Between Google and YouTube, finding something telling you how to make just about any repair on a vehicle is easy. However, if there is one bad component of the ready availability of information, it is the fact that it ca breed false confidence. Even though some auto body repairs may look and sound simple, they can get really complicated once you are knee-deep in a project. If you have a vehicle in need of some cosmetic repairs, you should know that there are some jobs best left to an auto body repair professional.  

Painting your car is harder than you think.

Sanding, primering, painting--it all sounds like a logical process, but the truth is, painting a vehicle can be one of the hardest paint jobs you have ever attempted. Working with auto body paint is much different than working with other forms of paint. The preparation process to painting a vehicle can take many days to comple. And, in general, there is way more room for error with painting a car than the average DIYer will realize until the mistakes have already been made. For example,not allowing enough drying time between coats or choosing to paint a car outside could both lead to shoddy results.

Making aftermarket body changes can be incredibly complex. 

Got in mind to add some molding around your car to make it appear to sit lower to the ground or thinking about putting a lift kit under your four-wheel-drive SUV? Before you grab your tools and supplies to get started, you should know that it can be a lot easier just to leave major body alterations to a professional. Altering the shape of a vehicle can come with so many variable, you never know what type of problems you can run into. For example, if you plan to add flared fenders to a Jeep, you will have to take into consideration things like tire sizes and overall width before making any changes. 

Dent pulling is a lot more complicated than you expect. 

You watch ten different videos on pros using basic tools to po dents out of vehicles, and it looks pretty simple. However, dent pulling is almost always a lot harder than what the average person suspects. Not only do you need skill and experience with this auto body project, you need good tools. Otherwise, yoru dent pulling efforts could just turn into you causing more damage to your car.