Toronto, Ontario — Rivian has released a position statement on the steps to take to complete successful paintless dent repair procedures and stressing the importance of OEM procedures.
When looking at the position statement, the automaker specifically highlights that Rivian does not support the use of aftermarket, optional OEM, alternative, reverse-engineered, used, salvaged or externally re-manufactured parts.
Additionally, the position statement notes that all structural or cosmetic repairs on Rivian vehicles must be performed as described in the Rivian Repair Procedures for that specific model.
Alongside this, structural repairs requiring model-specific fixtures or rigs must be performed by a Rivian Certified Technician using a Rivian-approved frame bench repair system. The vehicle must be secured to the approved frame bench repair system with a minimum of eight fixturing points from the available points specified in the documentation related to the specific model.
After refinishing operations have been completed, Rivian notes that it is acceptable to “bake” or force dry the vehicle in a paint booth if the maximum bake time is no longer 55 minutes, with an ambient temperature of no higher than 65 degrees Celsius.
Before baking, if any repairs to the cooling of HVAC systems have not been completed, the 12V and high-voltage power must be disabled. For this reason, the vehicle must be removed from the booth within 30 minutes of the baking cycle ending, or the paint booth doors must be opened.
For paintless dent repair procedures, the position statement concludes that after repairs are completed, PDR technicians must check for micro-cracking using a 30x power hand-held magnifying glass and technicians must restore all disrupted factory corrosion protection with the approved materials.
The automaker also does not recommend the use of any clearcoat blending procedures in warranty or collision refinishing repair work.
For more information and to see the full position statement, click here: 71360x
