Paintless dent repair (PDR) is the method of removing damage from automotive body panels without the use of traditional body fillers and painting used by conventional body shops.
Through the use of a variety of specialized metal rods and tools, the damage is accessed from behind the panel and meticulously pushed and massaged back into place. When necessary, damage is also worked from the front side of the panel with knock-downs and blending hammers to remove "high spots" and "crowns" to ensure that any trapped pressure is released allowing for the entire damaged area to be moved back to its original state.
When access to the damage is very limited or nonexistent, the method of glue pulling is used. This involves gluing specially shaped tabs to the damaged area and then using a slide hammer to pull the dent out. At this point, a hammer and knock-down is used to blend the area flat to its original form.
When properly performed, a PDR technician can provide a superior repair that allows you to retain your factory paint while saving you time and money compared to conventional body shop repairs.
Benefits of PDR
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Restoring Your Vehicle's Value - Vehicles with unsightly dents, dings, and hail damage can easily detract from its value especially during resale,trade-in, or lease turn-in situations.
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Cost Effective - Most damage suitable for PDR can be fixed for a fraction of the cost of conventional body shops.
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Save Time - While many repairs at body shops require you to leave your vehicle 2-7 days or more for repair, PDR offers you unbeatable convenience by coming to your home or place of work to perform the repair. 30 minutes to 2 hours is typically all the time that is needed to restore your vehicle back to its original condition.
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Retain Your Factory Paint - Your vehicle's factory paint is by far the most superior paint finish that it will ever have. PDR allows you to eliminate the risk of losing your factory paint warranty. It also eliminates the risk of incorrect color matching or subpar paint work.
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Environmentally Friendly - Without the need for sanding, body fillers, and painting, PDR offers a truly low impact method of repair.
Myths About PDR
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Dry Ice - Dry ice will not remove dents though what it may do is "shrink" the metal leaving the center of the dent so tight that a perfect PDR repair is now impossible.
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Suction Cups - Some larger dents may be "popped" out with suction cups but typically only removes 75%-80% of the dent. A trained PDR technician is needed to finish the dent.
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"Dents just pop out" - Unfortunately this does not happen. A dent must be massaged back into place sometimes using hundreds of small pushes even for dents that are "just small dents".
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Hot Water - Hot water will not remove dents from steel or aluminum panels nor will it remove most dents in plastic bumpers.
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Dents Will Come Back - Once properly removed, dents will never "come back".