february2023 - 22

COVER STORY
welders because they can be set for the
manufacturer's requirements, and they
make a perfect weld every time, regardless
of skill level.
While STRSW machines are quite
expensive, Pennington notes that he's
had good luck selling multi-purpose
ESAB units because many techs are not
necessarily skilled welders and can use
this type of equipment with little or no
welding experience. " You don't need to
know the settings and look up specs in
a book; you can just kind of set the dial
to the material you're welding and thickness,
and the machine does the rest. "
For aluminum repairs, most MIG
welders can weld aluminum by changing
to a spool gun, but aluminum dent repair
is another area of growth, according to
Pennington. " We are getting a lot of shops
now asking about tools for handling aluminum
repairs. Many of these vehicles
are now older and out of warranty which
would typically be handled by a dealership
collision center. Now, they're going
into more independent body shops. "
But what Pennington mostly focuses
Top: More OEMs are using thinner metals today and require a new process such as applying
epoxies and sealants prior to spot welding. Bottom: Surface prep is an important part of the body
repair process, so tool dealers should be well stocked with sanding discs and angle grinders .
needs of body shops are very different
than general repair shops and that visiting
once a week may not be enough for
their consumable needs.
Pennington agrees: " Body shops
and general automotive repair shops are
very different animals in terms of tool
sales. " While some general repair shops
may buy a welder and even a few whiz
wheels, they don't use them as often as
a collision shop does. He says they have
done well selling certain consumables
to body shops because he typically has
better quality products than the paint
supplier, and he stocks them on the truck
for whenever they need it.
Today's collision shop has changed
significantly over the last decade, or
more, due to the increased complexity
of vehicles shops deal with day in and
day out, according to Sicht. " Today's
high-strength sheet steel is thinner and
stronger, and there's more aluminum that
shops have to be able to repair. "
EPOXY BONDING AND STRSW
Furthermore, OEMs often require a specific
epoxy bonding agent be applied to
the panel before the welding process,
so plug-welding will compromise the
integrity of the weld, as well as the sealing
from the bond. Consequently, more
OEMs are requiring a specialized spot
welder to make these repairs. Sicht says
that shops are starting to transition to
the newer squeeze-type resistance spot
22 Professional Distributor I February 2023 I VehicleServicePros.com
on is selling diagnostics to the body shops
because they need pre- and post-scans. " I
know some body shops are getting $60$100
a scan per vehicle on a pre-scan.
Then [the shop] makes that same amount
again on a post-scan and can e-mail the
report to the front office, which sends it
directly to the insurance company. "
The health reports are more for protection
against any comebacks when you
do a post-scan, according to Pennington.
It shows the insurance company
and customer there were no DTCs after
the repair. He says that body shops are
not using basic code readers anymore
because they don't catch everything. " You
need a bidirectional tool that can read all
of the modules (i.e., body modules), and
shops must update it regularly for access
to all of the manufacturers. " He says the
subscriptions can run about $50 a year
per manufacturer, but it's worth it for
the peace of mind.
Photography: CollisionHub/Youtube)

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february2023

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