After accidentally bumping into a mailbox or being nudged from behind, there is always the possibility of getting a small dent in your vehicle. One of the most common and least expensive ways to fix those dents and dings is through a method called paintless dent repair. Paintless dent repair (PDR), is a collection of techniques that can effectively remove a dent as long as it is minor and didn’t cause damage to the paint on the vehicle.
For the past several years, PDR was unheard of by general consumers. It was generally used by rental agencies, auctions and car dealers to prepare their vehicles for resale. Because the process does not require sanding, body filler or painting, it is a process that is relatively inexpensive and very effective.
How it Works
There are specialized tools that are capable of going behind the dent to push the metal back into its original shape. Through the years the tools used in paintless dent repair have become more advanced. Usually, PDR is used on smaller dents, but recently, it has become possible to repair dents the size of a football!
There are many advantages to fixing a dent using paintless dent repair. Rather than paying for an expensive body repair, PDR is relatively simple work and doesn’t require very much time to accomplish. That in mind, it can be repaired on the same day it is brought to a shop. Another positive aspect about repairing a blemish on a vehicle using paintless dent repair, is knowing that your vehicle won’t be subjected to any repainting. Although that may not sound like something to worry over, it can be. Repainting a vehicle faces risks such as painting the wrong color, or accidental paint over spray onto other parts of the vehicle.
Unfortunately, paintless dent repair cannot solve all dent problems. For example, it doesn’t work if it is too close to the edge of a panel on a vehicle. Besides that, if the panel has had other body repair work done on it, it won’t be able to solve the problem very effectively. For people with antique cars, a small dent can’t be fixed using paintless dent repair because it generally only works for cars modeled after 1990. Although there are still some scenarios that cannot be easily fixed using PDR, it is one of the preferred ways to solve many automobile dents.
Who Uses Paintless Dent Repair, and Who To Trust
Because major auto dealers require vehicles that look nice before they are likely to be sold, they know who can provide a quality PDR job. For the saftey of their business, most major car dealerships that have used cars or trucks have a place they take vehicles that need body work done at an affordable cost. Along with them, companies that place cars in auctions also know the trustworthy companies that can properly do paintless dent repair and removal. When the choice is made to use PDR on a vehicle, it is very important to know that the vehicle will be in the hands of a trusted, reliable source.
To ensure a quality job…
1. Investigate general prices and possible prospects for PDR in your area, then talk to a few auto dealerships and get any suggestions. Anyone that they would choose to use for a long period of time must do a quality job, or they would lose their customers.
2. Investigate further by asking for references from the place you choose to try. PDR is very effective, but it needs to be done correctly. In a conversational manner, ask when and how they learned how to do Paintless dent repair.
3. Take into account the size of the dent, and the experience that the mechanic has had. Then, make the decision with the knowledge that everything was thought through carefully.
Paintless dent repair is one of the best new technologies in repairing vehicles, however it is important to remember that just like every other type of repair, it must be done right.