PRODUCT TRAINING
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A crash course on collision repair tools
Collision repair shops offer a significant revenue opportunity,
and may be interested in more than just specialty products.
Collision repair, often completed by specialty
shops, presents a variety of challenges for
technicians, which can mean an opportunity
for mobile tool distributors. Distributors not
currently servicing collision repair shops may be
missing out on a significant revenue opportunity.
While collision repair does require some large
equipment that is not practical to stock on a tool
truck, there are plenty of smaller tools that distributors
can carry for collision repair technicians.
And, as advanced vehicle technology increases the
number of sensors that may be damaged during a
crash, you have the opportunity to sell diagnostic
scan tools equipped with pre- and post-scan capabilities
to collision repair shops as well.
Consider stocking the following product categories
to appeal to collision repair technicians:
Dent removal tools
Dent removal tools are a must-have for collision
repair technicians. And, there are a variety of
options depending on the scope of the repair, type
of material and location.
“For minor hail damage on a steel door, a tech
might choose to use a tool such as Dent Fix Equipment’s
Paint-less Dent Repair method, which
gently massages and pushes the dent out from the
back side, eliminating the need to repaint,” says
Geoff Preston, vice president of marketing, Dent
Fix Equipment.
“However, if this same damage was located on
a part of the vehicle that had no access to the back
of the panel, the tech would probably use a glue
pulling method with high strength glue, a pull tab
and a hand puller. If the severity of the damage was
greater, the tech would need to remove the paint
from the damaged area, weld a pulling device to the
panel, repair the damage and send it to the paint
shop for blending,” he explains.
Consider stocking dent pullers for both aluminum
and steel, as different materials will require
different tools.
Grinders, blasters and sanders
Grinders, blasters and sanders are designed for
56 Professional Distributor I October 2018 I VehicleServicePros.com
Photo courtesy of Monti Tools.
preparing surfaces for welding, painting or other
surface sensitive applications.
“These tools provide an excellent cleaning effect
and various degrees of surface finishes ranging from
smooth to course textures,” says Michael Fischer,
president of Monti Tools. Monti Tools is a manufacturer
of professional surface preparation tools.
Welders
Collision repair technicians will frequently face collision
damage that needs to be welded back into
place, and this gives tool distributors the opportunity
to sell equipment that will help them effectively
make these repairs.
Multi-function welding machines allow users
to work with both steel and aluminum panels for
dent repair, so they may be a good fit for a variety
of shops. These machines will often have timer and
heat settings to allow users to adjust for applicationspecific
needs.
“The H&S welding offering will let a user
use MIG or TIG weld steel, aluminum or mixed
metals using a welder with filler rods,” says Eric
Sponhaltz, national sales and marketing manager,
H&S Autoshot.
Kurt Lammon, president of Polyvance, adds
that plastic repair is another consideration when
BY STEFANIE VON RUEDEN
ASSISTANT EDITOR
920-563-1602
Stefanie@VehicleServicePros.com
Grinders, blasters and sanders are designed for
preparing surfaces for welding, painting or other surface
sensitive applications.
/VehicleServicePros.com
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