A car owner is responsible for the repair and upkeep of their vehicle, and this may range from changing the engine’s oil filter to washing the rims to rotating the tires. And if the car suffered from a minor car accident or other trauma, some windshield replacement or bumper repair may be necessary. At an auto body shop, crews can pound out dents in a car’s body, or replace a cracked windshield or swap out an old bumper for a new one. And if need be, cars can get their paint job touched up to remove scratches, scrapes, or bare patches. Doing this can make the car more attractive and prevent the exposed metal body from rusting. What sort of trauma might damage a car like this?
Car Accidents and Collision Repair
A number of problems may cause a car to suffer dents, scrapes, or other issues with its body. As mentioned earlier, a minor car accident may dent a car’s body, such as getting struck by another car. Or, the car might go out of control and smash into a street light, mail box, or other object (such as if it skidded on icy roads). Not only are car accidents a hazard, but also flying debris or vandalism. If a truck’s load is not secured properly, objects such as bricks may go flying, and when they strikes cars, dents may be pounded onto those car’s roofs or hoods. Meanwhile, vandals may throw objects at cars or strike them with instruments such as tire irons, deliberately putting dents in the car’s body. And it’s not just human error or vandalism that may dent a car; hail might strike, too. Most hail is too small to dent a car, but hail pieces the size of golf balls or larger are likely to pound dents into a car’s roof, hood, and trunk.
Such dents are not only unsightly, but they also interfere with the car’s aerodynamic qualities, reducing its fuel efficiency. Visible body damage will also reduce a car’s resale value, which is not something to be desired. So, the car’s owner may visit auto repair shops and ask the crews there to repair the dents. Those auto workers may remove pieces of the car’s body and pound out the dents from the other side, and doing this may coincide with some paint touch ups, too. A car’s soft aluminum rims might have dents in them too, which can also be pounded right out.
Windshields and Paint
A car’s windshield, or its paint, may also suffer damage after an auto incident or vandalism. Many of the hazards that threaten a car’s body may also crack its windshield, from flying debris to large hail to vandalism. A windshield’s crack may be a single line of varying length, or it may be a spiderweb shape. In any case, a cracked windshield is unacceptable. The crack may widen as the car’s windshield is exposed to air pressure, and that might cause the windshield to crack entirely. Even if that doesn’t happen, the crack is a visible distraction that interferes with driving. Cars often fail official safety inspections because they have cracked windshields. Taking care of this means visiting an auto repair shop and asking the crews to replace the faulty windshield with a new one. The car owner might look up “auto shops windshield replacement near me” to find an auto shop that definitely offers that service.
A car’s paint job may suffer damage after a scrape or a minor collision, or the paint may get scratched or damaged after vandalism or tree branches falling on the car. This is an issue not only because damaged paint looks unsightly, but exposed metal may rust quickly. Car paint doubles as a protective skin, so touching up the paint may be necessary. A car owner may take their vehicle to an auto shop, where the crews will patch up the paint and approximate its color with paints that they have on hand. Other car owners do this themselves, and they can order paint online. Once the paint arrives, the owner can sand down the affected area, apply primer, then paint on a few layers. Once that dries, the owner applies sealant (and lets it dry).
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