What is thermal damage on a car?
Heat from a nearby car fire or a battery fire does not stop at the paint. Glue, bonded joints, plastic clips and the metal itself can be damaged before the paint looks bad. So scorched paint shows how hot that area got. It does not show all the damage.
What kind of repair does it need?
A body shop that will look behind the paint, not just quote a respray. What matters is how far the heat reached. That needs someone to check behind the damaged area.
Heat damages glue, bonded joints and the metal itself before it marks the paint. The paint shows where it got hot. It does not show how far the damage goes.
What to do next
Say vehicle fire or battery fire when you book, because it changes what they check. Treat any quote that only prices the panels you can see as incomplete. If it is an electric car, say so, and do not park it against a building until someone qualified has checked the battery.
Sources
- I-CAR RTSindustry training body
Heat can permanently damage certain metals by breaking down the molecular structure that gives it strength and memory.
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