Common Challenges and Solutions for Commercial Truck Body Repairs

The condition of a commercial truck's body is critical to its overall performance. For instance, moisture will seep through and eat away the metal beneath if you do not repair paint issues. Similarly, failure to repair dents leads to premature paint deterioration on a truck's body. Therefore, repairing damage to a truck's body is essential for durability and productivity. However, commercial truck body repairs often encounter challenges that significantly affect the overall exercise. This article highlights common challenges and how to avoid them.

Over Grinding Metal -- When buying commercial trucks, companies look for models with efficient fuel consumption. Thus, lighter trucks made from thin metal mostly get the nod because they offer little resistance to the engine and keep fuel consumption at a minimum. However, repairing commercial trucks with thin metal can be challenging because the risk of over-grinding the surface is heightened. When it happens, repaired spots become weaker than other sites on a truck's body panel. Luckily, it is easy to avoid over-thinning a truck's metal body using low grit sanders. Although it might take you long to grind the paint away, low grit sanders help retain much of the metal, maintaining the structural integrity of a truck's body.

Using Body Fillers in the Wrong Places -- Another common problem that repair technicians face when repairing truck bodies is putting fillers in the wrong places. Notably, modern putty fillers dry fast; therefore, if they get in the wrong places, you might be forced to stop repairs and turn your attention to removing the excess putty filler. Taping off the areas that should not receive putty filler is perhaps the best way to keep the filler within a damaged site. Another trick is to mix putty filler in a tube before application. Putty filler tends to separate after a while and becomes a less viscous liquid; hence, it can easily run into unprotected spots. Therefore, mix the paste properly to restore viscosity during application.

Air Bubbles in Body Filler -- Body fillers must be mixed with a hardener to ensure the mixture hardens when applied to a truck's ground panel. Notably, technicians should use a spreader to mix the filler and hardener rather than a paint stick. One reason is that a spreader is excellent at mixing the filler and hardener, which eliminates hardener streaks. Most importantly, a spreader helps remove air bubbles from the mixture better than a paint stick, which some technicians still use. If you do not remove air bubbles from the body-filler mixture, you will notice pinholes when sanding a truck's panel.

Look into truck repair services near you for more information.

About Me

Restoring my old beauty

I have a gorgeous old car, but the paint work sure let's you know it's old! Unfortunately my uncle had left it outside for many years and even under a tarp the Australian climate is not friendly to auto paint work. I have been trying to get the paint work back as close as possible to the original condition which is harder than it seems as modern paints have a much different finish and texture to genuine vintage paint jobs. This blog is about how to go about finding vintage paints, and faking vintage finishes with modern paints if you can't!

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