If you clicked on this blog, we guess that you’ve probably seen the ads for dent removal tools or kits. You know, we supposedly don’t want you to know about the ones because they’ll put us out of business. Although we can’t stop you from trying out one of these kits on your own car — it is your vehicle, after all — we strongly recommend you forgo the experience. It could end up costing you a lot of time, money, and frustration in the long run. We want the best for you and your vehicle, so before you try your hand at DIY dent removal, take a few minutes to read the reasons why we think you should leave these types of repairs to the professionals.
What is paintless dent repair?
First things first, you should know what we’re talking about when we say paintless dent repair, which is what we specialize in at Bodyguard. Let’s start by taking a look at the lengthy process of traditional dent repair. Traditional dent repair requires sanding off the original factory paint, hammering the damaged material back to its original form, filling in any gashes with putty, the second round of sanding, and then finally repainting, which requires a primer, a base coat, and a final coat of paint. Paintless dent repair, or PDR, on the other hand, is exactly what it sounds like: returning dented material back to its original shape while maintaining the condition of the factory paint. There is no sanding and painting involved in this process. Instead, it looks more like this:
- A technician examines the damage and determines the best way to access it. That might be through a window, through removing an inner panel, or a similar tactic.
- Then the technician determines the right tool for the job. Our technicians have various tools at their disposal and the training and experience to know which are the best tools to use depending on the type of damage.
- Finally, the technician starts at the outside edge of the damaged area and carefully massages the material back into the correct position. As the technician works, the damaged area will get smaller and smaller and then eventually disappear altogether.
It’s just cosmetic damage. How hard could it be?
Let’s say, for example, that your car was caught in a hail storm this spring. You might look at the resulting car hail damage and think it’s just cosmetic and isn’t worth the hassle of dealing with your insurance company to get professional repairs done. Especially when you can buy one of those cheap dent repair kits and do it yourself, right? While we understand the desire to bypass the hassle, your car’s value is not something you want to play around. People are often shocked by how much “a little cosmetic damage” actually translates to when you go to sell or trade in your car. What might look like a few hundred dollars worth of repairs to you could actually be thousands of dollars worth of repairs and can decrease the value of your car by that much as well. All damage, even if it’s just cosmetic, is worth the hassle of being professionally repaired.
What does it really mean to be a PDR professional?
As easy as the commercials make DIY paintless dent repair seem, you have to keep in mind that it’s their job to make it look that way. The problem is that they probably want to sell you one or maybe two tools, and paintless dent repair isn’t a one-size-fits-all practice. Remember those technicians we told you about who have various tools at their disposal and the knowledge and experience to know which one is right for each dent? Our technicians have spent years apprenticing and training to get to that point. We treat each dent as unique. The size, shape, and location of the dent on the vehicle are all factors that a skilled technician must consider when determining which dent removal method to use. Repairing a dent on a car without further damaging the material takes exacting precision and years of practice.
If DIY can save me money, isn’t it worth a try?
Unfortunately, DIY dent repair isn’t like cutting your own hair before inevitably ending up at the hairdresser to fix your mistake. There’s no room for trial and error here. Why? Because insurance is involved. When your vehicle is damaged, that’s an event, and you file an insurance claim for that event. If your car sustains more damage, then the insurance company considers the original damage “pre-existing damage” and won’t cover it. So if you further damage your vehicle in the process of trying to fix it, you just made all the original damage uninsurable. Yikes. That’s an expensive mistake and, in our opinion, not worth the risk. If you think you can get away with it, keep in mind that your insurance company will send out an appraiser to assess the damage on your vehicle before they give you a quote. That’s exactly the kind of thing an appraiser is going to look for, and most of them have been around the block a few times.
There’s also a second reason why experimenting with DIY dent repair before handing it over to professionals could be a costly mistake. A vehicle is only eligible for paintless dent repair if there are no scratches involved. If the factory paint is damaged — either during the original event or in the attempt to fix it — your car cannot be fixed with paintless dent removal.
Why is paintless dent repair the best option?
Maybe you’re thinking, “Why do I care if my car is no longer a candidate for paintless dent repair? Traditional dent repair seems just fine to me.” Here are a few reasons that might change your mind:
- Paintless dent repair is hands-down the most affordable dent removal option available. It cuts out the use of materials like body filler and the time-consuming techniques of sanding and repainting. Eliminating these unnecessary materials and steps reduces the body shop’s repair costs significantly, and, at Bodyguard, we pass those savings along to you. If you’ve caused further damage to your vehicle by trying to fix it yourself and are then having to pay out-of-pocket for repairs, it’s going to be significantly cheaper to get paintless dent repair than traditional dent repair.
- Paintless dent repair is also significantly faster for all the same reasons mentioned above. Sanding, filling, painting, repainting. All those things take a lot of time, which means you’re going to be without a vehicle for days or even weeks. PDR eliminates all those steps, cutting down the repair time way down.
- PDR retains the value of your vehicle. When it comes time to sell or trade in your car, having the original factory paint intact will translate to higher value for your car and more money for you.
- And finally, PDR eliminates color-matching concerns. There’s no need to stress color-matching when there’s no need to sand down the original paint and repaint the damaged area.
BodyGuard is the best choice in DFW for paintless dent repair
Not everybody shop is equipped to handle paintless dent removal efficiently and effectively. Bodyguard specializes in paintless dent repair, so if you’re looking for the best shop to handle paintless dent removal in Dallas or any dent repairs in Dallas, reach out to our team of professionals at BodyGuard. Beyond simply repairing a dent, our expert team will give you the flawless customer service experience you deserve. We’re known and trusted in DFW for our top-quality care. Call us today to let a true dent repair specialist handle your vehicle’s dent removing needs. Go to our website at bodyguardpdr.com for more information, or call us today at 469-628-4910 to set up an appointment.