German Light Tunnels are being used at Volkswagen Plant to inspect the quality of Paintless Dent Repairs after the severe hail storm.
When lights are used, they magnify imperfections. A wall of lights such as these are some of the toughest inspections that a hail repaired vehicle can go through. Some of the cars get rejected and have to be reworked until they pass 100%. The photo to the left shows a Rail after repair.
German Light Tunnels have been copied and put into use all around the globe.
As with any inspection method, it is only as stringent as the eyes that are using it. A trained hail technician or adjuster will know how to move their head and catch the changes in reflection that others might miss.
Some technicians fear the dreaded light tunnels, while other enjoy them. They force the technicians to perform at the absolute highest level. Although the techs make less money since they must spend more time on each repair, the end result is that they get faster and better by meeting these rigorous standards. Word spreads fast and new techs and under-trained techs know that they need to stay home or work elsewhere when German light tunnels are involved.
Just because they are called German light tunnels does not mean that you will only see them in Germany. Pretty much every country that cares about highest quality paintless dent repairs have adopted some sort of light tunnel for final inspections. Some cat teams are actually using them for initial estimating and dent counting.
By: Dave Streen
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