Having grown up in the collision industry in a family owned and operated body shop, I heard my father say on more than one occasion, “There’s a tool for every job and a job for every tool.”

I first heard him say this when I was very young and he would find me using his tools the wrong way – like the time I used one of his foot-long pick hammers to punch a few ill-placed holes in the door of a completed customer’s vehicle that was awaiting delivery!
I later learned the importance of this principle firsthand when I began buying my own tools to tackle various tasks and becoming frustrated when I didn’t have the “right tool for the job.”

While this article will address some of the tools of the automotive inspection trade (i.e. post-repair, pre-purchase, etc.), those in the collision repair trade will find it applicable to the inspection before, during and after collision repair.

While larger equipment such as three-dimensional measuring systems and automotive lifts have their place and are often called upon in post-repair inspection activities, the purpose of this article is to address some of the frequently used smaller tools found in most every inspector’s assorted collection.

Let There Be Light

Without a doubt, the most important inspection tool is sufficient lighting. There’s an old saying that goes something like, “Darkness is merely the absence of light.” Without proper lighting, it’s virtually impossible to perform a thorough inspection, especially when looking in and under a vehicle.
Light can be supplied in various sizes, shapes and sources, from extensive overhead fluorescent lighting to help identify body and finish defects to tiny LED units with extended flexible shafts or borescopes for hard-to-reach areas. Light can flood large surfaces or pinpoint specific areas to enable close visual inspection and photography.

Proper lighting is a must to identify and document issues such as remaining unaddressed damages and quality issues such as welds, application of coatings or active corrosion.

Say Cheese!

Quality photographs and video are extremely important to properly capture and document inspection findings. Such documentation may be utilized to provide photos of a vehicle for a potential buyer thousands of miles away or as evidence, exemplar exhibits and/or as demonstrative aids to be used in a courtroom setting.

Because the photos may be merely provided and viewed via e-mail or printed or projected to life-size or larger, a high-resolution digital camera with a macro setting is a must.

Video is occasionally called upon to capture activities in real-time such as the setting up and measuring of a vehicle. Or, in a recent real-life example, to capture the dismantling of a motor-coach due to a lemon-law claim being levied against a manufacturer due to a recurring mold issue.

In the vehicle inspection services profession, one never knows what will be required. Therefore, you must be prepared and have the proper equipment available when called upon.

Minor flaws may become colossal issues to an owner or a potential buyer and be cause for additional loss (diminution) in value or loss of a sale.

Properly identifying minor defects and their causes often requires using magnification using anything from a low-cost magnifying glass to high-quality camera lenses. For example, take an inexpensive, illuminated microscope like the one in the photo below obtained from Radio Shack for a little over $12. This instrument allows you to look closely at welds or paint defects, identify the cause and determine the appropriate
correction.

I recently inspected what appeared to be remnant fisheyes in a newly applied paint finish and found that the minute crater was actually the remains of an insect’s legs. While wet sanding and polishing corrected the foreign material issue, it created a loss of texture (orange peel) and greater concern over a mismatched finish.

Paint finish scratches can be easily and thoroughly inspected with such a magnifying device to determine if they penetrated the basecoat and if mere buffing will solve the problem or if refinishing will be necessary.

Access Hidden Areas

To access those hidden areas that can’t be seen with the naked eye, a device known as the borescope is often called upon as the tool of choice. I use a newly released battery-operated unit (Extech BR250) that has a narrower, 39-inch-long, flexible goose neck (a 38-inch extension is also available) with a waterproof camera lens and four LED lights that allow for greater visibility and clearer images in hard-to-reach spaces.

Where accessible, hidden spaces like the inner structure, frame rails, etc., become visually attainable. These wireless inspection cameras capture colored images in still (JPEG) shots or in video (AVI) and enable viewing on a PC using a micro SD card or USB cable. The color display screen is detachable, allowing the images to be viewed from as far away as 32 feet. That way, you can share your findings with others during the inspection.

What Lies Beneath?

