Clear answers before you book a repair
Practical guidance about visible car body and paint damage, useful photographs and workshop assessments.
- Can a car scratch be repaired without painting the panel? — A plain-English guide to how scratch depth, position and the surrounding paint affect the repair options for a scratched car panel.
- What photographs help with a car body repair estimate? — How to photograph dents, scratches, bumper damage and paint defects so an autobody repairer can make a useful initial assessment.
- Bumper scuff, crack or distortion: what changes the repair? — Understand why a painted bumper scuff, a crack and a distorted bumper need different checks before a repair is agreed.
- Why can car paint look different in different light? — Why viewing angle, light, paint age and previous repair work can affect how a car panel colour appears.
- What should you check after kerbing an alloy wheel? — A sensible first check after kerbing an alloy wheel, separating cosmetic finish damage from issues that need wider wheel or tyre assessment.
- Full respray or panel refinishing: how is the scope decided? — How paint condition, the number of affected panels and the intended result influence whether panel refinishing or a wider respray is considered.