Hail is perhaps one of the worst nemesis of your car’s exterior! Fascinating as they are, these little balls of ice that shower down from the sky can wreak havoc on your car, leaving tiny little dents all over, or worse. It’s aggravating, but the good news is repairing hail damage is not a big deal to the right repair shop. In this article, we’ll offer some tips as to what you can do if you encounter hail damage to your car.
Evaluation by Eyeballing
The first step is to figure out what level of damage has occurred. Do a thorough visual inspection of your car’s body to see where all the dents are. Small dents are much easier to fix than large ones. The more dents there are, the more work it is. Count the number of dents you can see and write it down. It also matters where the dents are. Certain spots on the car are more difficult to access. Of course, a professional auto body shop will be able to handle all types of hail damage.
Reporting to Your Insurance Company
If the damage is extensive, you may want your insurance company to help you with the costs. Talking to your insurance provider is a good idea. They will be able to give you the best advice. They will tell you whether it’s worth making a claim or paying for it out-of-pocket. They will ask you to get a professional assessment.
Professional Appraisals
Definitely get three to five professional assessments. Your insurance company will give you names of auto-body shops that are pre-approved by them. In addition, and if you have the time, find shops on your own. These appraisals are crucial, as they will help you decide whether it is worth making a claim with the insurance company or not.
DIY (Do It Yourself) Repairs
For very minor damage, you might be tempted to try out any one of the numerous repair kits available out there. But we do not recommend it! Unless you know exactly what you’re doing, you may end up doing more damage to your car’s body and paint. If this is your “good car,” then please give it the respect it deserves, and take your car to a professional. Now, if it’s an old car and you just want to try your hand at repairing small dents, then, by all means, give it a go. Since there are many different methods of DIY dent repair, feel free to ask us for suggestions.
Professional Repairs
In most cases of hail damage, your best bet is to bring your car to a professional body shop. We use multiple different techniques to repair dents. It depends on where the dents are and how deep and big they are. The most common methods are listed below.
- Paintless Dent Repair (PDR): This is a non-invasive way of repairing small dents and does not require repainting. With special tools, we access the back of the dent to apply pressure so that we can maneuver the dent back into shape. It’s great because this method retains the factory paint job. Bear in mind, that this only works well on small dents, and the location of the dent matters. PDR works best on bumper dents and dimples, door dings, minor hail damage, and similar dings.
- Other Professional Methods: A good body shop has specialized tools to take care of any kind of dent or damage to your car. We use many different techniques, some of which may involve pounding the dents out! The dents are packed with fillers then sanded, primed, and repainted. None of these are trivial. Color matching and creating a factory-finish paint job is a task unto itself! We can do it!
Preventive Measures
This is easier said than done. If you have 
a garage and your car is in it during a hailstorm, it is safe. Even under a carport, your car may suffer from hail damage. Although, life must go on. You may be out and about when a hailstorm begins. If you get caught in one, pull over and wait it out. If you’re driving at high speed and hail hits your car, it’s like someone throwing a rock at you at 60 miles an hour (or more!) The chances of severe damage or a serious accident increase.
Visit AJ Professional Detailing Today
If your car has suffered hail damage, make sure you follow the above steps. Feel free to ask us for advice. Call us or make an appointment to stop by our shop. At AJ Professional Detailing, we aim to provide you with the best car detailing service. We are in San Jose, California, and serve the entire Bay Area.