Will the paint peel off when pulling sheet metal?
3 Answers
Pulling sheet metal will cause the paint to peel off, so repainting is necessary after sheet metal work. The original paint surface will suffer from fractures and damage during scraping, collisions, and the sheet metal process. If not repainted, water and impurities will quickly corrode the metal sheet. Repair Technique: Sheet metal painting is an automotive repair technique that involves restoring deformed parts of the car's metal shell. For example, if the car's outer shell is dented, sheet metal work can restore it to its original shape. Then, by applying specialized paint, the deformed metal surface can be restored to match the undamaged areas, making it look as good as new. Contents of Automotive Sheet Metal: Automotive sheet metal data restoration includes analyzing body damage, measuring the car body, shaping and stretching corrections for the sheet metal, and more.
Whether pulling sheet metal will cause paint loss depends on the repair method. Traditional sheet metal repair, if done by directly hammering, pulling, or heating the damaged area—especially with rough operations—will most likely cause the original paint to crack and peel, as the thin metal sheet is prone to paint damage during deformation repair. Nowadays, paintless dent repair (PDR) is more popular. Skilled technicians use specialized tools to carefully push the dented area from the inside out. The entire process avoids welding or disassembling parts, and if done properly with minor damage, the original paint can largely be preserved, saving on repainting costs while maintaining factory-quality finish. Of course, if the damage is severe or in a tricky spot, repainting may still be necessary.
I think this matter needs to be viewed separately. If it's just minor dents or small dings, some skilled technicians nowadays will apply protective film and carefully push them out from the inside using tools. With good craftsmanship, the original car paint can indeed be preserved. However, if the damage is severe, resulting in large dents or if the metal panel is punctured, the repair process will inevitably require grinding off the old paint and reshaping the panel, followed by repainting. Last time when my old car was repaired at a 4S shop, the technician said the dented fender was too deeply damaged and had to be cut out and replaced with a new welded part, which naturally meant losing the original paint. Ultimately, it depends on the extent of the damage and the technician's skill.
