Erik's Auto Body Shop

A new paint job can be viewed as an investment if you are preparing your vehicle before putting it on the market. A vehicle with a shiny paint job will get more attention and more money from buyers.

When it comes to undercoats for your automotive paint job, you have a variety of options. Speak to us about the pros and cons of anti-corrosive primers (meant to protect the car structure) or primer sealers (which provide a good foundation for the main color).

When a damaged vehicle is brought in, auto repairers assess its construction and repair needs. The auto repairers determine the extent of the damage to the vehicle and decide which parts can be repaired or require replacement.

Virtually all early cars had the radiators in the front of the vehicle. This led to a number of accidents in which the radiator was the main casualty. Max Paul of Philadelphia opened one of the first radiator repair shops in the country in 1905.

Look carefully at the title of a vehicle to determine if it has previously been totaled by an insurance company. The title may say parts only, scrap or salvage title.

Increasingly, there are more and more plastic body parts used on modern vehicles. Your bodywork repair technician will either used a hot-air welding gun and reshape the part by hand, or if it's more cost effective, simply replace it with a new part.

Salt can increase the rate of corrosion and deterioration on a paint job. Whether you are taking your vehicle to the beach, or you are driving on salted winter roads, rinse your vehicle off as much as possible to remove damaging salt crystals.

The job prospects for automotive body technicians in the 10-year period ending in 2018 are not great. While the average industry is expected to grow by 8 percent in that period, the number of auto body workers is expected to remain steady.

There were more than 166,000 automotive body and relative repair workers in the United States in 2008, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Thousands of automobiles are damaged in traffic accidents every day. Some automobiles may be completely totaled, but many can be repaired and refinished to appear and run like new.

Collisions occur due to any number of causes from weather to road conditions. The resulting damage can be minimal or devastating. The need for an auto paint and body shops steadily increases as the number of vehicles on the road rises yearly.

Although acrylic lacquer automotive paint was already a popular option in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, during the 1950s an improved version came out and this became the primary paint used for such brands as Rolls Royce.

If you are considered buying a used vehicle that was totaled, it's important to understand what happens after a car is totaled. Insurers sell the vehicles at salvage auctions where they may be used for parts or put back on the road by rebuilders.