Valeting of repaired vehicles

After repair work has been completed, the vehicle

should be presented to the customer in a first-class,

clean condition. All repaired vehicles should

be thoroughly inspected for quality control. The

repairs should be guaranteed for a specific mileage

or period, as required by the Code of Practice for

the Motor Industry and by the VBRA Code. Many

insurance companies now make an allowance for

valeting within their agreed repair price, and this

provides the opportunity for the bodyshop to produce

a first-class factory finish to both the exterior

and interior of the repair.

Premises, equipment and chemicals used

in cleaning and valeting

When cleaning and valeting a vehicle it is essential

to organize a standard method of working to

ensure that nothing is inadvertently missed. The

ideal premises and equipment should be set out

in separate purpose designed working areas.

The cleaning process should be undertaken in

a wet bay with effective drainage, good lighting

and adequate working space all round the vehicle

when its doors are open. Compressed air and highpressure

cold and hot water should be available

(Figure 14.125).

Figure 14.125Wet bay (Autoglym)

Valeting should be carried out in a well lit, dry

bay with adequate working space all round the

vehicle. Compressed air, electrical power points,

warm water, a workbench and storage cupboards

should be available (Figure 14.126).

Equipment, details are as follows:

1 High-pressure hot and cold washer, 70–100 bar

(1000–1500 psi), with chemical throughput

Major accident damage 479

facility to ensure that engine cleaners and traffic

film removers work quickly and effectively

2 Electric/air polisher, 1500–2000 rpm, with polythene

foam and lamb’s-wool polishing heads

3 Fine grade, 100 per cent cotton, polishing cloths

4 Vacuum cleaner and/or shampoo vacuum cleaner

with assorted upholstery brushes and crevice tools

5 Hand-pumped, pressurized sprays for dispensing

engine cleaners and traffic film remover

6 Trigger spray dispensers for interior cleaning,

together with wheel, engine and carpet brushes

7 Good-quality chamois leather, sponges, polishing

cloths (100 per cent cotton, knitted stockinette

type), steel wool, spatula, glass scraper,

buckets, hot air gun (useful for removing PVC

stickers, self-adhesive design trims).

There are many manufacturers and suppliers of

valeting and cleaning chemicals. The wide range of

valeting and chemical cleaners available is broadly

divided up as follows:

Exterior detergents and solvents

Interior detergents and solvents

Interior/exterior rubber, PVC, plastic cleaners and

conditioners

Glass cleaners, paints, lacquer and protectorants

Paintwork polishes and conditioners.

Cleaning and valeting process

Prior to commencing work, check that the vehicle is

ready. All body repairs, paintwork and mechanical

work should be completed. Be aware of areas which

have been newly painted as they may be chemically

or water sensitive. Individual chemical products

carry their own instructions, and health and safety

procedures must be adhered to at all times.

Autoglym recommend the following step-by-step

procedure for cleaning and valeting.

Cleaning: wet bay

1 Remove spare wheel, rubber mats and wheel

trims if fitted.

2 Protect engine air intake and sensitive electrical

equipment (distributor cap, fuse box) with

plastic sheet.

3 Apply degreaser to engine and compartment.

Brush heavy soiling. Alternatively use hot

pressure washer with appropriate detergent

Figure 14.126Dry bay (Autoglym) (Figure 14.127).

Figure 14.127Degreasing engine (Autoglym)

4 Apply degreaser to door apertures and edges.

Brush heavy soiling. Alternatively use hot pressure

washer with appropriate detergent.

5 Clean wheels, trims, spare wheel with alloy

cleaner. Brush brake dust deposits. Treat

bright metal and motifs. Rinse all items well

(Figure 14.128).

6 Pressure wash engine compartment to remove

degreaser. Commence with lower areas. Work

methodically upwards (Figure 14.129).

7 Pressure wash door apertures and edges to

remove degreaser. Carefully angle water jet

away from the vehicle interior.

480Repair of Vehicle Bodies

8 Apply traffic film remover to engine compartment.

If necessary, sponge or brush to remove

grime.

