The paintless dent repair (PDR) industry is more than twenty-five years old now, and going strong. If you're not familiar with the process, it's basically the use of gentle persuasion with specialized tools to perform dent repairs. The technician basically massages the dented metal back into place.
A good PDR technician (often called a "dent doctor") can achieve an 80% to 99% repair on most small dents. It's not possible to achieve 100% dent removal with PDR techniques, because metal stretches when it bends.
Please note that paintless dent repair is not a service for collision repair. For this you need a body shop or collision specialist. Don't waste your time calling a dent doctor if you were in a collision.
What can be fixed with PDR dent removal? Just about any minor ding or dent, including dings from car doors, bashes from shopping carts, and damage from a hail storm. Although very aggravating for someone who cares about their car's appearance, small dent repairs and cosmetic blemishes such as these can be repaired in a matter of minutes.
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| When I purchased this 1995 Porsche 993, it was full of small dents. The car was used as a display model in the Los Angeles car show. The guys who transported the car must have been gorillas, because the car had 11 dents when it was returned to San Diego. This picture was taken after a visit to the PDR doctor and a day of detailing it with my Perfect Shine™ process. No one could find a trace of the dents. The guy was a master of his craft. |
Let me make sure I get the point across clearly. There's no need to go to a paint and body shop to have a small dent removed. In fact, most PDR specialists will come to you. Plus, the same people are generally skilled in various scratch repair and bumper repair processes.
Most PDR jobs require the technician to get behind the dent and massage the metal back into place using tools called dent rods. Used with skill, dent rods can remove damage from the size of a dime to 2 or 3 inches in diameter. In many cases, after the repair is complete, there is little or no evidence that a dent ever existed. The typical tell-tale sign is a small black plug in a door end or door jamb, where the PDR technician must drill a hole to access the back side of the dent.
PDR is the least invasive way to repair a dent or ding. Unlike traditional body shop repairs, PDR does not compromise the vehicle in any way. For vehicles with custom paint jobs and for exotic cars, PDR is often the only way to retain the value of the car and maintain paint perfection.
PDR is not always perfect. Oftentimes the PDR technician can remove the ding, but the paint may crack, or you may have a paint chip in the center of the ding.
If you have a minor dent or ding, I highly recommend calling a PDR specialist first. Visit a traditional paint and body shop as your last resort.
You may also be interested in: Alloy Wheel Repair.
