Metal work is the craft underneath every auto body repair. Our technicians are I-CAR and ASE certified, which is the difference between a panel that was fixed and a panel that was covered up.

Metal finishing versus filler

A panel worked properly comes back close to its original contour in the metal itself, with filler used only to true the last fraction. The shortcut is to rough the dent out, trowel filler across the low spot, and block it flat.

Both look identical the day the vehicle is collected. They diverge over a few Vermont winters, when thick filler cracks under thermal cycling and moisture reaches the steel behind it. We work the metal first because it is the version that survives.

Panel replacement

Some damage is not worth chasing. Where a panel is stretched, torn, or crumpled past the point of return, replacement is faster and produces a better result than an ambitious repair.

Bolt-on panels are straightforward. Welded panels, quarter panels especially, need cutting at the correct seam, corrosion protection reapplied inside the joint where nobody will ever see it, and welds finished so the repair does not telegraph through the paint later.

Certification is not decoration

I-CAR training exists because vehicle construction keeps changing. What was correct on a 2005 sedan is wrong on a 2024 one: different steels, different joining methods, different published limits on what may be heated and what may not. Staying current is what keeps a repair inside specification rather than merely inside tolerance by eye.

What comes through the shop

Door dings on daily drivers. Impact damage down a full side. Truck beds and cab corners. Commercial vans that have collected years of unlogged scrapes.

Have a look with us

Call (802) 782-5373 or bring the vehicle to South Main Street. Estimates are free and we will show you what we see.