Nothing upsets the motorist like dents on a brand new shiny car body. And getting this trouble is easy. For example, during an unsuccessful parking lot or simply getting into an accident. And you can, and generally, waking up in the morning and going out to the street to his car, to see the dents on his body. True, some drivers do not pay attention to such damage. As the saying goes: "Straightening is time, money, and the car drives, does not affect speed, well, okay." “Okay”, this is when the dent is small and the paintwork is not damaged. In another case, such negligence will lead to the appearance of rust, corrosion, and in the future the whole body of the car may become completely unusable. Therefore, it is better to repair dents without delay, to avoid further problems.
Basic concepts of straightening work
It is immediately worth noting that self-aligning damage to the body is not easy. First, you need to have a certain set of knowledge on how to do this. Secondly, we need practical experience in these works, and, thirdly, high-quality straightening is an extremely carefully carried out
body repair work
. In another case, instead of correcting a small dent on the wing, you can get a deformation of most of its surface, and then it will be easier to replace it, and not repair it, which will cost quite another money. Based on the size and complexity of the damage, the way to repair them varies. For example, if the damage is small, they begin to fix it from the middle, and then the edges are brought. If repair of dents of larger scale is required, then they begin to align, on the contrary, from the edges and gradually reduce to the middle. With a large deformation and slight damage to the paintwork, some specialists heat the metal before straightening. But without experience, this is not recommended, since the metal can be overheated, because of which it will lose its properties or even be melted.
The necessary set of tools for straightening
To carry out body work of any complexity, you will need a special tool for
straightening the car body .
Hammer Set:
- with a flat striker;
- with a thin point brisk;
- with a round brisk;
- with special notches;
- smoothing.
In addition to hammers, for spot welding of the body you will need a spotter, you also need special straightening files, straightening hooks and support elements in the form of small anvils.
It is clear that this list is far from complete. In various cases, additional sets of tools and devices may be required, for example hydraulics for straightening, etc. We can consider the above list of tools to be the basic set that every motorist who prefers to repair his car independently if possible.
Body straightening by a vacuum method
Even a dozen and a half years ago, such a concept as vacuum straightening could look like a section from science fiction. In those days, all straightening work was carried out manually, and after them the body was polished, primed and painted. Now, thanks to the advent of special devices equipped with a vacuum suction cup, this simple and convenient way has become a reality. Straightening a car in this way is extremely simple. A suction cup is fixed in the center of the dent and extended with a flick of the wrist. The advantage of this method is that the paintwork of the car is not damaged. Such straightening is an advantage compared to other dent repair methods due to the lack of the need to disassemble the body in order to gain access to the inside of the damaged part. This method can easily be applied on the entire surface of the car. Unfortunately, it is impossible to completely get rid of a dent in this way, but visually one hundred percent effect of its absence is obtained. Large shallow dents with smooth geometry are very well fixed. It is not advisable to use this method if dents with chips and cracks, even if they are small. Just in this case, the surface is deformed even more, and additional costs for their correction will be required.
Hole pulling a dent
This method is more time consuming than the previous one. It is already used for more significant damage to the surface of the body. Such straightening can be done in two ways. The first method, it can also be called "barbaric" - is when a self-tapping screw is screwed into the car body, and with the help of an inertial hammer, the dent is pulled. After removing the dent, the hole from the self-tapping screw is plastered, and the surface is polished, primed and painted. The second option, when instead of a self-tapping screw, pieces of thin wire are welded to problem areas using a spot method and also a dent is drawn with its help. After completion, the surface is also primed, sanded and painted.
Tapping straightening
The highest quality straightening is just the method of body repair by tapping. This method is even more complicated than straightening by pulling. Car body is being disassembled. The damaged part is removed, the dent area is marked on the reverse side, and its area is accurately aligned with a light tapping of the hammer. From the outside it is necessary to put emphasis, and better - a special anvil. In some cases, it is advisable to warm the metal in the dent zone, making it softer and more pliable. The huge advantage of this type of straightening is that you can fix almost any dent, crack or other damage. And the correction will be not only visual, but until the dent is completely eliminated. But there is a big minus. In order for such work to be carried out really high-quality, a great deal of practical experience is required, and a beginner, no matter how hard he tries, can not do such work.
Surface protection
After the defect of the body has been straightened and restored to its original condition in order to avoid rust and corrosion, as a result of which the body may become unusable, the repaired surface must be protected from the external environment. To do this, the surface is ground with a thin sandpaper, or better, with a grinding wheel. Then the cleaned surface is putty, after the putty dries, the surface is primed and, finally, painted.