Excessively applied body fillers and refinishing materials can result in unsightly and costly defects as well as loss of warranties. So how does one  determine just how much materials are applied and if a potential problem lies beneath what appears to be a beautiful quality finish?

Digital coating thickness gauges (a.k.a. material mil gauges) are small and portable digital gauges that precisely measure coatings applied to metal surfaces. Most units used in automotive applications essentially measure the distance between the top surface of the finish and the smooth ferrous (steel) and non-ferrous (aluminum) metal substrates. Current technology features Bluetooth wireless technology for fast data transfer, easy report generation and archival of the readings. The Bluetooth feature also allows the user to connect to PDAs and mobile phones for instant reporting and e-mailing from the field when needed.

Measuring the finish clearly illustrates where paint was blended on the vehicle’s left rear sail panel. While this cost-saving repair process provides a satisfactory appearance, the blended area is likely to deteriorate (fade and peel) prematurely, indicating clearly that a prior repair had been performed. The customer is then stuck with a potential loss in sale and/or value down the road.

Comparison Measurements

Just as a repairer diagnoses and estimates damages, post-repair inspection professionals rely upon comparing the once damaged and repaired areas to those undamaged areas still in their original placement. Such comparisons can be obtained from the subject vehicle itself or from another vehicle of the same make and model.

Obtaining comparison measurements is a relatively simple process and can be easily accomplished through photographs using several instruments, from a precision digital measuring tool like the Vernier caliper capable of reading inside, outside and depth measurements within .001 inch to a simple ruler as shown below.

Symmetry, or evenness, is another area the post-repair inspector often relies on for comparison. The mismatched and/or uneven continuation of body panel gaps are clear indicators of misalignments. Such misalignments are likely the result of overlooked and remaining damages or improper corrective re-alignment of the underlying structure.

“MacGyver Thinking”

The automotive inspection profession offers many challenges, and the tools required can vary from the most basic flashlight and mirror (to catch a glimpse behind a replaced quarter panel wheel opening flange to see if the welds were dressed and coated) to high-tech, state-of-the-art equipment including sonic leak testers, chassis ears and on-board computer interface diagnostic equipment (e.g. OBDII).

Because each situation in collision repair is unique, the challenges faced by the post-repair inspection professional are compounded and often require what I refer to as “MacGyver Thinking” in those situations when an army Swiss knife just won’t do. An automotive inspection professional needs to become a virtual “Inspector Gadget.”

Future articles on the post-repair inspection and evaluation profession will address other aspects of what the automotive inspection professional is called upon to perform and the equipment and resources found necessary to provide the highest level of service.

In the meantime, I encourage repairers to contact their nearest automotive inspection professional to learn more of this unique service and how he or she can benefit your business and your customers.

Barrett Smith AAM grew up in a family owned and operated collision business with locations in both Washington and Alaska. Smith has managed dealership collision centers and owned and operated collision repair facilities in Tampa Bay, Fla., including an award-winning shop for 15 years (1994 to 2008). He’s also the founder and president of Auto Damage Experts, Inc., who, along with his vice president of operations and eldest son David Smith, has been providing automotive inspection and expert legal services nationwide since 1997. Smith and his wife have four children, including twin 9-year-old boys. He can be reached at (813) 657-6705 or barrett@autodamageexperts.com.

Poor lighting (above) failed to reveal a bulge in a frame. In the next photo, the bulge is clearly visible due to proper illumination.

Now, the bulge is clearly visible due to proper illumination.

These photos depict various lighting apparatuses used to illuminate hard-to-reach areas.

The illuminated microscope above was purchased at Radio Shack for $12.

The magnification of this silver vehicle’s actual paint mica.

These digital coating thickness gauges precisely measure coatings applied to metal surfaces.

These digital coating thickness gauges precisely measure coatings applied to metal surfaces.

Comparing repaired areas to undamaged areas can be accomplished by anything from a precision digital measuring tool to a magnetic yardstick to a simple ruler.

Mismatched and/or uneven continuation of body panel gaps are clear indicators of misalignments.