[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by rki2007

This is a very minor issue. Tinkering and painting a running board will cost very less. There is no point in claiming insurance, loosing the NCB and placing a remark in the vehicle service history that the car has visited body shop for a paint job.

Take it to Trend. They will do a good job for you. Do keep us updated.

Damage to the running board is the most difficult to fix. There is no way to access the panel from other side to push it out. It needs to be welded and pulled out.

The running board is a structural panel of the car and unlike door or fender is not easy to tinker.

[rki2007]

Originally Posted by poloman

Sorry, This is not a minor issue. Places like Trend and Sai colorium are most probably going to fill that dent with putty. I had experienced this from Sai colorium. Please take to authorized service center and do proper tinkering.

Sorry I did not get as to what is the major issue in it. I would be happy if you explain.

The A.S.S guys will ask you to replace the entire running panel itself rather than tinkering the existing one. The end effect is that the car owner has to pay for the new running panel + painting costs which will cost a bomb.

I do not know about Sai Colorium but Trend does a good job and that is why you can find so many positive comments on the thread. There are people who are living with the car for more than 2-3 years after having got the tinkering and paint job done by Trends. I think this is reasonable enough period to conclude that we can expect a good quality job from Trends.

If you compare an A.S.S vs any FNG in terms of paint job, any day the A.S.S stands first but do remember you will have to pay more for that.

Let me tell you my way of doing things. If there is a major tinkering and paint job work which will warrant claiming the Insurance then approach the A.S.S otherwise for such small works there is no point in claiming insurance and loosing NCB.

Cheers..

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Damage to the running board is the most difficult to fix. There is no way to access the panel from other side to push it out. It needs to be welded and pulled out.

The running board is a structural panel of the car and unlike door or fender is not easy to tinker.

Trend uses an electrostatic machine to pull out all kinds of dents from outside. There's no push involved, they don't have to reach out to the other side to push out the metal, and I don't think the running board is an exception.

I remember seeing a post on a well done PDR job on the running board of a Polo IIRC,but the damage was lesser than this one.

Edit : I had a minor damage to my Puntos running board and they fixed the dent and repainted it. Just take it to Dinesh or whatsapp the photo to him.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Trend uses an electrostatic machine to pull out all kinds of dents from outside. There's no push involved, they don't have to reach out to the other side to push out the metal, and I don't think the running board is an exception.

I remember seeing a post on a well done PDR job on the running board of a Polo IIRC,but the damage was lesser than this one.

Edit : I had a minor damage to my Puntos running board and they fixed the dent and repainted it. Just take it to Dinesh or whatsapp the photo to him.

Is it electrostatic dent puller? I have never heard the term electrostatic dent puller.

Suction dent puller wont work on running board.

Only option is to use a stud welder to pull the dent out. This requires repainting of the panel afterwards.

[sdp1975]

Dinesh showed me the machine - its an elongated machine looks like a rod and he told me its used to pull the dents out. Maybe its a welder and I could be wrong on the terminology.

In some cases there's no repaint needed, but I've seen the surface to be warm immediately after the PDR job, and they apply water probably to cool it down.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Dinesh showed me the machine - its an elongated machine looks like a rod and he told me its used to pull the dents out. Maybe its a welder and I could be wrong on the terminology.

In some cases there's no repaint needed, but I've seen the surface to be warm immediately after the PDR job, and they apply water probably to cool it down.

You get spot welder to pull the dent but then the paint is history. Second way is to use a glue based dent puller.

Apply glue on a bit then pull the bit using a dent puller (elongated rod)

Here's the video as to how it works. This does not work on panels like running board that easily.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yf_l1wbIkQ

[mazda4life]

Thanks a lot for all the comments and advice, the plan of action that I am suggesting to my friend ( who is still apprehensive to drive in India and especially Bangalore ) is to watsapp the image to Dinesh and then take a call based on the advice he gets from Trend. Will keep the team posted on the progress.

[poloman]

Originally Posted by rki2007

Sorry I did not get as to what is the major issue in it. I would be happy if you explain.

The A.S.S guys will ask you to replace the entire running panel itself rather than tinkering the existing one. The end effect is that the car owner has to pay for the new running panel + painting costs which will cost a bomb.

I do not know about Sai Colorium but Trend does a good job and that is why you can find so many positive comments on the thread. There are people who are living with the car for more than 2-3 years after having got the tinkering and paint job done by Trends. I think this is reasonable enough period to conclude that we can expect a good quality job from Trends.

If you compare an A.S.S vs any FNG in terms of paint job, any day the A.S.S stands first but do remember you will have to pay more for that.

Let me tell you my way of doing things. If there is a major tinkering and paint job work which will warrant claiming the Insurance then approach the A.S.S otherwise for such small works there is no point in claiming insurance and loosing NCB.

Cheers..

Vid6639 has already explained the complexity. I had 3 running board damages similar to the one we are discussing here. First time I fixed it at Sai Colorium. The finish looked good. A few months later my jack slipped and hit the area where repair was done. A big block of metal putty came out exposing a big hole. Now if you call that a good job you can give your new car to these kind of Jugaad guys. Why I am clubbing with Trend with Sai Colorium is because I had similar experience there for a bumper repair. They had the audacity to paint the non coated areas with a paint brush.
Another problem with running board repair is the waterproofing of the entire panel which is constantly exposed to the puddles in rainy season . They can never guarantee this and use some kind of rubberized paint for the panel( Atleast in my Polo to match the grained finish).
Finally I did the tinkering at the service center. They removed the panel, tinkered it and re welded it. The whole job cost 5K where as Sai colorium was charging me 3.5K for their substandard putty job.

