The SMART auto body repair method is one of the most common methods that mechanic shops use when repairing the body work on vehicles. SMART stands for Small To Medium Area Repair Technology and is a method used by many auto body shops.
The Principles Behind SMART
The SMART method has helped change the way that body shops approach fixing a damaged car. Before the SMART method came along, many auto body shops would focus on replacing everything that was damaged on a vehicle when it came in, and they would not make any effort to first repair the damage. This required a lot of labor hours and was really expensive
When the SMART method was introduced, the focus on how to fix a damaged vehicle changes. Instead of focusing on replacing everything that was damaged, auto body shops started to focus on how to fix the damaged areas without having to completely replace the damaged parts. This change in thinking cut down on the labor hours it takes to fix a damaged vehicle and in many cases, helped make fixing a damaged vehicle more possible.
What Drove The Smart Method
The change to the SMART method was driven by two different things. First, it was driven by a need to lower repair costs for consumers and make fixing a damaged vehicle more reasonable. Second, auto companies begin to emerge that made products that could be used to facilitate repairing auto body damage. These companies began to make glues, epoxies and fillers that made it possible to fix damaged body sections instead of always having to replace them.
How SMART Works
The SMART way of approaching auto body damage has become so common place, that it is often taken for granted. However, many of the auto body repair techniques that are used to fix vehicles today have the SMART approach to thank.
For example, if the upholstery in your vehicle was damaged before the smart approach, you would have to replace and completely reupholster your car seats. Now, if your upholstery is damaged, repair patches and upholstery glue can be used to fix your seats back up, even if they are made of leather.
Another example is seen in paintless dent repair. Before the SMART method, when you got a dent in a body panel, the whole thing was taken off and replaced, which is time consuming and expensive. Now, a mechanic can use suction methods to pull the dent out or use special filler to fill the dent in, which takes significantly less time and can save you lots of money.
Another good example is repairing a scratch in your vehicle. Before SMART, your entire panel would be sanded down, primed, and painted. Now, there are tools that allow you to apply repair paint at home to small scratches on your vehicle.
The SMART method has changed the focus from replacing damaged areas on vehicles to using tools to repair as much damage as possible without replacing the body panels. There is a good chance that if you go in for some body work, the SMART method will be used to fix up your vehicle and save you money.
For more information, contact a business such as Mach 1 Body Shop Inc.
