The body of your car should get the same kind of attention as the engine, transmission, or other mechanical parts. Regular maintenance and proper care will make the body last longer on your car, but if you do have some rust on the body, getting it fixed properly is essential if you want the car to last for years to come.

Rust Inspection

If you spot some rust on the body of our car or truck and want to determine just how far it goes, taking your vehicle to an auto body shop so a technician can look at the damage and assess just how much rust is there. In some cases, there is just a small amount, but in other cases, the paint can hide rust that had developed behind the paint, and the only way to tell how far it goes is to start grinding the rust and paint off the vehicle.

Removing the Rust

The only way to effectively fix the rust on your vehicle is to eradicate the rust. Often that means grinding the rust away, which removes paint and metal from the car body or cutting out the rusted section of the panel. In both cases, the result is a large hole in the car after the rust is gone, but you can fix the hole, and getting rid of all the rust is critical. 

After the rust is gone, the body technician will make a patch out of sheet metal and weld it in place to fill in the hole in the car, or they may use a preformed replacement panel that will fit in the place where the metal was removed. The panel is welded in place, and the seems blended with a grinder, then the tech will finish the panel with a thin coat of body filler to make sure everything is smooth and solid. 

Paint Repair

Once the repair is complete, the area needs repainting. With today's technology, mixing paint allows technicians to account for facing and weathering of the paint and paint just the area that was fixed using a paint that matches perfectly to the original paint on the car. 

Spot painting the repair can save you a lot of money when it comes to body repair, but if the tech does not match the paint properly, the repair will be very obvious, so check the repair carefully when you pick up your car or truck. If you can stand back and see a difference in the paint color, others will also see it, and you may have no choice other then repainting the car.  

For more information, contact companies like Westside Fender/Body & Refinishing.