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by mazda4life

Thanks a lot for all the comments and advice, the plan of action that I am suggesting to my friend ( who is still apprehensive to drive in India and especially Bangalore ) is to watsapp the image to Dinesh and then take a call based on the advice he gets from Trend. Will keep the team posted on the progress.

I've visited Trend thrice and been happy so far. The last time , Aneesh called me saying that the delivery would be delayed by a day as he could not get the paint to match well and he would have to redo it. He said he did not feel like giving the car back to me with a mismatch in the paint.

I've found these folks to be honest and hardworking. I'm not too worried on the technical aspects and how they do it so long the job is well done.They used to work in HASS earlier and I don't think going to a asc guarantees a better workmanship.

Ask your friend to get a second opinion and estimate from the ASC anyways. Also raise with Trend the concerns with running board repair that bhp-ians here have voiced. If there's a drawback in whatever way they choose to do the repair, they should convey that before doing it.

[mazda4life]

Update: My colleague got a call from Trend , they are willing to do it and would take 2 days and cost around 4K.
Process would be , remove the dents, putty the area and repaint. Have advised my colleague to meet Dinesh in person and talk it over.
Thanks to all for the comments.

Dear SDP, saw you post after I had posted mine, thats a good idea to get a quote from the Trident service guys.

[alphahere]

Originally Posted by mazda4life

Option 1: Is this repairable by body shops like Trend
Option 2: claim insurance and get it done by the dealer?

This can be repaired by any and all body shops wherever you are. The finish just depends on how honest they are and how proud they are of their work. Removing the dent can be done in these ways:

1. Use a dent puller which is a spot welding machine. The points of the machine are welded into the dent and then it is pulled out back into shape. (Reverse action of the dent).
2. Some garage guys who do not have a dent puller will cut that portion of the running board and take it out. Then they will tinker it back into shape and rejoin it back on the body by welding. (I personally do not think this is a good idea)
3. Fill the dent with putty.

On top of this, painting is a complex and time consuming job and not as simple as some garage guys make it seem.

1. After smoothening the tinkered area with metal putty, the paint is sprayed on in a paint booth. Spraying it in an open surrounding will cause dust to settle on the paint and fine spray of paint can get carried by wind and settle elsewhere on the car.
2. The clear coat is sprayed on. The thickness of the coat must be enough to deal with the following steps of polishing it.
3. After this there are 2 or 3 stages of wet sanding with varying grades of emery paper.This will cut out any imperfections on the coat and it will become perfectly smooth. It will minimize the orangepeel effect also that causes the paint to look like an orange peel due to the spray pattern.
4. The sanding will cause the clear coat to become dull like a matte finish. So this is polished with an abrasive rubbing compound using a hi speed rotary polishing machine. The pads of the machine are again changed in steps using varying grades to obtain a very fine finish and to completely eliminate swirl marks. The sanding and polishing of the paint is a very sensitive process because there will be the risk of cutting through the paint if not experienced.
5. On top of this there will be the final touch of waxing and paint protection using a rotary buffing machine.

These steps have to be taken to obtain a mirror like finish. The ASC do not do all this. At least not in those that I have experienced. They just take it into the paint booth after tinkering on the dent, spray the paint and clear coat, let it dry and give it back to us after a light polishing work. In my visit to Trend Automobiles last week I managed to see them working on a newly painted panel on an Alto and a Liva following roughly the same process as above. This finish was not bad. I believe the stages of polishing were less but yes they were doing it at least. Since your colleague's is a new car they may keep a more keen eye on it. They have also got a dent pulling machine which I saw. The only issue that I foresee here is that you might end up with a colour mismatch. They have not invested in a paint mixing machine which ensures the formula matches to a T.

[hserus]

That thing about paint not exactly matching was why, regardless of the fancy names each vendor gives their version of matte white, is just that Easiest possible color match even at a roadside fng that doesn't use paint mixing machines.

[mazda4life]

Thank you @alphahere. Will keep in mind the points that you have so lucidly elucidated. My suggestion to my colleague was to go with trend guys.

[alphahere]

Originally Posted by mazda4life

Thank you @alphahere. Will keep in mind the points that you have so lucidly elucidated. My suggestion to my colleague was to go with trend guys.

Do keep the thread updated when the work is done. Would love to see how it turns out. A few snaps that show off the reflection would be even better. A good bodyshop in Bangalore is always good to know for all Bhpians. Moreover I do not want to run to my hometown in Kerala each time I get a dent in Bangalore! (The bodyshop guy there was the one who showed me how to get such a flawless finish when he repainted my old Uno)

[jeeva]

Originally Posted by alphahere

A good bodyshop in Bangalore is always good to know for all Bhpians. Moreover I do not want to run to my hometown in Kerala each time I get a dent in Bangalore! (The bodyshop guy there was the one who showed me how to get such a flawless finish when he repainted my old Uno)

Well, Satish, Dinesh and company are from Kerala.