Blending and "Up and Over:" What's the Truth?

"Blending," "burning in" or "melting" clear coats are some of the terms used in the collision repair industry to describe what can be classified as an unacceptable or improper procedure, although leaving an open blend on a panel is a common practice. Let us explain.

An excellent example of this statement would be the process and applications of automotive clear coat refinishing. The five major automotive paint manufacturers (AkzoNobel, BASF, DuPont, PPG and Sherwin Williams) have lifetime refinish warranties on their clear coats. All five manufacturers state the same basic requirement for the warranty to be valid: "The application of clear must extend to the nearest panel edge or breakpoint to qualify for the lifetime warranty." With that stated, one must understand that to be eligible for the lifetime warranty for defects, the repair facility cannot leave an open blend on a panel. It is important to understand not only what is considered the proper way to do something, but who considers it proper and what the consequences of not doing it properly might be.

Over the past few years, we have noticed that some manufacturers are connecting the left and right uniside panels to the roof panel as one continuous unit. The Volkswagen Auto Group (VWAG) — including VW, Audi, Bentley, Porsche, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Ducati and Suzuki — is one manufacturer that uses this construction process, especially with their VW, Audi and Bentley models. Surprisingly, the Dodge Challenger is also a vehicle that is constructed this way. This construction design has been an area of discussion (and, in many cases, disagreement) between collision repair professionals and insurance adjusters over how to refinish these vehicles when they have sustained damage to the rear and one or more of the quarter panels require refinishing.

Considering the warranty statements, what is the proper repair procedure for such panels? Well, let us give you an example of what would be required to refinish a 2013 Dodge Challenger with only a one-inch scratch to the left rear quarter panel. Considering that our example is a continuous/uniside panel vehicle, performing the refinish repair properly and keeping the paint manufacturer's warranty would require the repair facility to remove both front door assemblies, windshield, backlite, both quarter panel glasses, deck lid and adjacent trim components. Surprisingly, the damage report was more than 90 lines of procedures with approximately 40 hours of labor and 19 hours of refinishing. Pretty surprising the amount of procedures that are required for a one-hour scratch to the left rear quarter panel!

Now, some repair facilities and even paint technicians may disagree about the removal of the doors, glass and deck lid; they may say there is foam tape available that can be used in the jamb areas. We contacted the five major paint manufacturers and referenced their refinishing manual and warranty agreement. The general response was consistent with the warranty statement: If clear coat is not applied to the panel's edge, and the application of foam tape and/or masking tape was applied to jambs and the clear coat delaminates or otherwise fails, the paint manufacturer may not cover the failure under warranty. As always, check with your paint manufacturer if you are unsure of your supplier's warranty guidelines.

We hope this article has helped the industry to better understand what is required for refinishing and clear coating procedures. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Executive Director's Thoughts: Larry and Jeff have pointed out another good example of understanding the ramifications of changing processes or procedures before you concede. In order to maintain the integrity — and frankly, liability protection — of your business, it is so important to research your manufacturer recommendations or mandates. Even from your vendor products.

Larry Montanez, CDA is co-owner of P&L Consultants with Peter Pratti Jr. P&L Consultants works with collision repair shops on estimating, production and proper repair procedures. P&L conducts repair workshops on MIG & Resistance Welding, Measuring for Estimating and Advanced Estimating Skills. P&L also conducts investigations for insurers and repair shops for improper repairs, collision repairability and estimating issues. P&L can be reached by contacting Larry at (718) 891–4018 (office), (917) 860–3588 (cell), (718) 646–2733 (fax) or via email at info@PnLEstimology.com. The P&L website is www.PnLEstimology.com.

Jeff Lange, PE is president of Lange Technical Services, Ltd. of Deer Park, NY (www.LangeTech.net). Jeff is a Licensed New York State Professional Engineer who specializes in investigating vehicle and component failures. Lange Technical Services, Ltd. is an investigative engineering firm performing forensic vehicle examinations and analysis for accident reconstruction, products liability and insurance issues. Jeff can be reached at (631) 667-6128 or by email at Jeff.Lange@LangeTech.net.