Chapter 24

Bodywork: Getting Rid of Dings, Dents, and Other Hard Knocks

In This Chapter

Ridding your vehicle of rust

Getting rid of small dents, dings, and other imperfections

Touching up paint

Repairing damage to weatherstripping and windshields

Obtaining the best deal on professional bodywork

Y our vehicle’s body is subject to the same ravages of time and hard knocks as your own. If you want Old Faithful (or the new pony) to stay forever young, you must keep a careful eye on it and forestall major damage by taking care of the minor stuff as soon as possible. Earlier chapters in this book deal with proper nutrition and regular maintenance for your vehicle’s innards and how to keep it clean inside and out. This chapter deals with the dings and dents that your vehicle may suffer, and America’s number-one car killer: rust. You also find out how to touch up paint, replace worn weatherstripping, deal with windshield damage, and, if all else fails, get the best possible deal from body shops. So get out there and spruce up your vehicle — it will love you for it!

The following word of warning applies to all the tasks outlined in this chapter:

NO MATTER HOW OPTIMISTIC AND AMBITIOUS YOU ARE, DO NOT TACKLE ANY BODY DAMAGE LARGER THAN A COUPLE OF INCHES IN SIZE.

Repairing a small area is relatively easy. But if your vehicle has suffered fairly extensive body damage, such as major rusting or large holes, dents, creases, or tears in its metal or fiberglass skin, I advise you to forget about trying to fix it yourself unless you have considerable skill in working with your hands and you really enjoy challenging and time-consuming jobs with less-than- perfect results. Amateur attempts usually give themselves away with uneven surfaces or color, and the filler or paint may wear away prematurely if the surface isn’t prepared properly. Instead, rely on a professional body shop for appropriate major surgery. (You wouldn’t try to set a broken leg yourself, would you?) I cover body shops and ways to get the best work for your money in the section, “Turning to the Pros for Larger Repairs,” later in this chapter.

Whenever you encounter a term set in this font, you’ll find it defined in the glossary in Appendix A.

Getting Rid of Rust

Rust, the “heavy” of this chapter, should probably be called car cancer. It arrives unheralded, eats corrosively into the car’s body in unsuspected nooks and crannies, and — if you’re foolish enough to simply paint over it — goes right on with its deadly work unseen. This imagery may seem excessively grim, but I honestly believe that over the years more fine vehicles have given way to the ravages of rust than have been demolished in accidents. The good news is that many modern vehicles have aluminum or plastic pieces, hoods, trunk lids, fenders, and bodies that aren’t subject to rust.

The first line of defense against rust is to wash and wax your vehicle regularly. See Chapter 23 for tips on doing these and other cleaning chores.

Checking for rust

If you live in an area where the streets are salted in winter, where it rains or snows a great deal, or near the seashore — in other words, anywhere your vehicle is exposed to moisture and/or salt — you must be especially vigilant about detecting and getting rid of rust quickly. However, even if you live in a dry climate, you must still make a habit of checking carefully every few months. If you find rust forming, get rid of it before it can do major damage.

The paint on your vehicle is there not only for beauty but for protection as well. Paint and clear-coat finishes help retard rust and, on aluminum parts, corrosion and pitting. As long as your paint job is unmarred, metal body surfaces are safe. But something as seemingly innocuous as a small scratch can spell the beginning of trouble. Check the following trouble spots:

Small scratches, nicks, and spots where the paint may have flaked off: Touch up the paint in those areas before rust or corrosion can form on the bare metal (see “Touching Up Your Paint Job” later in this chapter).

Dark spots in the paint, which may indicate that the metal is rusting underneath: If you find these spots, read the next section to find out how to take care of the problem.

Pitted places in the paint and on the chrome and metal trim: Treat these spots with rust remover, following the directions on the package. Look for a rust remover that’s safe to use on painted surfaces, and test the stuff on a small, hidden area first to make sure that it doesn’t affect the color — no matter what the package says.

