Body Shop Tips & Tricks

(left) Body File: used for doing real metal work, known as metal finishing (working the metal to remove dents without filler) or pick & filing. This file is flat & straight although there are curved and adjustable versions. Jeeps have thick enough metal to perform metal finishing so if you can successfully do this, you can consider yourself a true craftsman. The instructors I had in trade school were older guys in their 60s back in the early 1980s and were old school metal men who taught us this black art and it took a while to get the hang of it. But it paid off later when I would get new panels that had shipping dents in them and it was faster to fix them this way than using filler. 

(center) This is a slapping file; it has a knurled surface much like a file and  will “grab” metal when striking a panel. The file surface also acts like the shrinking hammer’s face in that it is less likely to stretch the metal when struck. It works best with a dolly, and it’s broader surface spreads the impact out over a larger area. The file is useful for ironing out folded up metal quickly, but not generally used for finish work.

(right) A “spoon” is similar to a slapping file but is smooth and is struck with a hammer. It is useful for spreading out the impact of the hammer blows without leaving marks from the hammer- think a roof where someone sat or stood on it and it left a ridge. You can work the ridges down quite nicely and minimize the amount of work to straighten the panel.

No discussion of body shop tools would be complete without talking about pneumatic tools, so here are some common body shop ones. Starting with one of my favorites; the panel cutter or air chisel. This is Snap-on’s long barrel model and it kicks ass!  When replacing panels in a flat-rate situation, we would cut off as much metal as possible as fast as possible-this tool got it done. It does other things too, like cause tinnitus.

Let’s talk sanders. (left) Air board or straight-line sander: self explanatory; used for flat panels or panels curved on one axis. Keep this tool moving or it will plug up the sandpaper and/or dig a ditch (like sanding hardwood floors).  (left center) 8” gear driven sander, sometimes called a “mud hog”; works in an oscillating fashion in one direction only. Works awesome for knocking down large areas of filler; does not work in a dual action manner. This is a National Detroit model 900, made in the USA- super high quality.

(right) Next are DAs (dual action); both National Detroits also- the red one is a DAQ (for quiet) and the other is the old-school DA model. DAs are feather edging tools and not sanders! The collar on the tool’s shaft is machined so there is a not-quite 90 degree relationship between the pad and the air motor’s shaft. The pad wobbles while it turns on a bearing in either direction, hence the name “dual action”. Sanders will have the pad at 90 degrees to the tools shaft. Using a DA as a sander will result in less than stellar results. 

Be careful how much you oil air tools when doing body work; just a few drops so they don’t spray oil all over your project.