SMART repair stands for Small to Medium Area Repair Technique. It covers localised paint damage and minor dents in a defined area without the cost or time of a full panel removal and respray. It is the repair method suited to a single scuff on a door, a shallow scratch on a rear quarter, a cluster of stone chips on a bonnet. At KITH Bodyworks in Hackbridge, SMART repairs are carried out in our controlled workshop environment.
The repair process starts with a thorough clean of the affected area. All wax, polish and contamination removed. The damage is then assessed properly before any preparation begins. A shallow scuff that has not gone through the lacquer may need minimal preparation before colour is applied. A scratch through to the colour coat needs feathering, priming and sealing first. The preparation stage determines the quality of what follows.
Colour matching is the most technically demanding part of any SMART repair. We enter the vehicle's factory colour code into our computerised mixing system as the starting point. For older vehicles, the surrounding paint has faded from the original code. We can measure the actual colour of the surrounding panels with a spectrophotometer and adjust the formula to match what is actually there rather than what left the factory.
The colour is applied in thin coats, building coverage progressively and blending the edges into the undamaged surrounding paint. The clear lacquer follows. After curing, the lacquer is flatted with fine abrasive paper and machine polished to the same gloss level as the surrounding panel. The boundary between repaired and original area should not be visible.
SMART repair has limits. A single scuff in a limited area is ideal for it. Two separate damage points on the same panel, or damage spread across a large proportion of the panel, will produce a better result from a full panel respray. We will tell you honestly which approach applies to your specific damage. We will not push a SMART repair where a respray is the right answer.
Standard SMART repair is £160 inc VAT. Older vehicles, 10 years or more, are £120. Where the damage includes both a shallow dent and paint damage in the same area, the combined price is £200 inc VAT.
