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Chapter 8 Nonstructural Panel Repair
Determine if an assistant is required to make the
needed repairs.
Make sure all the required materials are on hand
(sandpaper, filler, etc.).
Decide which buckles will be worked first.
Identify the area that will be filled.
Determine how long the repair will take.
Accessing Damage
Before you can begin the repair of a damaged panel,
various components, such as moldings and trim panels,
must be removed from the vehicle to allow access to
the damage. Look closely at the part to be removed.
This will generally give you clues as to how the part is
attached. Always think about how a part was installed.
Work carefully when removing parts. Plastic parts are
easily damaged if handled improperly.
Body side molding can be bolted, clipped, or glued
in place. For bolted moldings, simply access the back
side of the panel and remove the bolts. To remove
clip-on chrome moldings, push up on the bottom of
the moldings. This will release the clip at the top of
the molding. Then pull the top outward to remove the
molding. Remove the clips from the welded-on studs by
tapping the clips sideways. See Figure 8-6.
Glued-on plastic moldings can be removed with a
special attachment on an air chisel. The flat attachment
cuts the glue between the molding and the vehicle.
Another way to remove glued-on moldings is to heat a
putty knife and use the hot edge of the knife to cut the
glue. The putty knife can be heated with a propane torch.
Make sure the putty knife’s edge is straight. A ragged
knife edge may cut into the molding or the vehicle.
Be very careful when cutting metal-backed or metal-
containing moldings. If the molding is undamaged and
is intended to be reused, bending the molding will ruin it.
If the molding is metal backed and the metal backing is
damaged, carefully grind off the metal from the back side
of the molding. This will allow the molding to straighten.
Plastic moldings may curl up after removal. To solve this
problem, put the molding outside in the sun to heat it.
This will help restore its shape.
Metal wheel opening moldings are screwed into the
wheel openings. Rust often locks the screws tightly in
their holes. To make removal easier, use an air chisel
to vibrate the screws before attempting to remove them.
See Figure 8-7. Do not use the chisel to cut off the
screws; just make them vibrate. The vibration will free
the screws, allowing them to be removed easily.
For access to the back side of a fender, the fender
liner can be removed. In most cases, these plastic liners
are held in place with plastic rivets or bolts. Figure 8-8
shows how to remove a plastic rivet. Bolts are removed
with a socket and ratchet. The wheel may have to be
turned to access all the fasteners. On some vehicles,
the back side of a fender can be accessed by removing
the headlight assembly. See Figure 8-9.
Some hoods have insulated pads that must be
removed to access damage. These pads are held in
place with clips. Use a clip tool as shown in Figure 8-10
to remove the clip. After the clip is removed, the pad can
be easily removed from the hood.
Doors can be quite frustrating to take apart. The
door trim panel can be difficult to remove. Screws may
be hidden behind caps that must be removed to access
Clip
Figure 8-6. The molding has been removed from this
clip. Pushing up on the molding released the molding
from the clip. To remove the clip, push it to one side to
release it from the rivet.
Air chisel Screw
Wheel opening
molding
Figure 8-7. An air chisel can be used to vibrate
stubborn wheel opening molding screws.