Panel beating in Malaga

Repair or replace?

Not every damaged panel should be repaired. We look at how deep the damage is, whether the metal has stretched, and whether the panel carries structural load. A shallow dent in a door skin can usually be repaired. A panel that is torn, badly kinked along a body line, or weakened in a structural area is usually better replaced. The quote tells you which we're recommending and why.

How dents and creases are repaired

• Access from behind. Where we can reach the back of the panel, the damage is worked out with hammers, dollies and pry tools, gradually returning the metal to shape.
• Pulling from the front. Where there's no rear access, such as on sills and some quarter panels, tabs or studs are attached to the outside and the metal is pulled out.
• Shrinking stretched metal. A heavy impact can stretch steel so it pops in and out. Shrinking brings it back to tension so it holds its shape.
• Finishing. Only once the metal is close to its original shape is a thin skim of filler used to get the surface perfectly smooth before paint.

If the dent is small and the paint hasn't cracked, paintless dent removal may be an option instead, which keeps the original paint.

Chassis and body alignment

In a heavier collision the body shell itself can move. The car is measured against the manufacturer's dimensions, and if it's out, it is pulled back into specification on a frame before the outer panels are fitted. That's what makes the doors, bonnet and boot line up again, and it matters for how the car behaves in any future crash.

Welding and rust

Where a replacement panel has to be welded in, or a rusted section cut out and repaired, we do the welding in-house and seal and protect the repair before painting.