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Damage we repair
What is hail damage?
Hail is the most common storm loss we see, and the most commonly underestimated. Here's what it actually does to a vehicle — and why a roof full of dimples is more than a cosmetic problem.
Hail forms when a thunderstorm's updraft carries raindrops high enough to freeze, then keeps recycling them through layers of supercooled water until the ice balls are too heavy to hold up. When they fall, they fall fast — stones the size of a quarter come down around 40–50 mph, and golf-ball hail can hit 70 mph or more. Anything parked outside takes those impacts on its horizontal surfaces first: hood, roof, deck lid, cab top, boat gunwales and covers, trailer skins, UTV plastics and the upper edges of fenders and doors.
How hail damage shows up on a vehicle
Hail rarely leaves one obvious wound. It leaves a field of damage — dozens or hundreds of small impacts spread across every upward-facing panel. That's what makes it easy to miss in flat daylight and impossible to ignore once you see it under the right light.
Hail damage hides in overcast light and shows itself under a fluorescent light board — the tool body shops use to throw a straight reflection down a panel. If you can only see a few dents in your driveway, assume the real count is higher.
How it affects your vehicle over time
People often decide to "live with" hail damage because the vehicle still drives fine. It does. The problem is what happens over the following months and years.
- Corrosion. Every stone that fractured the paint opened a path to bare metal. Water and road salt get in under the edges of the break and rust starts working outward beneath paint that still looks intact.
- Clear coat failure. Impacts that microfracture the clear coat without visibly chipping it lead to hazing, peeling and delamination later, usually on the roof and hood where UV exposure is worst.
- Water intrusion. Cracked roof moldings, damaged sunroof seals and dented drip rails let water into headliners, pillars and electrical connectors — which turns a paint problem into a mold and wiring problem.
- Resale and trade value. Hail damage is visible from ten feet away and every appraiser prices it in. Unrepaired storm damage typically costs far more at trade-in than the repair would have.
- Claim windows close. Insurers expect storm claims to be filed within a reasonable time of the event. Wait too long and proving which storm caused the damage — or that it wasn't neglect — gets difficult.
How we repair it
There is no single hail repair. The right method depends on whether the paint is broken, how far the metal is stretched, and what the panel is made of.
- Paintless dent repair (PDR) where the paint is intact and the metal isn't stretched. We work the dents out from behind the panel with specialty rods, so your factory finish stays original.
- Conventional repair and refinishing where paint is cracked, the dent is on a body line or edge, or the metal has stretched past what PDR can pull. That means proper filling, blocking, priming and color-matched refinishing.
- Panel replacement when a roof, hood or deck lid took enough impacts that replacing it is the better repair — and often the cheaper one.
- Glass, trim and light replacement handled in-house so the vehicle leaves finished, not half done.
- Aluminum and composite panels get different handling than steel — aluminum work-hardens and doesn't come back the same way, and gelcoat and fiberglass need their own repair process entirely.
Hail is almost always covered under the comprehensive portion of an auto policy, and comprehensive claims generally don't count against you the way an at-fault collision does. We document the damage panel by panel, work directly with your adjuster and handle supplement requests when the estimate comes in short of what the vehicle actually needs.
What we work on
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Our work
Hail before & after
Photos from real jobs. Swap these placeholders for your own shots of this kind of work.
Common questions
Hail FAQ
Is hail damage worth fixing if the car still drives fine?
Almost always, yes. Broken paint means corrosion is already starting, and unrepaired hail damage takes a bigger bite out of trade-in or resale value than the repair usually costs — especially when it's a covered comprehensive claim.
Will my insurance rate go up if I file a hail claim?
Hail is a comprehensive (not at-fault) claim, so it's treated differently from a collision. Rate impact varies by carrier and state, so ask your agent — but comprehensive storm claims are generally the least penalized kind of claim there is.
Can you fix hail damage without repainting?
Often, yes. If the paint isn't broken and the metal isn't stretched, paintless dent repair takes the dents out and leaves your factory finish untouched. We'll tell you honestly which panels qualify and which don't.
Do you repair hail damage on boats, semis and UTVs?
Yes. Gelcoat repair on boat decks and hulls, aluminum trailer skins and fairings on semis, and fiberglass and plastic panels on UTVs are all work we take. Our bays are sized for more than sedans.
How long does hail repair take?
It depends on the panel count and whether parts are on backorder — a light PDR job can be days, a full roof-and-hood refinish is longer. We give you a timeline in writing with the estimate, and we tell you if it changes.
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