Do-it-yourself car body straightening: technology, features and reviews

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

Straightening repair operations are included in the set of the most common car services. This is due to the fact that the car body suffers as often as the internal filling wears out. At the same time, the restoration of metal structures presents certain difficulties for the performer. Do-it-yourself car body straightening justifies itself as a way to save money, but requires the owner to have the appropriate skills. However, using a suitable modern tool, some types of such work may well be mastered by a non-professional.

General principles and straightening technology

The need for straightening measures arises in cases where the car, for one reason or another, receives external damage to the body. At the same time, we are not talking about light scratches on the paintwork, although its restoration is expected in a complex of similar works. The main task is to correct the metal case or its individual parts that have been deformed. With the help of hydraulic installations, pneumatic equipment and hand tools, effective do-it-yourself straightening of the body is carried out. Technologyinvolves a mechanical impact on the problem area in such a way that the geometry of the body takes its original shape. Depending on the nature of the damage, you should choose the appropriate angle of impact on the dent and the initial site of restoration.

Equipment required

Unlike most repairs that are carried out by car owners themselves, it is desirable to carry out straightening on the site of a special stand - stocks. Thanks to this garage equipment, you can even cope with the restoration of an accordion-folded hood. This effect is achieved due to the stand power drive, which can be represented by hydraulics or pneumohydraulics. For private needs, the first option is quite enough, in which you can count on providing an effort of several tons. The pneumohydraulic force itself is more difficult to organize in technical terms, although the working effect provides a much higher one. In any case, straightening the body on the stand will be a significant advantage for the garage master, regardless of the nature of the operations performed. However, the stocks are not cheap and, of course, require a special place in the room.

Straightening tool

After all, most of the leveling operations will be carried out on the scale of a small repair. But even cosmetic correction of the body requires the use of a special tool. In this case, it will be a set of hammers that differfunctional fittings. In particular, on the market you can buy branded cases from manufacturers of auto tools, which contain hammers with flat, sharp and convex strikers. In addition, the kits include trowel hammers and knurled tools. All this inventory will assist in the process of repair. Of course, the use of hammers alone is rarely enough to straighten a body. Also, the master must be armed with special files, a spotter for spot welding, anvils and locksmith hooks. Each of these tools has its own task, the implementation of which facilitates the overall process of restoring the structure of an automobile body.

Vacuum straightening without paint application

There are often situations when changing the geometry of the surface of the metal base of the body entails the need to damage the paintwork. But with the help of a vacuum pneumatic tool, it became possible to straighten the body without painting by means of special suction cups. The device is superimposed on the surface with damage, fixed with suction cups, and then smoothly restores the line of the structure.

But this method has two significant drawbacks. First, it only works in cases of minor damage. Secondly, it does not provide complete smoothing, but only minimizes the depth of the resulting dent. It is also worth noting an alternative option - this is mechanical straightening, body painting in which it will be inevitable. In this case, on the firststage, physical leveling with a hand tool is used, after which the area is sanded, primed and treated with a paint and varnish coating.

Dent Pulling Technique

This is another way to repair dents, which is based on the principle of minimal contact of the working tool with the surface. In this case, a hook is used that pulls out the indented area, fixing at one point. For capture, a hole is specially made into which the hardware is integrated. In the future, the operation is performed using an inertial hammer. Such straightening of the body may seem inconvenient and time-consuming, but in practice it is more effective than other methods and allows you to cope with large areas of dents. Moreover, even the creation of a technical hole for the hook is justified. After leveling, the hole is sanded and puttied with special solutions.

Percussion correction

In terms of the quality of the result, this is one of the most effective ways to restore the body. Moreover, the same operation is the final one in relation to the above-mentioned procedures that correct large defects. The tapping is performed from the reverse side of the metal sheet, which was previously removed from the body. Most often, such straightening of the car body with your own hands is done with hammers with different nozzles. In this process, the delicacy of the impact on the material and attention to detail are especially important. The fact is that the slightest deviation from the original geometric line canand in the future turn into problems in the process of installing the problematic piece in place. Then the dismantled section is welded and covered with a paint and varnish material.

Reviews on the implementation of self-straightening

In most cases, straightening in the conditions of his garage justifies the hopes. Of course, it is not always possible for home craftsmen to achieve quality at the level of a professional workshop, but there is some success, provided that the right tool is used. But it is not without errors. So, there are often reviews about the improper use of metal heating agents to make it more pliable. Experienced craftsmen emphasize that body straightening with heating requires special skill from the performer, since soft metal is easier to control in terms of molding. For many motorists, the operation of heavy straightening equipment also causes difficulties. This applies not only to stands, but also to winch mechanisms, as well as cables and supporting devices. Experts recommend abandoning such inventory for beginners in automotive repair.

Conclusion

The specificity of body straightening is due to the need to apply force and, at the same time, maintain high accuracy of the operation. That is, the metal should be leveled by means of powerful traction or a one-time intense action, but at the same time, the force must be clearly directed and controlled by the master. Modern tools for straightening the body in many waysfacilitate workflows of this kind, but the importance of the skills of the performer should not be canceled. For example, if the role of the operator is minimal in the basic repair of a body structure using a bench, then small operations to level the surface of a separate area require a certain level of skill. However, tool manufacturers have long offered to deal with such defects with high-precision pneumatic equipment that does not require special training from the user.