How Hail Damage is Repaired

After a hailstorm, it’s easy to notice damage to your car with a bare eye – but is it always worth repairing? If your car was exposed to hail during a hailstorm, more in depth damage could have been done to your car causing massive cracks in the windshield and other serious damage. If you have hail damage, here are the ways we can help make it like your car never saw the storm. 

What is Hail Damage?

Hail damage happens when a hailstorm hits your car or home. The damage varies, but sometimes it can be severe enough to total your car. If you’re driving during a hailstorm, please pull over immediately and get yourself to safety. Hail can cause the windows and glass on your car to shatter, which can easily injure you and your passengers if it gets to that point. If you can’t get out of your car, unbuckle and lie down on the floor of your car. If you have a blanket or other objects to place on top of you and your passengers, do so to protect yourself if the windows begin to break. 

If your car does suffer damage from hail, you’ll need to take it to your mechanic to make sure there was no severe damage. 

Hail Damage Types

Cosmetic

Hail damage is cosmetic when it only does superficial damage to your car’s surface. Most of the time, cosmetic damage only affects the appearance of your car, but it doesn’t affect your car’s ability to function properly. Sometimes, during the hot months, some hail damage can be repaired by the sun, which can help pop the dents out due to the heat. 

Extensive Damage

If your windshield becomes cracked or some of the glass breaks, that’s considered more extensive damage. 

Totaled 

Unfortunately, sometimes hail can cause your car to become totaled. When this happens, it means the cost of repairing the vehicle is far more than the car’s value. Your insurance adjuster will be able to verify if the repairs will be worth it or not, according to The Balance. 

Repairing Hail Damage

Luckily, hail damage can be repaired in most cases. Your insurance policy will more than likely cover any damage your car accrues due to hail. Not only will repairing hail damage help the appearance of your car, but it will also help with its resale value later on. 

Scott’s Auto can help repair hail-related dents and damage. Oftentimes, Carwise explains, repairs are done one of two ways: conventional or paintless repairs. 

Conventional repairs include a couple of ways that a shop will repair hail damage to your vehicle. Those include:

• Remove and replace: this is for more serious damage. They will be removed, replaced, and then repainted to match the rest of the car’s body.
• Finish glazing: this is for minor damage. This involves sanding the paint down, filling the dented area, and then painting over it. 
• Body filler: this is a lot like finish glazing, the paint is completely removed down to the car’s metal, the dent is filled with body filler, sanded and then repainted. This is recommended for medium-sized dents. 
• Traditional heat repair: this is often used on older vehicles which have thicker metal. Heat is applied in a circular motion with a torch to expand and restore the metal, then it’s repaired. 

Paintless repairs remove the need to bond, sand, or repaint.The shop will manipulate the metal from the inside out to reshape and restore the damaged area. This is most effective for small dents, but sometimes larger ones can be repaired this way if paint and metal weren’t too damaged. This method is popular because it’s cheaper, quicker, and uses less chemicals and fillers. 

Call Scott’s

Hail damage can happen to anyone. If your car suffers through a hailstorm, visit one of our two convenient locations in the Fort Collins and Loveland areas to get your car back to normal. Now offering the following free services, we’re here to keep you and your family safe during these uncertain times:

• No contact drop off and pick up
• Pickup and delivery in Fort Collins and Loveland areas
• Towing with repair (restrictions apply) 

Call us today at 970-682-4202 to learn more about what we’re doing to help you and keep you safe.