If you’re a DIY auto enthusiast or restoration hobbyist you will likely run into a situation where you will need to repair damaged auto body panels and removing them can be just as difficult as putting new ones on. The factory uses a mixture of spot welds, undercoating, glue, and rivets or fasteners to hold body panels on. We decided to put together our top 3 tools for removing body panels (other than hand tools) that you might not have in your toolbox.
- Seam Splitter- A seam splitter is a conglomeration of a few different tools. Part chisel, part pry bar, part punch these come in a variety of shapes and allow you to cut through spot welds, pry and break rusted metal off the surface, or just cut through metal for rough removal. We suggest getting our set of 3 seam splitters as they cover the most common shapes of these you might need for most jobs.
- Spot Weld Cutters- A spot weld cutter is something that will change your world of automotive repair once you have one. These aren’t as much drill bits as they are cutters much like a a hole saw these will cut a perfectly round hole around the spot weld and allow you to effortlessly separate the layers of metal. We like to center punch the spot weld first and that gives the centering pin/drill bit a place to ride and then slowly cut the metal with the spot weld cutter. There are numerous styles of these but our favorite are the cutter style that you can flip to get two sets of cutting teeth before having to replace.
- Body Saw- The body saw is a must in any repair or automotive restoration shop. There are times where just cutting spot welds and hammering on the metal won’t work and you need to freestyle it and cut with a saw. This works well for cutting around corners, cutting old repairs out of the car, or delicately cutting an area where accuracy is important. This is the tool we reach for when removing body panels over a big reciprocating saw. These have a smoother and shorter stroke with thinner blades that make them superior for accuracy and cutting corners. Our electric body saw is our new favorite as it has plenty of power to cut most any thin metal.
You can find a large variety of these tools on our website. Visit our body panel removal section HERE.