Then they weld new panels in their place. Repairers pull out less serious dents with a jack or prying bar. These also may knock dents out with hand tools or special hammers. To smooth out small dents in the metal, repairers hold a small anvil against one side of the dent while hammering the opposite side. They remove very small pits and dimples with pick hammers and punches.
Repairers use different methods when working on plastic panels.
With most types of plastic, repairers can heat them with hot water or hot-air welding guns. Once the plastic is softened, repairers can press the panel back into its original shape by hand. Dents that cannot be completely smoothed are filled with plastic or solder. On metal panels, repairers file or grind the filler to the original shape and sand it before painting. Painting is done by Production Painters and Finishers .