You might not even know you need certified aluminum auto body repairs following a collision or other damage to your vehicle. Many car makers, including Tesla, Alfa Romeo, BMW, Acura, Ford, Land Rover, Jaguar, Audi and Mercedes Benz have taken advantage of the savings in weight that comes from using aluminum body panels and structural parts in some or all of their models.
But, especially in a somewhat older vehicle, aluminum parts and panels may only have been used for certain sections. If you ever need auto body repairs and you take your vehicle to a collision repair shop that isn’t qualified to work with aluminum, then you can end up with ongoing problems and an ongoing headache.
WHY DO YOU NEED CERTIFIED ALUMINUM AUTO BODY REPAIRS?
If your car has aluminum body panels or structural parts, you need certified aluminum body repairs because of the bad memory.
Don’t worry, even though you can never remember where you put your keys, we’re not talking about you. We’re talking about aluminum’s memory.
STEEL HAS GOOD ‘MEMORY’
If you know what you’re doing, a sizeable dent in a steel body panel could be easily popped out with the right tools. That’s because steel has a ‘memory’, or a tendency to return to its original shape.
ALUMINUM HAS BAD ‘MEMORY’
Have you ever tried to ‘pop out’ a dent in an aluminum panel? You’d be still trying if you did. Aluminum body panels must actually be reshaped to get rid of a dent.
BAD MEMORY MEANS YOUR AUTO BODY SHOP MUST BE TRAINED AND EQUIPPED TO REPAIR ALUMINUM
The fact that its bad memory means aluminum bodywork must be reshaped. Means an auto body repair shop must meet a number of requirements before being able to properly fix your vehicle.
1. TRAINED ALUMINUM AUTO BODY REPAIR SPECIALISTS
Not just anybody repair person can repair aluminum panels and frames. In addition to knowing how to reshape aluminum, repair specialist needs to know how to work with aluminum. It has different properties than steel including higher heat conductivity, which means it must be handled differently.
2. SPECIALIZED ALUMINUM AUTO BODY REPAIR EQUIPMENT
Not only do you need the right equipment to repair the damage, but when it comes to aluminum. You need to precisely measure the damage before you can tell how much reshaping is needed.
3. THE RIGHT FACILITY
In addition to having trained technicians and specialized equipment. The facility must have been custom-built or retrofitted to handle aluminum auto body repairs. Not only do they have different properties, aluminum and steel are corrosive to each other. Even if a small particle from one lands on the other, it can cause damage. A certified aluminum collision repair shop will have stations dedicated to the repair of aluminum body panels and frames. Those stations must also be separated from the rest of the shops to ensure no damage occurs due to the mixing of aluminum and steel.
Looking for a certified aluminum body repair shop? Contact Leons today.