Panel beater interview questions and practice

An employer wants to hear how you repair a damaged vehicle from start to finish. Expect questions in these areas.

• Assessing the damage. How you inspect a damaged vehicle and look for hidden damage behind the panels. How you decide to repair a part or replace it.
• Dent repair. How you bring a dent back to shape, for example with a hammer and dolly or by pulling the dent from the outside. How you check the shape by hand and by eye.
• Removing and replacing panels. Bolt-on panels such as the bonnet, front guards, doors and boot lid. Welded panels such as a quarter panel or a sill. How you set even gaps between panels.
• Filler and surface preparation. When body filler is the right choice and when it is not. How you prepare the metal, apply the filler, shape it and sand it.
• Chassis and structural alignment. How you set a vehicle up on straightening equipment. How you use a measuring system to compare the body with the vehicle maker's measurements. How you know the structure is back in the right position.
• Glass and trim. How you remove and refit a windscreen, door glass, bumper bars, lights, mouldings and interior trim without damage.
• Rust repair. How you cut out the rusted metal, weld in new steel and protect the repair so the rust does not come back.
• Paint preparation. Sanding, cleaning and masking. What the spray painter needs from you before the vehicle goes in for paint.
• Quality checks. Panel gaps, the way the doors, bonnet and boot lid open and close, lights, water leaks and a final look over the vehicle.
• Working with painters and assessors. How you hand the job over to the spray painter. How you talk with an insurer's assessor. This is the person who inspects the damage and approves the repair cost for the insurance company.

Safety is part of almost every answer. Be ready to talk about PPE (personal protective equipment), welding sparks and fumes, sanding dust and lifting heavy panels with help. Be ready to explain how you make the battery and airbags safe before you start, following the vehicle maker's instructions.

• Tell the repair in order. Assess the damage, remove the parts in the way, repair or replace, prepare the surface, hand over to paint, refit, then check.
• Explain your repair-or-replace decision. Say what you look at, such as how deep the damage is, where it is and whether the panel is part of the structure.
• Use Australian part names. Say bonnet, guard, boot lid, windscreen and bumper bar. Other countries use different words for some parts, so learn the words for your destination country.
• Name your tools and say what each one is for. For example a hammer and dolly, a dent puller, a welder, a sanding block and a measuring system.
• Say how you check the surface. For example, you feel the panel with a flat hand and look along it in good light before it goes to paint.
• For structural work, talk about measuring. Say that you measure before, during and after the pull, and that you follow the vehicle maker's repair method.
• Put safety in your answer. Eye, hand, hearing and breathing protection, fire risk when welding, and support for the vehicle before you work under it.
• Show how you communicate. If you find more damage, say that you stop and report it. Do not say you would do extra work before the assessor or your supervisor approves it.