Toyota of Orlando's Guide to DIY Auto Body Repair

Driving, especially in a place like Orlando, comes with several hazards apart from accidents. Most drivers often forget road debris, construction zones, and other factors that can damage the exterior of your car. Not only that, but you could also run into a rouge shopping cart or tap someone else's car and wind up with a fair bit of damage. While your vehicle will continue to run normally, it's a sore sight walking to your reliable ride and seeing a large blemish somewhere on the exterior. Trips to the auto body shop can wind up being expensive and eat up a lot of your time (unless you pay a visit to our Orlando Toyota body shop). If you're a fan of DIY projects and need to fix some damage on your vehicle, check out our guide on auto body repair.

Auto Body Repair Right from your Driveway or Garage

While it's never fun to bear the sight of your vehicle's exterior blemishes, most drivers don't commit to auto body repair work because of how expensive and time consuming it is. But, there are several small jobs that you can take care of right from the comfort of home. Here are a few jobs you can do yourself and how to get started: 

1) Scratch Repair

They can be big, small, deep, or shallow, and very annoying to see. Scratches are an inevitable exterior blemish that seem to multiply the more you look for them. While they're annoying to look at, they're very easy to fix and you can do this auto body repair job at home. Before you get started, make sure to check the depth of the scratch, if it appears white that means your paint and clear coat are scratched and you'll have to fill in the scratch. Make sure to use a matching touch-up paint and fine sand paper to smooth out the area you filled. Afterwards, apply a layer of wax until the color matches the rest of the paint. 

2) Dents

Similar to scratches, dents are an auto body repair job that is somewhat easy to remedy, depending on the extent of the damage. Inspect your Orlando Toyota vehicle up and down to find exactly how many dents you have to repair and the depth of them. Shallow dents can usually be repaired using a suction cup tool but others may require that and paint touch-ups to the area. Be delicate and patient with this process so as to avoid causing any further damage to your Orlando Toyota vehicle's exterior. 

3) Broken Lights (Assemblies and Bulbs)

Messing with wiring and lights on your Orlando Toyota car can seem intimidating but, rest assured, it's very easy and an auto body repair job you should do at home to save money and time. Before you get started, turn off your vehicle and put painter's tape around the painted areas of your bumper near the head or taillight assembly. Continue by locating the screws and bolts attaching the light assembly to your vehicle and removing them. Remove the bulb, reattach the assembly, and replace the light bulb if it's burnt out or broken. You can always order a new light bulb or light assembly from our auto parts store here at Toyota of Orlando! 

Need help getting your DIY auto body repair work started? Make sure to ask one of our expert body shop techs at Toyota of Orlando today! We're located at 3575 Vineland Road and here for you seven days a week.