Another prime breeding ground for rust is any place on a vehicle where grime, dirt, or salt can accumulate. These areas are usually around fenders, under trim, and so on. Pay special attention to the following tips when you look for rust:

Each time you wash the car, take a flashlight and check around the fenders, in the wheel wells, and behind metal bumpers.

Shine a light into the little crevices between the car body and all the trim and moldings that are affixed to it. Look all around the lights, windows, side mirrors, sunroof, and antenna, too.

If you live in a damp area, check the metal surfaces inside the vehicle, and don’t forget to check around the window frames.

One of the most insidious places rust forms is under your vehicle, where you can’t see it. The next time you bring your car in for service, have the shop put it up on the hoist and check its underbody thoroughly. If you’re afraid that the shop won’t be thorough enough, ask them to let you have a look around while it’s up there. Some shops won’t allow this because of liability issues, but if you’ve built up a good relationship with an independent technician or service writer, they may be willing to sneak you in.

Even if you have a vehicle with plastic or aluminum (and therefore rust-proof) body parts, the underbody is steel and therefore still the most sensitive area where rust is concerned. I’ve ridden in venerable old cars where the floorboards had rusted through so completely that I could see the road flash by below. And if rust attacks the frame, Old Faithful can be on its way to the Great Car Lot in the Sky before you know it.

Dealing with any rust you find

Okay, the worst has happened: You find some rust spots on your car. Don’t panic: You still have time to save the patient — unless the rust has gone too far. If the rust is underneath the vehicle, on the underside of the body or bumpers where it doesn’t show, or still confined to very small areas that can be touched up easily, you can probably take care of the matter yourself. Here’s what to do:

1. Gently scrape away the rust with a single-edged razor blade or fine-grain sandpaper.

For slightly larger painted areas, use a brush with stiff (but not metal) bristles. Use coarse sandpaper to grind the rust off large areas that are out of sight and not surrounded by paint. Rust remover can make this job easier if you apply it after you get the crusty stuff off the surface.

Always work inward from the edges to avoid extending the area by damaging the paint. Don’t turn a small job into a large one by carelessly damaging the surrounding paint!

2. After you’ve removed all the rust, apply some rust arrestor to keep the rust from spreading further.

3. As soon as the area is dry, prime and paint it to protect the surface and restore it to its former beauty. See the “Touching Up Your Paint Job” section later in this chapter for details.

If you see large rust holes in the body of the vehicle, or if the frame has been badly weakened by rust, get a couple of estimates from reliable body shops on what repairing the damage would cost. Then check those estimates against what your vehicle is worth by looking up the blue book value by make, model, and year at the Kelley Blue Book site (www.kbb.com) or Edmunds’ site (www.edmunds.com). If you’re not computer savvy, call your local bank, insurance company, or loan agency or look in the Classified section of your newspaper to see what vehicles of that make, model, and year are selling for these days. If your vehicle seems worth the effort and money, and is mechanically sound, bite the bullet and get it fixed professionally. Otherwise, it’s time to get yourself another set of wheels.

Undercoating to prevent rust

Special undercoating, which prevents rust from forming on the undersurface of a vehicle, works quite well if the vehicle is so new that absolutely no rust exists. Thankfully, most modern vehicles have already been dipped, frame and all, in rust inhibitors before being primed and painted. So if I were offered undercoating as a dealer option on a new vehicle, I’d refuse it. However, if you drive a much older model and are considering having it undercoated (or doing it yourself), consider these points:

If rust is already present on the underbody, undercoating simply locks the rust away, where it continues its insidious work unseen. Have all the rust removed and a rust arrestor used to destroy any rust that may have been overlooked, and then have the undercoating applied.

Spray undercoatings designed for amateur use are probably better than nothing, but continue to watch closely for rust after applying them. If you decide to try one of these, work in a well-ventilated area.