9 Pressure wash engine compartment to rinse

away traffic film remover.

10 Pressure wash wheel arches to remove mud

and debris. Plain water is normally adequate.

11 Pressure wash and rinse bodywork, grilles,

tyres, mudflaps. Pay particular attention to

difficult to polish areas behind bumpers

(Figure 14.130).

12 Apply traffic film remover to rubber mats.

Clean with high-pressure washer.

13 Use air line to dry engine. Remove plastic

sheeting. Check engine starting. Use water dispersant

if necessary. Run engine to aid drying

(Figure 14.131).

Figure 14.129Pressure washing engine

compartment (Autoglym)

Figure 14.128Cleaning wheels (Autoglym)

Figure 14.130Cleaning bodywork (Autoglym)

Figure 14.131Drying engine (Autoglym)

14 Use air line and chamois leather to remove

excess water from bodywork or trim strips

which may trap water (Figure 14.132).

Major accident damage 481

Valeting: dry bay

1 Finish engine compartment. Clean hoses,

wiring, plastic and paintwork with appropriate

dressings.

2 Repaint deteriorated black areas. Use fine jet

matt black aerosol or small spray gun.

3 Clear lacquer engine if required to enhance

and preserve appearance. Close bonnet.

4 Before interior cleaning, remove all loose

carpets, tools, ashtrays and personal items to

the bench.

5 Use glass scraper to remove all labels from

windows. Residual adhesive can be removed

with adhesive remover or water.

6 Remove all plastic labels from bodywork

using hot air gun. Residual adhesive can be

removed with adhesive remover.

7 Vacuum clean all interior surfaces. Slide front

seats forward. Use brushes with vacuum nozzle

to clean crevices and air vents (Figure 14.133).

8 Clean luggage compartment first. Use interior

cleaner by spraying and wiping clean with

cloth rinsed frequently. Check body channels

and rubbers.

9 Wash interior. Start with headlining and use

interior cleaner. Heavily soiled carpets or

seats may require shampoo vacuum treatment.

10 Removed carpets should be thoroughly

brushed, vacuumed and washed on the bench.

Use shampoo vacuum if necessary. Allow to

dry (Figure 14.134).

11 Tools and jack should be cleaned, and repainted

if necessary. Wash out ashtrays.

12 Plastic coated fibreboard may be painted or

stained to cover damage or scrape marks.

Check body sides for tar, and top surfaces

for industrial fallout. Use appropriate cleaner

before polishing.

13 Restore paintwork. Start with roof panel. Use

paint renovator with polisher, or appropriate

cleaner/polish. Hand polish small areas, corners,

edges (Figure 14.135).

14 Apply protective wax coating by hand, ensuring

total coverage of all panels. Leave polish

applied at this stage.

Figure 14.132Removing water (Autoglym)

Figure 14.133Brushing and vacuuming (Autoglym)

Figure 14.134Cleaning carpets (Autoglym)

482Repair of Vehicle Bodies

15 Clean all external body rubber and plastic

mouldings with appropriate dressings.

16 Check all door apertures and rubber seals.

Polish door aperture paintwork with clean cloth.

Treat rubber seals with appropriate dressings.

17 Check all wheels. If required, clean with steel

wool and thinners. Protect tyres with dressing

or mask. Respray wheels and clean tyres.

18 Glass cleaning. Lower side windows. Clean

top edges completely. Close windows. Polish

outside first, then inside. Clean surrounding

seals and mirrors.

19 Interior plastic can be dressed to enhance and

protect appearance.

20 Replace all carpets, mats, spare wheel, ashtrays,

tools, wheel trims.

21 Check interior for remaining imperfections.

Check under all seats, glove box, door pockets.

Finally vacuum clean. Place protective paper

on floor mats.

22 Remove polish. Methodically check all edges,

valances, glasses, lights, grilles. Crevices and

motifs may be lightly brushed to remove polish.

Checklist

1 Check exterior mirrors, all glass and surrounding

seals. Check reverse of interior mirror.

2 Check polish smears, wheel arch edges, front

and rear lower pillars, side sills, door handles,

grilles. Touch in stone chips.

