Rear Guard Rolling on Michael’s VN Commodore

Michael brought his really straight VN Commodore into AutoFX WA to have the rear guards rolled.

Looking at a car this straight, you might think guard rolling would automatically be easier or safer. Unfortunately, that isn’t necessarily the case.

When I’m rolling guards, the condition of the exterior paint and how straight the body looks doesn’t tell me everything about what has happened underneath over the life of the car.

This VN is a good example.

A Straight Car Can Still Have Previous Repairs

The driver’s side rear guard was excellent.

It rolled up beautifully and was pretty much exactly what you would hope to find when working on an older car. The panel was straight, the inner lip behaved properly, and we achieved a very clean result.

The other side was a different story.

Although the VN presents as a really straight car overall, we found evidence that one of the rear guards had previously been repaired.

This is why I always explain that there are risks when rolling guards, particularly on older cars.

A panel can look perfect from the outside but may have had body filler, previous paintwork, repairs or other work carried out many years ago. Sometimes even the current owner may not know the full history of every panel.

Once you start applying pressure and progressively folding the inner guard lip, previous repairs can completely change how that panel behaves.

Does Having Perfectly Straight Guards Make Guard Rolling Safer?

Not necessarily.

What is more important is what is underneath the paint and the condition of the inner guard lip itself.

A straight original panel with good original metal and paint is generally the best situation to work with.

A visually straight panel that has previously been repaired can actually present more risk.

Body filler does not flex like sheet metal. Previous repairs, welding and repainting can also create different weak points or areas that respond differently when pressure is applied.

That is why two guards on the same car can behave completely differently.

Michael’s VN demonstrated exactly that.

One side was excellent.

The other had previous repair work.

Same car. Same age. Two different situations.

Guard Rolling Older Cars Is About Reading the Panel

I’ve been rolling guards for more than 20 years, and a big part of the job is knowing when something doesn’t feel right.

You progressively work the lip rather than simply trying to flatten everything in one go.

As pressure is applied, you watch the paint, feel how the metal is responding and adjust the process accordingly.

The goal is always to create the clearance the customer needs while minimising unnecessary risk to the vehicle.

But no matter how straight or well-presented an older car is, nobody can guarantee what might be hiding underneath a previous repair.

Michael’s VN Commodore is still a very straight example, and the driver’s side in particular was about as good as we could ask for when rolling the rear guards.

It’s also a good reminder of something I’ve learned from working on thousands of guards over the years:

The outside of a panel only tells you part of the story.

Sometimes you don’t find out the rest until you start working with it. 

Find out more about guard rolling and the costs here

We are located at unit 21/5 Hines Road O’Connor 6163 – Find 5 Hines Road first then look for unit 21 within 5 Hines Road