Don’t spray the undercoating (or anything else, for that matter) on any cables, pipes, or parts that get hot. Otherwise, they’ll smell awful when the heat hits them.

Removing Small Dents and Dings

Although you need special tools and equipment to yank, hammer, or otherwise coax large dents in damaged steel body parts back into place, taking care of little dents and dings is another matter. This type of damage responds to simple measures and may not require much work at all, even on aluminum and plastic parts. Here are some situations that you may want to tackle:

If the paint has simply flaked or has been scratched off the surface, follow the instructions for touching up paint later in this chapter.

Before you prime and paint the vehicle, take care of any rust, dings, or dents that you find. By taking care of all these things at once, you can then put a final coat of paint on all of them at the same time and have a car that looks wonderful.

If a steel surface has been pushed in and hasn’t been badly creased, you can try to pop it back into place with a rubber plunger (the kind they call a plumber’s helper). Just moisten the edge of the rubber, place the plunger over the dent, establish suction by pressing down on the handle, and then pull it toward you. It may take a couple of tries before the metal pops back to normal. This technique works especially well on large expanses of metal, such as doors and fenders, if they have only been bent inward. It may work on aluminum as well as steel, depending on the size of the dent, but it doesn’t work on plastic body parts.

If you have small dents in a steel part, you can attempt to hammer them out by placing a flat piece of metal (with a rag wrapped around it to protect the paint from scratching) on the outer side of the vehicle and banging the dent from the underside with a flat-ended hammer. Be very careful to bang only the underside of the dent and not the surrounding area, or you’ll end up with a couple of new bumps to deal with. Work from the shallow sides of the dent toward the deeper areas and avoid overworking the metal, which stretches it.

Don’t try this with aluminum, which can stretch, or plastic, which is likely to crack.

If you have very small dings or places where the paint has chipped, you can fill them in with glazing putty, which is very easy to handle. Use a putty knife to apply it, following the directions on the package, and then prime and paint the area. If the damaged area is larger than a very small, shallow ding, you need to resort to a body filler designed specifically for a steel, aluminum, or plastic body. The next section tells you how to use this material.

There are inexpensive specialty shops that just fix dents and dings. Many of these “paintless” dent-repair specialists are mobile and will come to you. Always get an estimate before you commit to doing any bodywork yourself. Having the work done professionally may cost you so much less in time and effort than struggling through a learning process that it will be cheaper in the long run!

Filling Small Dents and Holes

Dents and holes can be repaired in one of two ways. As I mention earlier, you should have large damaged areas repaired by having a professional replace or straighten the body panels. You can fill smaller indentations with body filler.

Many people refer to the process of using plastic body filler as bondoing. Although “bondo” has become a synonym for all car body fillers, Bondo is really the commercial name of a wide variety of auto body-repair products manufactured by one company; each product is designed for a specific body material.

Many compounds are on the market for filling small holes, dents, and creases in the surface of your car. Buy a good-quality product designed for the type of material your vehicle’s body is made of (the cheap stuff may break loose or flake away) and follow the directions on the package closely.

Most kits contain at least two substances: the filler and a hardener that you mix with the filler before you use it. Check carefully at the auto supply store to find the kit with the easiest instructions that can do the job for you as simply as possible. The salespeople should be helpful if you tell them that this is your first attempt at bodywork.

To give you an idea of how to apply body filler, here are a few general instructions that suit most situations (but be sure to read and follow the directions on the product you buy):

1. Clean the body area thoroughly to remove all traces of dirt, wax, or rust. (See Chapter 23 and “Getting Rid of Rust” earlier in this chapter.)

2. Sand the area using #180 or #220 aluminum oxide sandpaper or the type specified for your vehicle’s plastic or aluminum parts.

The salespeople at the auto supply or auto paint store can help you make the right selection. Because body fillers don’t stick to paint, you must sand the area. When sanding, be sure to feather-edge (blend) the paint edges to prevent the old paint from chipping up through the new paint in the future and to ensure a good bond. Gently work inward from the edges of the dent to avoid enlarging the damaged area.

