People are understandably cautious about accident damage. About theonly sure way to know is to use a paint meter, which reads the depth of the (^)
paint, on every panel of a car—as long as it is steel. If a panel is fiberglass,composite or aluminum, the meter won’t work. I’ve literally only had a
handful of clients ask me to use a meter in two decades. As most of usdon’t own one and they only work on steel anyway, let’s cover some other (^)
ways to tell.
If the car is clean this is much easier, especially for those not trained inwhat to look for. Start by looking at every panel, slowly working your way (^)
around the car. Look first for overspray of either the body color or primer,which is usually gray, on the trim. If you find it, that is an immediate sign of (^)
poor bodywork—be nervous. Also, get down and look underneath the frontand rear of the car’s bumpers for overspray on parts like the muffler and
radiator.
Next, open all panels (including the gas cap cover) and look in the jams(especially in the front), around the radiator and lights for signs of primer or (^)
paint that shouldn’t be there. Also, are all the bolts and fasteners the sameage, or do some look new and shiny while others are old and rusty?
While these are open, run your fingers along the edges where the outsidemeets the inside of the panels. Things should be quite smooth. If you find
harsh, rough edges, this is an indication of paintwork. Especially goodplaces to check are the back edge of the hood (near the base of the
windshield) and front edge of the trunk lid.
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