3 Check windscreen wiper arms and blades, air

grilles.

4 Check all light lenses, motifs, number plates

and spot lights.

5 Check door edges and apertures, engine and

luggage compartment, body channels, and seals.

6 Check control pedals and foot wells, especially

under front seats.

7 Check instrument glasses, switches, control

levers, interior air vents.

8 Check all ashtrays, glove box, door and seat

pockets.

14.5 Estimating and costing

Repair or replacement

The repair of all collision damage can be divided

into three categories:

1 Repairing by realigning and reshaping the

damaged section which can be economically

repaired

2 Repairing by removing sections beyond economical

repair and replacing them with new sections

3 Repairing by using a combination of realigning

and reshaping together with the replacement of

appropriate sections.

Before deciding whether to repair or replace, consideration

must be given to the extent and type of

damage, whether it is possible to repair a particular

panel or not (this fact is influenced by the equipment

which is available), and also whether it will

be cheaper to repair or replace any one section.

A good body repair worker would probably be able

to repair almost any part of a car damaged in a collision;

however, the labour and time cost involved

in attempting to repair extensively damaged panels

would be an uneconomical proposition. Only

experience in body repair work will give the ability

to estimate the time required to do a particular job.

Therefore the final decision depends on what is

possible to repair and what is economical to repair.

As the construction of the modern vehicle

advances, body panel assemblies are becoming

very complicated and therefore their cost is constantly

increasing. The cost of replacement parts

differs between one manufacturer and another, and

even between models. In most cases the following

parts are usually replaced rather than repaired:

1 All chrome exterior trim. Owing to the intricate

design and nature of the materials from which

they are made, trims do not lend themselves

Figure 14.135Polishing (Autoglym)

Major accident damage 483

to restraightening, and the cost of replating is

greater than the cost of a new part.

2 Interior trim which is difficult to clean and

repair, especially tears and gashes.

3 Certain mechanical components which it would

be ill advised to repair and reuse owing to their

critical alignment and strength factors.

On mono constructed vehicles the correct positioning

of new panels, which may incorporate reinforcing

members, becomes increasingly important and

calls for expensive jigging to ensure the accurate

alignment of panels which will have to be fitted

with major mechanical components and suspension

units. The highest proportion of any repair

bill is made up of the cost of labour involved in

stripping out to gain access to the damaged area,

and rebuilding after replacement is effected. In certain

cases, therefore, it can be more economical to

repair a damaged panel than to replace it because

of the time and labour cost involved for the amount

of work over and above that required to repair the

part. Consequently in any body repair workshop

the dividing line between repairing and replacing is

determined not only by what it is possible to repair

and what it is economical to repair, but also by the

availability of the most up-to-date equipment to

deal with all types of major collision damage.

Costing

The determining factor when deciding whether to

repair or replace lies in the comparison between

the cost of repairing the damaged part as against the

cost of a new replacement part. When the owner of

a car is personally paying the cost of repairs the

repairer will need to come to an agreement with

him concerning an acceptable standard of repair

for the amount of money the owner is able to pay.

When it is an older car the extra cost involved in

striving for perfection in the repair is not always

justified, since these costs could be more than the

current value of the vehicle under repair. In cases

of this nature a compromise must be arrived at

between the repairer and owner as to the quality of

repair and cost of repair.

Where an insurance company pays for repairs to

the damage of a new or nearly new car, the quality

of the work must be such that when the repair is

finished there is no indication of the damage having

occurred. When an insurance company is paying

for repairs to an older car, and the condition of the

car (in many cases due to corrosion) affects the

quality of the repair, the possibility of achieving

perfection of appearance is limited and a mutual

agreement must be reached between the owner and

the insurance company on a satisfactory quality of

repair. Time is always an important factor in the

repair of collision damage; however, the majority of

car owners are not willing to sacrifice quality of

repair for speed of repair.

