Automotive Body and Glass Repairers: Salary, career path, job outlook, education and more

Automotive body and glass repairers restore, refinish, and replace vehicle bodies and frames, windshields, and window glass.

What do Automotive Body and Glass Repairers do?

Automotive body repairers typically do the following:

• Review damage reports, prepare cost estimates, and plan work
• Inspect cars for structural damage
• Remove damaged body parts, including bumpers, fenders, hoods, grilles, and trim
• Realign car frames and chassis to repair structural damage
• Hammer out or patch dents, dimples, and other minor body damage
• Fit, attach, and weld replacement parts into place
• Sand, buff, and prime refurbished and repaired surfaces
• Apply new finish to restored body parts

Automotive glass installers and repairers typically do the following:

• Examine damaged glass or windshields and assess repairability
• Clean damaged areas and prepare the surfaces for repair
• Stabilize chips and cracks with clear resin
• Remove glass that cannot be repaired
• Check windshield frames for rust
• Clean windshield frames and prepare them for installation
• Apply urethane sealant to the windshield frames
• Install replacement glass
• Replace any parts removed prior to repairs

Automotive body and glass repairers can repair most damage from vehicle collisions and make vehicles look and drive like new. Repairs may be minor, such as replacing a cracked windshield, or major, such as replacing an entire door panel. After a major collision, the underlying frame of a car can become weakened or compromised. Body repairers restore the structural integrity of car frames to manufacturer specifications.

Body repairers use pneumatic tools and plasma cutters to remove damaged parts, such as bumpers and door panels. They also often use heavy-duty hydraulic jacks and hammers for major structural repairs, such as aligning the body. For some work, they use common hand tools, such as metal files, pliers, wrenches, hammers, and screwdrivers.

In some cases, body repairers complete an entire job by themselves. In other cases, especially in large shops, they use an assembly line approach in which they work as a team with each individual performing a specialized task.

Although body repairers sometimes prime and paint repaired parts, painting and coating workers generally perform these tasks.

Glass installers and repairers often travel to the customers location and perform their work in the field. They commonly use specialized tools such as vacuum pumps to fill windshield cracks and chips with a stabilizing resin. When windshields are badly damaged, they use knives to remove the damaged windshield, and then they secure the new windshield using a special urethane adhesive.