3. Mix only as much hardener-filler as you’re going to use right away.

4. If there’s a hole in a metal vehicle’s body, place fiberglass screening or fine aluminum chicken wire beneath the hole (on the underside of the body) to keep the filler from falling out. If you have a fiberglass or plastic part, use the appropriate patch kit available at your local auto supply or auto paint store.

Be sure to clean the area under the edges of the hole thoroughly to get rid of any dirt or paint that may be present. Then mix a very small proportion of filler and hardener and apply it to the edges of the screen and the edges of the area to be patched in order to hold the screen in place. If the kit contains no applicator, use a putty knife or plastic pot scraper to apply the filler. Let the screen patch dry for several hours before moving on to the next step.

5. Apply the plastic filler, working slowly and carefully to avoid spreading the filler outside the dent or hole and marring the surrounding area.

After you finish, the filled portion should be slightly higher than the surface of the car around it.

6. As soon as the filler starts to harden (about to the consistency of hard cheese), use a perforated file to bring the level down almost to the level of the paint.

7. Wait at least 20 to 30 minutes until everything is bone dry; then sand the area with medium-grain sandpaper until it conforms perfectly to the surrounding body surface.

8. When everything is smooth and even, prime the area and touch up the paint.

You can use primer as a last layer of filler to fill tiny holes or irregularities. Apply several layers of primer, sanding each layer with a sanding block, until the area appears perfectly smooth. (To check that it’s smooth, wet the primer and look at the way light reflects off the surface.)

Touching Up Your Paint Job

The techniques used to paint the body of a vehicle can vary depending on the size of the area you’re working on and the original paint and finish. Unless you have an experienced and steady hand (and the car’s original paint hasn’t faded or changed color since it was new), it’s almost impossible to conceal the fact that you repainted anything larger than a small area. Larger areas require spray-painting, which must be done in a well-ventilated area that’s free from dust and dirt. So if the area you need to paint is large, it will probably cost you less in time, money, and effort to have the job done by a professional who can match the paint and do the job right.

Never attempt to do a major paint job on a good vehicle without trying your hand on an old wreck first. If you practice on a junker, you can afford to make mistakes — because even a bad paint job can increase the resale value of a car that’s practically worthless to begin with.

If you want a cheap but decent job that will last a year or so, find out where local car dealers take the used cars they get as trade-ins to have them spiffed up before resale. To save money, you can remove any rust, spot-fill, and paint the small areas yourself, and then have the rest of the job done professionally.

On the other hand, touching up a small spot with a little bottle of touch-up paint is easy. Before you start the job, mask the surrounding area well and use even, sweeping strokes to apply the paint. (Follow the directions on the can carefully.)

Practice on a piece of scrap metal before you tackle the car, and don’t expect the results to look terrific. Follow these steps:

1. To find the right paint color you need, look on the firewall of your vehicle — you should see a little plate with the body number and paint code number on it.

If you can’t find the paint code number, consult your owner’s manual or ask your local dealership where to find it.

2. At the dealership’s parts department, buy a little bottle of touch-up paint that matches the code number.

If that’s not possible, your local auto supply store should have a chart that indicates the proper paint to match your vehicle’s make, model, and year. If you can’t find the right paint at either source, call a professional auto paint supply store. They’re also often good sources for semiprofessional advice.

Touch-up bottles of paint usually come with a brush or applicator in them. You also need a small bottle of primer unless the paint specifies that it isn’t required.

3. Make sure that the area is rust-free.

If the damage is only a deep scratch or a tiny spot, you may need just a dab of rust arrestor to stop the rust from continuing to form under the new paint. If the area is any larger, you must remove all the rust carefully, following the directions in the earlier section, “Dealing with any rust you find.”

4. Sand the spot carefully with a small piece of #220 sandpaper to rough up the surface so that the primer adheres properly.

