Today's vehicles are made with many types of fuel-saving materials such as lightweight alloys and covers. It is important for a custom car shop to be aware of the different materials and techniques raised for repairing them.
Custom Car shops and collision repair services consult manuals for instructions repairing bumpers. The different material types require various end materials, removal and installation procedures.
Bumper Repairs
When a plastic bumper is cracked or has a small hole it can be repaired to look pretty well new. Replacing the bumper is wasteful plus it creates unnecessary debris for our landfills. A good, eco-friendly auto body shop will only recommend replacing the bumper if the damage is severe enough that repair time may be considered unreasonable and quality of results is unsatisfactory.
The cost associated with repairing small abrasions, cracks and holes in plastic bumpers is often much cheaper than updating the part. Of path, many collision repair technicians prefer to replace the part and charge a fee for their labor plus mark-up on the asking price of the part because that they lack in cosmetic repair skills plus its easier to warranty the effort.
Working with Plastics
The first step to repairing plastic bumpers is always to identify the material to be able to choose the method with repair. Auto body shops use ISO codes to the parts to identify the different families of plastics. They cross-reference the codes with charts from the suppliers or by accessing reference materials on the internet.
It is important that this collision repair technician determine the type of plastic they are working together with so they know the suitable welding procedure to use to avoid damage to the part.
Some plastics can be welded with the airless welder or hot-air welder; others require a hot glue type with procedure. Tests must be performed and welding procedures ought to be done correctly to stay away from adhesion failure. Some bumpers will melt which includes a slight color change and they'll remain tacky in the area where they have dissolved.
Adhesive Repairs
The bumper repair technician must identify the type of plastic they are working with to be successful with adhesive repairs. Failure to properly identify the plastic results in adhesion-related problems.
Flexibility
Some repair materials are based on flexible and rigid covers. Using the wrong material can result in cracking when the a part is flexed or it might just not provide the correct strength for the repair area.
Cleaning and Prep
Proper cleaning and prep is critical for proper adhesion together with finish. Whether the technician is repairing or updating the bumper, the part will probably need to be cleaned. The bumper being repaired may be dirty from the road; the new replacement part can have contamination on it in the manufacturing process.
Custom Car shops professionals should make use of a low-VOC surface cleaner or maybe a special plastics parts cleaner to help prevent solvents from going too deep into the plastic. If solvents are too harsh, they go deep into the plastic and cause adhesion problems after repairs are accomplished.
This is an overview of the process of working with plastics. Time is money in the auto body market; therefore, many collision repair technicians tend to replace rather than repair plastic bumpers and other parts.
Technology allows us to repair many items that are often replaced. As resources turn out to be scarce and landfills develop into over-full, we really should consider repairing rather than updating when possible.