TABLE OF CONTENTS Mass production methods have made the present-day motor car such that it requires special techniques, skills and tools for the rectification of body damage. Specialist tools have been designed to suit the varying contours and shapes of the present all-steel bodies and panels. These tools are made of high-carbon tool steel, which is forged and then heat treated to give long service in the hands of a skilled body repair worker. In a body repair toolkit the basic tools are the hammer and dolly. All other tools have been developed around these, giving us the specialist tools which are now currently available. A repair job cannot be successfully carried out before one has completely mastered the skill of using the planishing hammer and dolly in coordination with each other, as this skill is the basis of all body repair work involving the use of hand tools.
Sections 3.2 to 3.8 describe body repair hand tools.
The planishing or panel hammer is used more than any other tool in the body repair trade, and for this reason the best hammer available should be obtained. The principal purpose of the panel hammer is for the smoothing and finalizing of a panel surface after it has been roughed out to the required shape. The planishing hammer should have a true and unmarked face, and it must be kept polished and free from road tar, underseal and paint, which readily adhere to...