5. Wash the area thoroughly to remove any rust arrestor, dust, dirt, filler residue, and wax; then let the area dry completely before you apply the primer.

Primer is used to seal a metal surface against rust and to provide a surface for the paint to adhere to. Primer also fills in tiny holes and imperfections in the surface.

If you’re dealing with a surface scratch or a chip that isn’t down to the bare metal, you can probably get away with simply applying the paint. But never apply paint to bare metal or plastic. If a bare spot is exposed, or if the spot is larger than a fraction of an inch, prime the area first.

6. Use a tiny brush or a matchstick to apply the primer sparingly.

You shouldn’t need more than a drop to cover the damaged area. Avoid getting primer on the original paint. If you do, wipe it off immediately. Let the primer dry thoroughly before moving on to Step 7.

7. Mix the paint in the touch-up bottle thoroughly to blend the color pigments properly.

Unless your vehicle is very new, the color probably won’t match exactly (which is another reason for keeping the area as small as possible). The paint on new models doesn’t fade as quickly or badly as old paints did.

8. Apply the paint, covering the surface of the spot completely and working inward from the edges.

If you’re painting a scratch or a very small area, you can cut down the brush or use a matchstick or toothpick instead. The paint should be no thicker than the surrounding surface or it will show, run, bubble, or peel off.

9. Wait several days for everything to dry completely, and then polish the whole vehicle to blend in the painted area and bring everything to a high gloss.

10. Give the car a coat of wax or polymer to protect your hard work (see Chapter 23).

Installing New Weatherstripping or Patching the Old

Whistles and leaks inside your vehicle are usually the result of worn, torn, or faulty weatherstripping (the gaskets that you find around the doors, windows, the sunroof, and the trunk opening). If the interior or trunk gets wet when you wash the car or when it rains, use a garden hose to locate the areas on the weatherstripping that let the water in. If the windows whistle when you drive with them closed, check the weatherstripping for the cause of the sound effects. (If you notice leaks under the vehicle, see Chapter 20 for ways to find the source and eliminate the problem.)

If your old weatherstripping is in pretty good shape but is admitting air or water in one or two small areas, try applying weatherstripping adhesive under the loose portions, or use a clear silicone sealer (which comes in a tube) to seal around the areas that leak.

If the weatherstripping is old, dried, cracked, or worn, you can probably buy a whole new piece designed for your vehicle’s make, model, and year at your dealer’s service department.

To install new weatherstripping, follow these steps:

1. Check to see whether the new weatherstripping is the same as the old piece you’re replacing.

The piece should be the same shape and thickness and should have holes, channels, and rubber studs on the inner side that match the ones on the original.

2. Remove any screws and gently peel off the old weatherstripping, prying any rubber studs out of the holes they’re inserted into without damaging the paint or scratching the surrounding trim.

If the weatherstripping is hard to remove, spray weatherstripping remover around the area and wait until the adhesive softens before continuing.

3. Use weatherstripping remover to remove any old adhesive that remains on the frame after the seal is gone.

4. Insert the new weatherstripping into the frame to make sure that it fits the holes and contours of the frame. Then gently remove it.

5. Make sure that the new weatherstripping is clean.

Either rinse it off and dry it thoroughly or use fine-grain sandpaper to remove any unauthorized bumps and rough spots.

6. Apply weatherstripping adhesive (it comes in a tube) sparingly to the strip and to the surface of the frame.

7. Before the adhesive dries, replace the new weatherstripping, making sure that every rubber stud or other fastening device is in its hole securely.

8. Replace any screws that you removed, and make sure that the ends of the weatherstripping meet and are glued down securely.

A quick and easy way to patch things up if you don’t care how they look is to get a roll of black household weatherstripping about 1/2 inch wide with an adhesive back and simply stick small pieces of it onto or under the weatherstripping in the trouble areas. This stuff is also useful for keeping camper hatches and sunroofs from leaking or banging if they don’t fit quite perfectly and for keeping rain from coming past the rubber sleeve where the camper shell meets the cab of a truck. You can always use it around the house, too!

