ALUMINUM REPAIR BEST PRACTICES While customers stand to benefi t from the advantages of aluminum, body shops are attempting to adopt best practices for working with the material while performing repairs. “When it comes to repairing aluminum, the lightweight metal is no more demanding than working with steel. It’s just diff erent,” says Geoff Preston of Dent Fix Equipment (www.dentfi x888. com) – a manufacturer and importer of body shop equipment. Adam Smith of BTB Auto Glass and Body Shop Tools adds that aluminum behaves diff erently than steel. “Steel has a memory,” he says. “It will tend to want to go back to where it was, whereas aluminum doesn’t.” BTB (www.BTBtools.com) is a manufacturer of tools for the auto glass replacement, collision repair and other industries. Perhaps the biggest challenge facing body shop technicians is making an initial investment in the proper equipment to perform body service on aluminum vehicles. Cross-contamination can occur, and as a result, galvanic corrosion can harm aluminum, if the same tools are used for steel body work and then used for aluminum jobs. “Jaguar and Aston Martin and those sorts of companies have been using aluminum for quite a number of years,” points out Smith. “But your average body shop might not see too many Jags or BMWs or Aston Martins, so they didn’t have to worry about equipment. Now that your most-sold vehicle in the country has aluminum on it, they’re going to have to tool up or potentially lose business.” Galvanic corrosion is an electrochemical process in which one metal oxidizes preferentially to another when both metals are in electrical contact in the presence of an electrolyte. To further protect work from cross-contamination, Preston advises that body shops focus on the work environment as well. “Most shops have steel and aluminum work happening in a shared space. Th is means there are airborne steel contaminants that could contaminate the aluminum panel,” he says. “To avoid this, most car manufacturers require their authorized shops install an aluminum dust collecting system and fume extraction. 6 | Collision Repair | AUGUST 2016 “Th ey usually also recommend an aluminum dedicated work room or area with a special curtain.” A SIMPLER FIX Although care must be taken to avoid cross-contamination, Ford offi cials say that in many ways the aluminum-bodied F-150s will be easier to repair than previous models. Examples of simpler fi xes include: • Th e apron tube can be repaired without removing the dash. • Th e fl oorpan and rocker panels can be sectioned instead of being completely replaced. • Th e B-pillar can be repaired without disturbing the roof. “Th e new F-150’s innovative modular structure will signifi cantly reduce time of repair, saving costs,” the offi cials claim. Th ey add that the company has not restricted any dealers or body shops from purchasing Ford’s OEM collision repair parts for the F-150. While recommending shops pursue training and purchase proper equipment for aluminum repairs, Ford offi cials note that the majority of collision repairs to the F-150 can be completed by most body shops today. Th ey add the most common damage is to bumpers, grilles and mirrors as well as regular dings and dents to paneling. NECESSARY EQUIPMENT To make these aluminum repairs, Ford recommends dedicated equipment, including: • Aluminum MIG welding system. Th e welder must be 200V and equipped with Pulse MIG technology. • Aluminum hand and power tools. • Aluminum dent extraction system. Th is system must contain an aluminum stud welder, heat gun, pyrometer, aluminum hammers and dent extraction system. • Aluminum Wet Mix air fi ltration system. Th e dust extraction system must be a Wet Mix technology system and can be a portable or central-installed system. • Work area separation or isolation system. Th e work separation can be an aluminum separation system, i.e. curtain, or a separate room. • Specialized aluminum self-piercing rivet (SPR) rivet gun. “Collision repair technicians working on aluminum should know how to insert and remove rivets, weld aluminum, remove dents from aluminum panels and properly hold the vehicle for parts removal and replacement,” advise Ford offi cials. “Technicians should be trained on, and should always follow, OEM-recommended repair practices.” Th e need for aluminum-specifi c tools and equipment will continue to increase as aluminum bodies gain popularity. “It’s coming sooner than most people think,” says Preston of Dent Fix. “It has long been a desired building material for the super car world for its lightweight properties, which increase performance numbers.” With aluminum, heavy vehicles, like trucks, can drop a lot of weight to improve fuel mileage, and fl eets are always looking for ways to decrease fuel costs, Preston adds. “As manufacturing costs go down, aluminum panels should become the goto source for manufacturers looking to drop weight.” I-CAR offers collision and body repair training developed in conjunction with Ford for dealership staff, independent body shops and fleets. For more information on the 2015 Ford F-150 Training Program, visit: https://www.i-car.com/ Home/Educational-Programs/ OEM-Training-Requirements/ Ford/2015-Ford-F-150- Training-Program. Always follow OEM repair practices.
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