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How Wrecked Cars Are Repaired - YouTube
Channel: Cars Insider
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Narrator: Car crashes
are incredibly common.
[13]
In 2017, nearly 6.5 million car accidents
[17]
took place in the US alone.
[19]
Collision centers use various techniques
[22]
to realign a car's frame,
[24]
restore damaged areas, and correct paint.
[29]
Juan: Here at Hendrick Collision Center,
[30]
we're capable of fixing
anything from a small dent
[34]
to a large repair that
requires structural repair.
[37]
Some of the typical tools that we use
[40]
are our flatliner,
[42]
our frame machine,
[45]
and Bondo.
[50]
If your car is on the frame machine,
[52]
more than likely it's got some
kind of structural damage.
[55]
When you are getting ready
[56]
to set up a car on the frame machine,
[58]
obviously drive it up on the machine,
[60]
make sure that the vehicle is square.
[62]
The second part is you're going to
[64]
go to the computer to figure out
[66]
where your mounting clamps need to go
[69]
on the vehicle.
[70]
We have access to Alldata,
[72]
which is a computer system
[74]
that gathers all the
information from manufacturers
[78]
to be able to repair vehicles correctly.
[80]
You go ahead and get the
car built onto the clamps.
[88]
Then you go to the measuring system,
[90]
and the measuring system will tell you
[93]
where the damage is.
[94]
We have to digitally measure
[96]
the structure of the vehicle
[97]
to ensure that all the components
[99]
are where they need to
be, within millimeters.
[102]
And then you have to reverse the damage.
[108]
When you're operating,
[109]
you have to be mindful
of your surroundings.
[113]
Obviously, make sure that
you're in a safe spot
[115]
and make sure that everybody
around you is safe.
[118]
You have to be very mindful
in observing the damage
[122]
and how it's being pulled out.
[124]
The measuring system is
connected to the computer,
[128]
and you can see numbers
[130]
that will move as you are pulling,
[132]
and you want to get those numbers
[134]
as close as possible to zero.
[141]
The frame machine can
be very intimidating.
[143]
A lot of times the clamps will come off
[145]
and kind of fly around,
[147]
so you have to conquer that fear.
[149]
Not all dents require
such a large machine.
[152]
For smaller and more delicate dents,
[155]
we use the flatliner.
[157]
The first step is to make sure
[159]
that you've recognized your damage.
[161]
For that, we have a special
light that we set up
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so that you can actually see
[166]
all the damage on the panel.
[168]
Make sure that you sand the area
[170]
that's getting ready to be pulled.
[172]
Make sure that you get a good ground,
[175]
a solid ground, before you start
[178]
to put the pulling keys on the metal.
[182]
Not every dent is a straight line.
[185]
Sometimes dents have a curve.
[189]
After you've welded
your keys onto the spot,
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then you begin your pulling process.
[194]
You pick the correct bridge
that you're going to use.
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When operating a bridge,
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it has a handle that has threads.
[202]
And as you turn the thread,
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the handle gets shorter,
[205]
and that's attached to
the bridge and the rod.
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The rod will pull the dent out.
[210]
If you have a dent that's deeper,
[212]
you're going to have to
pull a little bit more.
[214]
If you have a dent
that's not quite as deep,
[216]
you're going to have to turn the knob
[218]
a little bit less.
[219]
Then you need to tap
the crowns of the dent.
[222]
Anytime you have a
dent, it creates crowns.
[225]
The dent doesn't always
necessarily pull out.
[228]
Sometimes you need to
reassess after your pull,
[232]
and you have to maybe
pull in a different spot
[234]
until you've gotten the dent
[236]
as close as possible to
its original position.
[239]
After we use the flatliner,
[241]
we still need to smooth out the dent,
[243]
and that's where the Bondo process begins.
[247]
Bondo can be a fast-drying filler
[249]
that is sandable
[251]
that we use to get the car's body
[253]
as close as we can to its original shape.
[256]
Once you've mixed your
Bondo on your mixing board,
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we have plastic spreaders,
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and that is what you use
to apply onto the dent.
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You have to make sure
that you are applying it
[268]
in the correct spots,
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that you are not applying it too much
[271]
in spots that it's not needed.
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You have to make sure that you are
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very fluid with it
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and that you are keeping
[278]
the correct contours of the vehicle.
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Once you've applied Bondo
and you've sanded it
[283]
and you're happy with the
way that the dent feels
[286]
and it's visually correct,
[288]
at that point,
[289]
you would take the car
over to the paint shop
[292]
for it to be primed.
[295]
One of the first steps of painting
[297]
is to make sure that you clean off
[298]
any contaminants that are on the panel.
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The full replaced part, or
repaired part, is painted.
[306]
Adjacent panels are also blended
[309]
in order to ensure a perfect color match.
[312]
So, the painting process is
different for each vehicle,
[316]
because each repair size is different.
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But in a perfect world, beginning to end,
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it would be reasonable to say
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it would take around two hours.
[328]
I would say it's very
gratifying to fix cars.
[332]
If somebody is in your collision center,
[334]
it's because they had a accident,
[335]
and accidents aren't fun for anybody.
[338]
So it is gratifying when the
customer picks up their car
[341]
and they leave and they're happy,
[344]
and you know that you had a part
[346]
in making this person's problem disappear.
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