You come out from the market and begin to load the groceries into the trunk. Suddenly, you notice a huge dent in your car. A shopping cart has clearly attacked your vehicle without provocation, and the evidence is glaring at you – a dent that’s going to be tough (and expensive) to get out, right? Wrong. With paintless dent repair, dings and blemishes caused by anything from minor accidents to hail to gravel on the road could be gone in a matter of minutes.
What Is Paintless Dent Repair?
Paintless dent repair, or PDR, is the quickest, cheapest way to repair dents on your vehicle. Traditional dent repair depends on fillers, added paint, and, of course, a bunch of high-priced labor hours. PDR, though, is faster. It repairs most of the metal underneath the paint’s surface, helping to ensure that your car is back to its old, smooth, self soon.
How Does it Work?
PDR doesn’t work for every dent, so before we get started, we take a closer look to ensure that it’s the right way to proceed. Once we’ve determined that this process can fix your problem, we’ll remove certain areas to give us access to the space that was damaged.
From there, we’ll use a set of specialized tools to help massage the dent back into place. Sometimes that means holding one tool against the dent on the outside surface. Sometimes it means working from inside the dent itself. We have access to a variety of different tools in many different shapes and sizes, all of which are perfectly designed to access the area behind the dent and apply the optimal amount of pressure to the area without being pushed too far out.
When Doesn’t It Work?
There are some cases in which PDR won’t work for your vehicle. If the paint was damaged when the dent was created, for example, it’s probably not the right way to fix your car. Likewise, if the metal is badly damaged, you may need more extensive body work. Luckily, though, most dents can be fixed with this method. When we give you a free estimate, we’ll help you decide whether the process will deliver the results you need.
Is It Expensive?
When you visit a body shop, you’re looking at between $40 – $60 per hour in labor, plus the costs of materials. That quickly adds up whether you’re repairing a tiny ding or a large dent. (It’ll put a dent in your budget, too!).
PDR is different; while costs do depend on your vehicle (different makes and models mean different base costs) and the size of the flaw, the cost will be much lower.
For a specific answer, come in for a free estimate. You’ll know, before we get started, what you’ll end up paying when we finish working with your vehicle.
Can I Just Do It Myself?
Watched a YouTube video where a guy handled PDR on his own and think you can handle the task? Proceed with caution! This is not your average DIY weekend job. PDR is a specialized process that requires certain skills and experience. Doing it yourself can be risky in terms of your results.
Picture this scenario: you have a dent in your wheel well. You can reach it easily, so you order the tools online, then begin to massage it back into place. You’re making some real progress, but suddenly, you go too far. Instead of a virtually unnoticeable blemish in your wheel well, you have an upturned space that everyone will see because you’ve stretched the metal out too far. Shrinking it down isn’t as easy as you’d imagine either, and now, instead of a simple fix, you have a far more expensive repair on your hands.
PDR is the way to go for many dents and dings, and we can help. Contact us today. We can even finish most jobs the same day.