Dealing with Damaged Windshields

Windshields can easily collect pits and cracks from flying pebbles and other debris. It’s vital that these be repaired immediately — no matter how small — because, as you continue to drive, they will inevitably grow in size, obscure or distract your vision, and ultimately destroy your windshield. How you deal with windshield damage depends on the size of the crack or pit. This section discusses your options.

Generally speaking, if the windshield damage is less than one inch in diameter, it usually can be repaired. If it’s much larger, you’re probably better off getting a new windshield installed instead of paying a professional to repair it, only to have the weakened area give way at a future date.

If the damage is really tiny, you can try one of the windshield glass repair kits on the market, but their durability and whether they render the site irreparable by a professional is still under debate.

If any damage is right in your line of vision, repairing it may not be the safest way to go. Have the windshield replaced with a new one as quickly as possible. It’s not a great idea to get a used windshield from a wrecker because it may have tiny flaws, and it must be installed professionally anyway. Because airbag deployment creates stress on windshields and is designed with a specific windshield in mind, don’t risk a part that isn’t OEM. That bargain could cost you your life in an accident. For this reason, have the work done by a windshield specialist you can trust. In many areas, mobile windshield replacement companies will do the job right in your driveway.

If you can’t get to a repair facility right away, gently put some transparent tape over the damage to keep it from spreading and try to drive as little as possible. Don’t touch the damage, try not to get it wet, and don’t run the air conditioner, heater, or defroster because moisture and changes in temperature can accelerate its growth.

Turning to the Pros for Larger Repairs

If, for any reason, you feel that it’s wiser to have a professional make repairs, in order to ensure that you get the best work at a reasonable price, you must be able to choose the right shop, make the best decision about the type of parts you feel are acceptable, and check to be sure the job’s been done properly. This section helps you accomplish all these tasks efficiently.

Evaluating body shops

Body shops run the gamut from small back-alley paint booth operations to high-tech specialists with space-age lasers, computerized sonar, electric eyes, and robots that scan, measure, and repair auto damage and alignment electronically. Some shops still mix colors by eye and formula, and others use computers and scanners that match even faded colors perfectly.

To protect the environment, find a shop that filters, recycles, and disposes of waste materials in an ecologically sound manner even though some states and provinces still don’t require it. If you need to locate a reliable body shop, consult the sections in Chapter 22 on finding and evaluating a good service facility. Then use the following tips to pick the best one:

Take a look around the shop to see whether they remove — or at least properly mask — chrome, trim, rubber, locks, door jambs, and handles to prevent paint from getting on them.

Look along the sides of finished vehicles. The light reflected off the restored surfaces will reveal whether they’re smooth and shiny. Does the color match the rest of the vehicle exactly?

Get at least three estimates. Each estimate should include a list of all the parts that need to be replaced or replated.

Ask the owner or manager the following questions:

• Do you have the latest high-tech equipment? If your vehicle has been damaged extensively and is covered by insurance, go for the most sophisticated setup you can find. If damage is relatively minor and you’re paying for it yourself, a good job done with more traditional equipment at a lower price may suffice.

• Do you do all the work in-house, or do you send some of it out? Tell them that you’ll want to see invoices for any new parts and outside labor involved. If trim must be sent out for plating, you may save money by arranging to take it there and pick it up yourself.

• What guarantees or warranties apply for parts and labor? Unless your insurance company guarantees the work it authorizes for the life of the vehicle, make sure that you’ll be covered by the shop, if problems occur.

• How do you prepare the surface of the vehicle before you paint? If steel body panels (not aluminum, fiberglass, or plastic) are to be replaced, will the new ones be galvanized to protect them from rust? If old paint is stripped away from steel surfaces, will the bare metal be treated if the galvanized zinc layer has been stripped away? What kinds of primers does the shop use to ensure that new paint will adhere properly, especially if parts being painted are aluminum, fiberglass, or plastic?