Estimating

The ability to estimate can only be gained through

practical experience in the field of body repair

work. An estimate must be competitive to be

acceptable to both the private car owner and the

insurance company, for the majority of collision

jobs are paid for by an insurance company. In

estimating, the financial gain for the body shop

will depend on the estimator’s skill in assessing the

damage, his knowledge and experience in repair

techniques, and the capabilities of the equipment

available.

Small body repair establishments have no separate

estimator and therefore it is usual for the

man who prepares the estimate to be responsible

for carrying out the repair work as well. The larger

establishments employ one member of staff who

is responsible for all estimating, while the actual

repair work is carried out by the tradesmen on the

shop floor. Consequently there must be no lack of

coordination and understanding between these two

and the jobs they perform. The decisions of the

estimator are all important as they instigate the

organization of work on the shop floor. Moreover,

no matter how skilled the tradesmen are, with bad

estimating the financial profits can be drastically

affected.

In collision work the estimate is considered as a

firm commitment to do the work involved for the

amount of money shown, and should be detailed so

that insurance companies or private owners can

determine from the estimate exactly what it is proposed

to do to the damaged vehicle. The estimate

must include cost of parts and labour costs at the

recognized retail rate of the body shop establishment

(Figures 14.136 and 14.137).

In the preparation of an estimate, the crash damage

should be itemized into the number of damaged

panel sections and assemblies, and therefore

it is important to have a knowledge of vehicle body

484Repair of Vehicle Bodies

Figure 14.136Repair estimate

Figure 14.137Bodywork invoice

486Repair of Vehicle Bodies

construction. The outer panels which make up the

body shell should be referred to by the manufacturer’s

recognized names, such as:

Near-side front door (NSF door)

Near-side rear door (NSR door)

Off-side front door (OSF door)

Off-side rear door (OSR door)

Roof panel

Boot lid

Bonnet

Near-side centre pillar (NS centre pillar)

Radiator grille

Near-side front wing (NSF wing)

Off-side front wing (OSF wing)

Near-side sill panel (NS sill panel)

Off-side sill panel (OS sill panel)

Front bumper bar assembly with valance

Rear bumper bar assembly with valance.

In addition this can be further broken down to all

internal panel structures according to the position

of the damage.

It is essential to determine the exact amount

of stripping necessary for either the repair or the

removal and replacement of a damaged section.

To calculate the actual cost of a job it is necessary

to establish a set rate per hour for all repairs done

in the repair shop, and therefore an accurate total

repair time can be calculated on the time taken to

repair each section of the body. This then provides

the actual cost estimate for repairing each section

or part of the job. The retail rate or set rate per hour

is the amount of money that the repairer charges

the customer for labour, and is made up of; wages

paid to the tradesmen; the cost of overheads, which

should include such items as supervision, depreciation

of equipment, rent, heat, light, electrical

power, advertising, telephone accounts, cleaning,

office staff, stationery and postage, and workshop

materials; and also a reasonable amount of profit.

Computer estimating

Computers are rapidly losing their mystique, and

are becoming as indispensable to the bodyshop as

the spray booth and chassis jig. Offering benefits

in all aspects of bodyshop operation, there are

computers and software packages dedicated to

quick and easy repair estimates, stock control,

invoicing and management accounts, paint and

materials, parts list, mixing and colour matching,

job cards, work-shop loading, booking in, job efficiency

reports, invoice production, reports and letters

(Figures 14.138–14.141). Costs have tumbled

and the benefits can be reaped by all bodyshops,

regardless of size.

The key to success in any bodyshop is the

production of an accurate, well presented estimate.

An estimate has to be a clear, concise statement

of what you consider to be a fair return for the

care and work you carry out on a crash damaged

vehicle. By utilizing the memory capacity of the

computer you will have readily available all necessary

details to help you draw up an estimate

quickly and accurately.

Your computer system will have the facility to

prepare not only a detailed document for the customer,

but also a comprehensive breakdown for the

insurance company. The documents produced will

be tailor made to your own letterhead stationery.

The insurance estimate can often be sent direct by

fax to the company involved, thereby further reducing

the time gap between estimating and authorization

by that company. Apart from the major bonus

of speed, a computerized estimating system will

greatly enhance your company’s image as a professional

organization. You will have instant access

to the progress of any job: most systems include

this as standard. The more time and money you

spend at the outset, the more control you will have

over staff movement and job completion.

