How much do you spend on cars every single year? While most people don't think too seriously about what a car costs, the fact of the matter is that vehicles can be incredibly expensive, especially if you aren't looking after your car properly. I started thinking about how to manage my vehicle a few years back, and it was really fascinating to see how much we needed to do to take care of things. From moving forward with repairs to identifying simple changes that had to be made, it was invigorating to explore everything we could do to make a powerful step in the right direction. Check out this blog for great information about car care.
For many people, auto body repair may seem like an old-fashioned industry. Painting, pulling dents, replacing panels, filling in gaps — for the laymen, it can appear as if these techniques haven't changed much in the last few decades. The reality, of course, is far different. Technology has made its way into the auto body repair world just as it has in every other industry. While plenty of auto body shops are sticking to tried-and-true methods, they are supplementing those time-tested techniques with new technologies and methodologies. Keep reading to discover how the inevitable march of technological progress may affect your next trip to a collision repair center like Select Collision Group.
Computerized Measurement Systems
You might be surprised to learn that accurate measurement plays a crucial role in damage assessment and repair. Most modern vehicles use a unibody design, which means that the body and frame of the car not truly separate in the same way as older body-on-frame vehicles. In practice, this means that every panel on the car may play a critical part in its overall structural stability. Because of this, determining if a vehicle has suffered "frame damage" following an accident can be challenging. Despite the difficulty, this is an essential determination to make since uncorrected structural problems can reduce the stability and safety of the vehicle.
To get around this problem, modern shops use computerized measuring equipment to check the condition of a vehicle's frame and alignment. These systems contain data provided by vehicle manufacturers so that body shop technicians can determine if the current state of the car aligns with the manufacturer specifications. These systems are so critical to modern repair that some insurance companies will only work with body shops that make use of them.
Spectrophotometry
This complex-sounding name describes a device that has almost single-handedly transformed the world of paint color matching. A spectrophotometer measures color so that technicians can closely match the paint on existing panels. Technology like this is transformative because paint-matching was previously a highly subjective skill that could lead to inaccurate matching even when performed by experienced technicians. Since vehicle paint fades and changes color over time, matching existing panels is essential to create a seamless repair job. Combined with blending techniques used by highly skilled painters, spectrophotometry helps to guarantee that your paint looks consistent even after an accident.
Specialized Diagnostic Systems
Of course, collision repair is more than just a skin-deep process. Modern cars are more computerized than ever, and this means that repair shops must rely on specialized diagnostic tools to understand mechanical damage caused by an accident. These systems are not panaceas, but they help technicians to stay on the right path even when the underlying problem might not be immediately apparent.
Collision repair has always been a complex and challenging field, but new technologies are making it easier for technicians at your auto body shop to return your car to like-new condition. Next time you bring your car to have a dent or ding repaired, remember that a huge array of skills and technologies are being applied to get your ride looking like new again.
Share5 February 2020
