Paintless Dent Removal : PDR
PDR is the repair / removal of dents or dings on metal and sometimes plastic car body panels ( Bumpers) using special metal bars and rods using a variety of tips to manipulate or massage the dented metal back into its original form working from behind the dented area. All dented metal is stretched to a degree and by many controlled extremely accurate pushes the metal is carefully shrunk back to its original form without the need for paint or body filler.
If the paint is not damaged and with adequate access to the rear of the dent it can be returned to its pre damaged condition typically within 1 hour. Even if the paint is damaged the panel can still be straightened lessening the amount of bodyfiller nessesary which often reduces the overall cost and can often be finished by Smart Repair rather than a full bodyshop repair.
Skill of PDR
This is an extremely skilled process taking many years to perfect and should not be attempted without the necessary skills as a botched repair by an over enthusiastic car owner, can cause far more damage. Even making a repairable dent un-repairable by PDR requiring a body shop repair at upto 4 times the cost! Do not be tempted to "pop" a dent out yourself as this can over stretch the panel very easily, there is a right way to start a repair which has direct bearing on the finished result.
Customers often say can you "pop" a small dent out for me, firstly the dent is almost never as small as people think only seeing the low part of the dent not taking into concideration how much metal is affected. Secondly the metal is stretched and needs shrinking back into shape otherwise it would be like an egg proud of the panel. This is where the skill of PDR comes in only by being able to see very small precise movements of the special tools can the dent be worked ( shrunk) back to it's original shape.
And as there is a very fine line between shrinking the metal and bursting through the paint on very thin panels it should be left to the experts. Many of my customers say it's amazing , it's like magic, a black art when in fact it's just a skilled process which takes a long time to perfect and a skill that grows and develops requiring 100% concentration and commitment and a drive to constantly improve standards.
Light / Line Boards
Both of the above are devices used for reading the dent by means of a reflective source. This can be either a multiple led light or line / fog board which reflects onto the body panel for the Dentman or Dentmaster to see the highs and lows of the dent.
It is not possible to remove dents without such dent reading aids and takes great skill to read what the reflected image is telling you. You can buy cheap " dent lifting kits " from car accessory stores but without the knowlege of PDR you can make " A real mess " as some of my customers have found out. This can result in a more expensive repair than it should have been.
Glue Pulling
Increasingly as the design changes on modern vehicles access to the rear of the dented area is restricted. And so the method of glue pulling is used more and more. This involves specially formed plastic tabs glued, by means of a specially formulated hot melt glue, to the outside of the panel in order to gently lift the dent, along with careful tapping back of the stressed areas around the dent itself known as crowns or eyebrows.
The effectiveness of glue pulling varies from panel to panel and on the panel itself due to the change in tension, the metal is more flexible in the middle but tighter near bodylines and close to the edge of the panel. A gentler more controled pull is acheived by the mini lifter, while a sharper stronger pull is achieved by the slide hammer.
How To Get A Dent Removal Quote
Send us a picture of the dent on your car by Whatsapp, Messenger or Email and we''ll let you know if we can fix it and approximately how much it will cost.
Or you can always just call or text Gary on 07967 816 396 for a dent repair quote.
Send Us Pictures / Video To Get A Dent Removal Quote
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