Insurance procedure

Under the Road Traffic Act the car owner is obliged

to insure his vehicle either under third party insurance

cover or fully comprehensive insurance cover.

As a direct result of this, most accident damage is

covered by insurance and is therefore repaired in

body work establishments.

The procedure for dealing with repairs carried

out under an insurance claim is in four stages, as

described in the following sections.

Claim form

When involved in an accident which has resulted

in vehicle damage, the owner should obtain and

complete an insurance claim form and immediately

return it to his insurance company, or make a written

report on the accident and damage received.

Major accident damage 487

Figure 14.138Customer’s estimate (Bodymaster UK)

488Repair of Vehicle Bodies

Figure 14.139Engineer’s estimate (Bodymaster UK)

Major accident damage 489

Figure 14.140Vehicle job card (Bodymaster UK)

490Repair of Vehicle Bodies

Figure 14.141Vehicle repair checklist (Bodymaster UK)

Major accident damage 491

Itemized estimate

According to the extent of the damage, and if

the vehicle is still roadworthy, the owner takes

the vehicle for the inspection of the damage. The

repairer will make a visual inspection of the

assessed damage, and from the knowledge gained

complete a written itemized estimate which he

will submit as a tender to the insurance company.

This estimate will show the total cost of repairs,

and where the estimated amount is under a certain

figure set by the insurance company, the owner

has the right to authorize the repairer to do the

work. However, in most repair cases this figure is

exceeded, and the insurance company’s assessor

is the only person authorized to allow the repairs

to proceed.

One of the important factors when estimating for

insurance claim damage is to examine carefully

every section of the vehicle, especially those parts

which are a known weakness in the construction

and therefore liable to be affected directly or

indirectly by a collision. A methodical system of

estimating is essential to avoid missing any damage,

and is usually carried out by noting in order

all removal and replacement items, all repair items,

all respray items and all items to be supplied new

at cost, including mechanical parts and any trim.

Supply items are usually difficult to price because

of the makers’ fluctuating prices, and therefore

they should be listed ‘at cost’. Spray painting can

be quoted either by itemizing each part separately

or by a complete price for the total spray operation.

While in the owner’s presence, the repairer should

point out any rusted sections which may affect the

repair work, or any previous unrepaired damage

which is not covered under this insurance claim.

Authority to repair

It is essential to obtain the authority to repair from

the insurance company involved before any work

is started on the damaged vehicle. On receiving

the repairer’s estimate, the insurance company

will instruct their own engineer assessor or an

independent assessor to examine the vehicle and

satisfy himself that the claim is in order and that

the estimate submitted by the repairer does not

include any labour or material necessary as a

result of any other than the accident report. The

engineer assessor then agrees the cost of repairs,

particularly the labour charges, with the repairer

while inspecting the vehicle, and decides whether

or not damaged parts shall be repaired or replaced.

After this inspection the assessor will send written

instructions on behalf of the insurance company;

these constitute the authority to repair. A condition of

these instructions is that the repairer is restricted to

repairing the damage as seen and estimated for. Any

additional damage disclosed when dismantling the

vehicle must have a separate estimate submitted, and

work cannot be carried out on this damage until the

extra estimate has been agreed and the necessary

work authorized by the insurance company.

Clearance certificate

This certificate is provided by the insurance company

for the vehicle owner to sign when he has

seen that all the agreed repairs have been completed

satisfactorily, and the damaged parts reinstated to

their original condition. When this certificate has

been signed by the vehicle owner, it releases the

insurance company from any liability in respect of

the claim for damage caused by this particular accident.

It is to the repairer’s advantage for him to

ascertain that the clearance certificate has been duly

signed before the vehicle is returned to its owner.

The duty of the repairer is to see that the damaged

car is reinstated to its original condition. He

is expected to make full use of his skill and

knowledge to effect the best possible repair, as

the owner relies on his reputed skill.