Body & Frame Repair
Structural repair, measured to your vehicle's published specifications.
Learn moreMetal & Aluminum Repair
Steel and aluminum panel work, each with its own tools and methods.
Steel and aluminum are not interchangeable, and a shop that treats them as though they are will produce work that fails. The two metals behave differently under heat, they respond differently to being worked, and they cannot share tooling or workspace without risking contamination. Aluminum body panels are now common well outside the luxury market, so this distinction matters on ordinary vehicles.
Why the two metals are handled separately
Steel tolerates heat and can be worked, stretched and shrunk within a reasonable range. Aluminum is far less forgiving. It work-hardens quickly, it has a narrower window before it cracks rather than bends, and it often requires heat applied in a controlled way to be reshaped at all.
The bigger issue is contamination. Steel particles left on aluminum cause galvanic corrosion, which eats the panel from the contact point outward and does not show up until well after the car has left the shop. That is why aluminum work requires its own tools and its own separated area rather than shared equipment wiped down between jobs.
What the repair involves
We identify what the panel actually is before touching it, since visual identification is unreliable and a badge on the tailgate tells you nothing about which panels are which. From there the panel is either worked back to shape or replaced, using the joining method appropriate to that metal and that vehicle. Aluminum panels are frequently bonded and riveted rather than welded, and substituting a welding repair where the manufacturer specifies bonding produces a join that is not as strong as it looks.
When this repair is typically needed
Any collision damage to hoods, doors, fenders, tailgates or bed panels on vehicles that use aluminum for those components. Also corrosion repair, and situations where a previous repair used the wrong method or the wrong materials and the panel is now failing.
What to expect
We will tell you what your panels are made of and what that means for the repair. We accept all insurance companies and bill carriers directly.
About this repair
Often you cannot tell by looking, and the same vehicle regularly uses both across different panels. We identify the material before starting rather than assuming from the model.
Steel particles transferred onto aluminum cause galvanic corrosion, which works outward from the contact point and appears long after the repair. Separate tooling and a separated work area prevent that transfer.
Many can be repaired. Aluminum work-hardens and has a narrower range before it cracks rather than bends, so the assessment is more conservative than with steel, but replacement is not automatic.
Bubbling under paint on an aluminum panel often indicates corrosion, which can follow from steel contamination or an inappropriate repair method. Bring it in and we will tell you what we find.
Related
Other repairs we handle
Dent Repair & Paintless Dent Removal
Door dings and dents, including paintless dent removal where the original paint can be saved.
Learn moreAuto Body Paint
Color-matched paint, blended into the panels around the repair.
Learn moreGet this repair estimated
Send a few photos of the damage and we will tell you what the repair involves.