Example Repair - 1999 GMC Sierra Pickup

Damage Assessment

         
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As you can see from the image of the odometer this is a very new pickup truck.  It has just 2939 miles on the odometer (ouch!!!) and it still had the dealer's temporary paper tag on it when it arrived at our door step. There is some frame damage that will have to be straightened and the door, cabside, and bedside will all have to be replaced.  Hold on tight, this is going to be fun.

Bedside Replacement

         
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Replacing the damaged bedside is the first order of business.  The factory spot welds are drilled and the bulk of the bedside panel is cut away with a plasma-cutter.  The metal remaining in the areas where the new bedside will be welded is chiseled away with an air chisel.  The new bedside is removed from its shipping container, test fitted to the bed, and welded in place.   Finally, the new bedside is sanded down, the primer/sealer is applied, and the bedside is trimmed in with the appropriate color.  You can see the color has been applied around all the edges of the bedside, the fuel door opening, and around the taillamp opening.   The last image shows that the color has also been applied on the inside of the lower bedside as it is from the factory.  So much for the easy part.  Now the serious work begins.

Cabside Replacement

    
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The replacement of the cabside panel is a little more involved than the bedside replacement.  The first step is to pull out the damaged panel and get it back into shape as much as possible before it is cut off.   This makes it easier to line up the new panel because all the edges where the new panel will be installed have been realigned as much as possible.  You can see in the second image that the truck was chained down on the opposite side while the damage panel was being pulled out.  After the damaged panels are cut off the technician cleans up the mating surfaces and prepares them to start test fitting the new panels.  The new panels are repeatedly trimmed and test fitted until the proper fit is achieved.  At this point the panels are ready to be welded on.  The last image shows the new door installed and fitted.

Cabside Body Work and Trim In

         
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Unfortunately the panels were welded on and the filler work almost completed before I got pictures of it.  The first three images show the final filler work being done and some of the primer applied.  The lower three pictures show the complete panels primed/sealed and the color trimmed in on all the interior and edges.  At this point the vehicle is ready to be hand wet sanded and prepped for final paint.  The vehicle will be refinished with our Sherwin-Williams 2-Stage basecoat/clearcoat system.

Mission Accomplished!

         
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Wow!  The repairs really came out great.   The color match is excellent and the fit and finish on the repaired and replaced panels is top notch.  The repairs were completed in 8 work days.  We often hear from people "once it's been wrecked it will never be right."  That's not entirely true.  If the vehicle is repaired using industry standard repair techniques to the OEM specifications it will be "right".  Will it ever be a non-wrecked vehicle again?  No -  that's impossible.  But it can be made right and safe and service the owner just the same as if it hadn't been wrecked.   Make no mistake.  This cannot be accomplished by taking any shortcuts.   You really have to pay attention to detail, use quality parts and materials, and have a genuine interest in doing every repair right, every time.