What really happens to your vehicle at the body shop?
It is quite distressing to leave the baby at some body shop, car service, and prayerfully hope to get it returned to its former self. What does go on, anyway, behind those workshop doors? Let us peep a little at this mysterious world of hammering out pieces, disappearance of dents, and feats of color matching.
Of course, the first stage in this journey is assessment: take your car to the doctor, so to speak. Every ding, scratch, and smashed panel falls into the scrutinizing eyes of the field expert, probably just like an interesting work of art. They don’t just look; they diagnose. Why? Because before any magic is let loose, it is first in the form of a plan.
Diagnostics are done on site, and now comes the time for teardown: SOUNDS HARSH BUT A NECESSITY. He takes off the damaged areas rather like scaling down a mountain. Quite often, the mountain conceals incredibly complex problems; thus, removing the broken pieces often reveals a whole family of problems living beneath them. And thus seriously, the game of repair commences: realignment of frames, replacement of panels, attending to every kind of mechanized bit and bob-just a little like playing with a giant M. C. Escher puzzle. Restoration of a car can, in many ways, be thought of as a form of art and science, too-a performance of that sensitive balance between precision and imagination.
Down below, the real technicians weave their magic in a show of straightening, with the sensitive touch of a concert pianist. Now comes the filler. Filler is that sweet concoction-mostly some form of polyester resin-used to fill in those dings and dings and is the batter of the repair world. Once sanded and shaped, it’s what gets the surface just right for its crowning glory.
Coming back in, it moves into the paint booth, where magic happens. Like coming back as if from marriage-you want to look great, all aglow and beaming. Your car is also waiting for its magic moment here. Now, the technicians become artists when they start working, laying on layer after layer of paint, which should precisely match your color-no mean feat of alchemy. A number of coats will be laid on, followed by curing and drying periods, all again at times and with precision.
Reassembly follows.
From the minute aversion to even the minutest detail of fitting each part in its place, laying Lego that one should not mess up down, the artisans will put the parts back with care, test, check, and recheck every connection. Leaving little room for error here. The last stages of catwalk finishing and inspection will be done with your car. A good polish makes the surface mirror your smile.
More importantly, it is running now, and it is perfectly tuned-an orchestra; every inch is again checked under the critical eye of the inspector for reassurance.
With all the pieces in place, your car now starts getting ready for its action potential. Well, the final check indeed confirmed that it’s back to much likeness with a masterpiece. You will most likely greet your vehicle like an old buddy, both glad and relieved to see that everything’s there and working fine.
Why Your Car May be Screaming for a Pit Stop at the Body Shop
Picture this-you cruising down the street with house music just booming from the speakers. Then, a clunk or scrape throws the harmony off. It’s your vehicle whispering-or sometimes screaming-for attention. Though such disturbances are pretty good reminders, well, going to a body shop car isn’t some tedious duty one can handily shelve; let’s delve a little further into some definite ways your car might be begging desperately for that salon visit.
But let’s get down to it-your car is that friend who just never rushes along and always does drag his feet. Every grown squeal and grinding groan says something is awry under the hood-or at the extremities. Is that the sound of a clank we hear when you hit the brakes? That ain’t your car trying to tap dance!
Wobbly Wheels and Shaky Skills Ever felt like your steering wheel was rattling around like a kid who’d had too much candy? How embarrassing, and a bit worrying, too! From tire-related issues to misaligned wheels or even suspension trouble, a shaking steering usually means most of them. Were your car to seem like it’s rehearsing its next Harlem Shake performance, surely that would be a sign that the dance-off got to reach the very end with a visit to the mechanic.
Smelling odors that are not present Go into your garage, and voila! Instead of that sweet scent of your favorite little tree air freshener, some other pungent odor, something like burnt toast or smelly rubber, comes at your nose. Yuck! Unpleasant odors should not be part of your ride. If that smell hangs in there, like that bad date, it is most definitely time to sleuth it out with some help from a professional.
Smells of burning can indicate everything from overheating to worn-out belts that really need to be replaced.
Paint with Character-or is it Rust?
You know, those specks of orange or brown dotting your car’s surface? Of course, yeah, polka dots are cool, but rust sure isn’t. It’s like some cave people are etching on at your ride infuriatingly fast and hard, like aging your vehicle in double time.
Rust makes ‘vintage wine’ go completely the wrong way! Besides it also is an eyesore and really weakens its structure. If your car looks like Swiss cheese, run-not walk-to the body shop. Dinin’ It Real I once had a close friend who had named his car “Denty” because the poor thing had more dings and dents on its body than one could count. Although it is said that every dent tells a story of times long past, Denty would most definitely make for better appearance once introduced to the inside of a body shop. A dented body isn’t just a face-texture issue; it may mask some pretty nasty internal issues, just waiting to pop up at the worst of times. The Car Symphony: Catching the Malicious Notes Cars are notorious composers. This new symphony of clangs, bangs, and buzzes presages loose parts, misfiring electricals, or some pending visit to an auto-doc. Those rehearsals of the orchestra are not driving tunes you need to get used to. Consider these noises as smoke signals your car sends, begging you to decode its woes.