• Which sealants, coatings, catalysts, and hardeners do you use to protect the newly restored surfaces? They should be the same, or at least as good, as those on the rest of your vehicle, or the restored areas will age prematurely when exposed to the elements.

Choosing parts

Unless your insurer specifies that only OEM parts be used, body shops should offer you several options on the type of parts they buy for your vehicle. Used parts of all kinds can cost half as much as OEM equipment, but if you have to pay for the parts and labor to replace low-quality parts often, they can end up costing you more. As an environmentalist, I favor anything that can be reused, so here are the pros and cons for each type of part that may be available:

OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts are supplied by the original automobile manufacturer. They may cost more, but they’re under warranty, designed for your vehicle, and often are more durable.

Replacement parts are made by independent companies called aftermarket suppliers. They can range from poor quality to as good as OEM. Discuss with your body shop the origin of any aftermarket parts they propose to use and their warranties.

Rebuilt parts are used parts that have been taken apart, cleaned, and readjusted — often by hand from kits — until they’re “as good as new.” Be sure that these parts are guaranteed and are from a reputable source.

Remanufactured or factory rebuilt parts usually have been rebuilt on an assembly line by a major company and repackaged for resale like new parts. How good they are depends on the standards of the remanufacturer. Entering the brand name into your favorite Internet search engine to do a bit of research can help here.

Recycled parts can range from used parts of questionable quality fresh from a junkyard to higher quality parts in good condition. They’re always cheaper but usually come with a limited warranty or none at all. If you have a reliable mechanic who knows how to choose wisely, and you want to save money and be environmentally responsible, the risk may be worth it. Recycled parts decrease not only what ends up in landfills but also the energy and toxic materials used for rebuilding or reconditioning.

Reconditioned parts usually are used for old vehicles whose manufacturers no longer provide OEM parts. Quality depends on the source, but the parts should be in spiffy condition with worn components replaced or rebuilt and all the rust removed. Warranties, if they exist, are limited and usually don’t apply to labor.

Checking bodywork

When the work on your vehicle is finished, check it carefully before you leave the shop:

Check light reflected along the repaired surface for ripples, bumps, or depressions.

Make sure that the edges of the hood, rear deck lid, sunroof, and doors are smoothly aligned with the body of the vehicle.

Check whether the inside edges of the doors, hood, and trunk are neatly painted, or whether the old paint shows through.

Look for unpainted spaces around the edges of door handles, chrome, and other fittings. For painting, these parts should be removed rather than masked so that the paint extends under them and protects the area from rust. If inadequate masking has allowed the paint to overspray these and other unpainted surfaces, refuse to pay until the unwanted paint has been completely removed.

Compare newly painted parts to other areas to be sure that the color matches the older paint exactly.

Because bodywork requires such expertise, buying a new bumper or piece of trim (or locating an unflawed one at a wrecker’s) is often less expensive than restoring the damaged part. Many modern vehicles have thin body panels that are designed to be replaced rather than repaired. They crumple so easily that they’re as difficult to straighten as tinfoil, and it’s cheaper and easier to have a new panel installed and painted.

If extensive areas of a metal car body need to be repaired, have those damaged body panels replaced rather than filled in with body fillers. It’s a good idea to ask each body shop you consult whether they plan to replace large, damaged areas with sheet-metal body panels welded in place of the old ones or if they plan to straighten the old panels and finish them with a thin skin of filler. Many vehicles are still made primarily of steel with plastic bumper covers and trim pieces, but a growing number use aluminum for door skins and hoods, and a few have all-aluminum or all-plastic (including fiberglass) bodies. A good shop will have no difficulty working with plastics or with aluminum body parts. But if you have an all-aluminum vehicle and have sustained underbody or frame damage, make sure that the shop is certified to work on aluminum.