Bodywork, painting and refinishing for automotive industry
When it comes to auto body repair and car painting, the modern auto body shop is often called on to tackle a variety of jobs from car dent removal to auto painting to the most complex and involved collision repair jobs that might involve time in the car body shop, the car paint shop, and even ADAS recalibration.
As a collision center, you’re focused on car paint and auto body work. That’s your bread and butter. But things aren’t as simple as they used to be, and auto collision repair is likely going to get even more complex in the coming years.
Car body repair
Some of the old timers, who have worked in the collision repair industry and in a variety of collision shops for decades, can recall a time when car body repair was a lot simpler, regardless of the types of vehicles they’d see in their shops needing body repairs. After an auto damage appraiser looked at the job and submitted a damage assessment, a vehicle that had been involved in an automobile collision usually required a bit of frame straightening, body filler, primer, and then some auto paint in the auto body paint shop. Car paint colors were not as complex as they are today, and after an automotive clear coat and some car buffing, the paint and body shop was ready to release the vehicle to the customer.
Auto paint shop
The modern auto body paint shop deals with materials and processes that those who worked in a body paint shop or a body repair shop years ago simply can’t relate to. We have moved beyond antiquated processes through to innovations in paint chip repair, auto dent repair, plastic bumper repair and replacement, and beyond. With a growing number of car manufacturers taking advantage of innovations in high-performance steel and aluminum construction, today’s auto body repair professionals need advanced tools and techniques, as well as technologies in order to fix these vehicles. In contrast, conversations about bumper dent repair, car scratch removal, or choosing the right auto body primer paint, all seem so basic and almost simple in comparison.
Automotive paint
The automotive industry will continue to evolve, and as it does, the demands placed on collision repair professionals will continue to change. As new paints and finishes come to market, and as new tools and techniques are invented, auto body repair professionals will need to keep pace. The car paint booth of the future may look very different from what we see today. As new auto paint colors come to market, and as new materials are used to build tomorrow’s vehicles, our industry will change and evolve as well. Will we still have conversations about automotive clear coat paint, or auto primer sealer, or even enamel auto paint? Only time will tell. One thing we can be sure of: We’re living in exciting times and it’s only going to get more interesting as the industry continues to change and innovate.