Auto body repair is the fine art of removing and replacing damaged parts to make cars look almost new again. There are actually several approaches to making a damaged car panel look new. In fact, some of these options are really quite strange, but when you understand how these options eventually work, you may be quite glad that your auto body technician offered them to you.

Scratch "Crayon" or "Marker"

You may have seen these "markers" or "crayons" for furniture repair. They are the exact same color as the furniture, or in the case of your car, the color of your car. The technician has found several tiny little scratches that are barely noticeable until you get up close to the vehicle. However, knowing that the scratches are there and that it is not worth the expense to buff them out, you can just use these scratch crayons or scratch markers to fill in and cover the minute scratches.

Giant Suction Cups

When you have a larger scratch, dent, or slight tear in the door of your vehicle, then the technician can break out the giant suction cups. These devices attach to the vehicle right over the little tear. As they suction hard to the side panel/door panel, they pull the edges of the tear together. Now the technician carefully removes the affected panel, welds the tear from the opposite side, and the door is all good again. If you worry about seeing this former tear, you can use the above auto repair crayons or markers to make the spot disappear.

Replacement Doors in Different Colors

You have probably seen this once or twice. A neighbor had a damaged door. They went to an auto body shop and came back with a door that is an entirely different color than the rest of the vehicle. No, they did not make that choice intentionally.

It is an approach used by the auto body technician for first finding the right make, year, and model of the door, and then later repainting that door to match the rest of the vehicle. When your neighbor is ready to have the door painted to match the rest of their vehicle, they will take the vehicle back to the technician's shop and have the paint job completed. For now, they do not have to wait indefinitely to drive their car or worry about safety issues with a dented door.

For more information, contact your local auto body repair services.