of fender benders, door dings, and similar mishaps? The answer is enough to cost a fortune to get it all fixed. That is why those who learn how to handle the dent or scrape to their car’s exterior will be able to save loads of money throughout the life of their car.
Scratches and Scrapes First, consider a scratch to the paint on a car. Scratches and scrapes can come from a variety of sources but they all pose the same problem—repainting the damaged section of the car. But it is not as simple as throwing a coat of paint over the car and calling it good, as this will not only fix the damage but will likely cost the owner even more money. Rather, a scratch can be properly fixed by filling the scratch with multiple layers or coats of paint or, if the scratch is deep enough, by filling the scratch with specialized scratch filler. Once the coats of paint or scratch filler has been applied, the surface of the damaged area of the car will need to be lightly sanded with fine-grit sandpaper in order to level out the fill in the scratch and one last coat of paint applied. This can be followed by a thorough waxing to ensure that the damaged portion of the car looks as new as possible.
Dents The next most common auto body damages that Dallas car owners face comes in the form of minor dents. These damages can be fixed by the car owner from their own home by employing a few different methods. First, if the dent is minor enough, it may be possible for the owner to simply pop out the dent from the inside of the vehicle, repairing outside paint as needed. Most of the time, however, a dent needs to be repaired the same way a scratch would be with the application of dent filler and finishing work to level the surface of damaged area. Photo Credit: dogshark, OpenClips