How Large Must Hail Be to Damage a Car?
2 Answers
Hail the size of soybeans cannot damage a car, but hail roughly the size of a coin can easily damage the car and its glass. Here are some methods for repairing a car after hail damage: 1. Polishing for shallow 'pockmarks': For vehicles with shallow dents, polishing can be used for quick treatment. Using a polishing wheel with polishing wax, the oxidized layer on the car's surface can be removed, and fine scratches can be leveled out. 2. Dent repair for deeper 'dents': If the car body has numerous dents, dent repair technology should be used for treatment to prevent rusting. This method uses special tools to repair the dents without damaging the paint, allowing the dents to be restored to their original condition after simple treatment. Dent repair technology has been widely used abroad and is suitable for most car models.
I've encountered hail size issues several times. I remember one hailstorm where the hailstones were about the size of golf balls, roughly four centimeters in diameter, which left several large dents on my car. The glass didn't break, but the paint got chipped. The insurance company said this size is a critical point, making repairs costly and time-consuming. Later, when talking with the mechanic, I learned that generally, hailstones over two centimeters in diameter start posing damage risks, with minor dents and scratches being unavoidable. If they're larger, like tennis or baseball-sized (over five or six centimeters), the car body can dent more deeply, and the windshield is more likely to crack. I usually recommend keeping an eye on weather forecasts and moving the car to an indoor garage or covering it with a specialized protective cover when there's a warning to minimize damage.
