Paintless dent repair

[buck12]

Has anyone had any experience with paintless dent repair? The board covering the attic access in my shop fell on the hood of my truck. It has three shallow dents. The truck is less than a year old. I would love to get it repaired without any painting involved. I have never been happy with the results of any body work that included paint on any vehicle we have owned.

 

[ray66v]

I am in the Auto repair business, and I do paintless dent repair on occasion.

The quality of the finished product, depends on several factors.

The location and severity of the dents.

The color of the vehicle.

The eye of the owner.

Unless the dents can be removed to the point a light sanding, and buffing, will remove the final traces of the repair, there will be some sort of visible clue.

How visible depends on your eye. I have seen some that looked like a bag of frozen peas, painted the color of the car, and people thought it was perfect. :confused2:

Most of the time they can remove minor dents to the point you really don't notice them.

The technician doing the repair, will usually tell you what to expect. And, if your not happy with the results, you can always have the repair done conventionally.

 

[buck12]

I am in the Auto repair business, and I do paintless dent repair on occasion.

The quality of the finished product, depends on several factors.

The location and severity of the dents.

The color of the vehicle.

The eye of the owner.

Unless the dents can be removed to the point a light sanding, and buffing, will remove the final traces of the repair, there will be some sort of visible clue.

How visible depends on your eye. I have seen some that looked like a bag of frozen peas, painted the color of the car, and people thought it was perfect. :confused2:

Most of the time they can remove minor dents to the point you really don't notice them.

The technician doing the repair, will usually tell you what to expect. And, if your not happy with the results, you can always have the repair done conventionally.

It is pearl white which I have been told painters don't like.

 

[ray66v]

Yeah, it's a nightmare.

Paintless repair should be pretty invisible on a white vehicle.

Next time, no matter what, don't get white pearl. :thumbsup:

 

[buck12]

Yeah, it's a nightmare.

Paintless repair should be pretty invisible on a white vehicle.

Next time, no matter what, don't get white pearl. :thumbsup:

My wife's car is white pearl and is a magnet for deer and teenagers that can't drive. When I bought this this truck I didn't like Ford's blue so I got the pearl white. I will be busy tomorrow but plan to have the local Dent Dr look at it Tues.

 

[bp fick]

The "dent guy" uses a golf bag filled with various rods and levers.

If he can find leverage, he presses back on the dent, from the inside.
If the dent is located on the side of the car, they are very hard to detect once pushed back out. You mentioned the hood? I would think it might be more visible, but a big old dent is pretty visible too!

The skill of the dent guy is important. I like to use the guy that has the most experience, and is usually the dent guy for the local car dealers use. Cost can be as low as $40 for a quick, easy job, to $100 if the work is more difficult.

 

[Diamondpilot]

We had a pearl white Toyota and had a Paint-less repair done on the rear quarter panel. It was always slightly visible to me but most would not catch it.

For the hood I think you are going to find it very visible. Dealing with a large flat surface that is horizontal versus a small area that is vertical is two completely different things. I think the only way to fix it right is to paint the whole hood.

I personally love the Ford Pearl White. My next truck may very well be that color.

Chris

 

[Big Bri]

There is a paintless dent shop next to me. I've seen him do some amazing things. What he has told me about his repairs (paintless) is that so long as there is no crease he can get the dent out without someone knowing. Now he said that you the owner will always have your eye look at the spot where the dint was and you will probably notice something as you know where to look. He also told me that he hates silver and metal flake as when he fixes a dent it (his words) stretches the paint and the silver or metal flake will not be as uniform as when originally sprayed.
The worst thing you have going for you is that it happened on the hood. Many trucks now have aluminum hoods and tailgates. It is much harder to remove dints from aluminum as it has no memory. I know he says that aluminum parts are much harder and sometimes imposable to fix.
Wish you luck.

 

[20 20]

I've had it done and even bought the kit to do it myself, works fine.

 

[jayste]

I've had it done to two vehicles and was very pleased with the results. Hail dents and I still own one of the vehicles and to this day all seems good. :thumbsup: I'd do it again.

 

[timswi]

I've had it done to two vehicles and was very pleased with the results. Hail dents and I still own one of the vehicles and to this day all seems good. :thumbsup: I'd do it again.

Agreed, had this done on my truck when a broom handle hit the top of the fender twice (someone stepped on the bristle part)...You can only tell if you know where it is. In fact I have to look for it now.

 

[buck12]

Thanks for the replies. I will let you know what the shop has to say. I spoke to the shop by phone today and they are going to look at it tomorrow. Worst part is my 18 year old hunting/play truck usually sets in the shop and my new truck is in the garage. I had parked the new truck in the shop to vacum and clean the interior.

 

[buck12]

Update: took the truck by the local Dent Dr. and he said he would repair the three dents in the hood and a ding in the door for $170. He said the hood would be 90 to 95%. Really nice guy that seemed to know his business. Now the problem is getting the truck to him in that he is an hour away and he said he would need it for half a day.

 

[ray66v]

About $30 more should get you a rental car for the day.

 

[clemsonfor]

If your driving an hour 1 way you may as well stay and go look around for used tractor implements or watch his TV. By the time you drive one hour and back in a rental you have 1 hour till you need to start a return trip.

 

[ray66v]

By the time you drive one hour and back in a rental you have 1 hour till you need to start a return trip.

On the other hand, if you leave it there for the whole day, you can be productive for the 2 hrs you probably would have wasted waiting. And, they can take more time, if they need it, to do a good job.

 

[buck12]

My wife's doctor is near the shop so I will get her to pick me up before the next ultra sound visit. Apparently God has decided gray hair and age are not factors in reproduction.

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

Paintless dent removal is like any thing else, its only as good as the person doing the job. Last year we had a hail storm come through and had about 30 local cars and trucks got damaged. The local body shop had a guy come in from Wisconsin to do the paintless dent removal. He repaired my hood and the tops of my fenders. He could not repair the roof because it was double wall.They fixed it the old fashion way.I knew where the dents were and couldn't find a mark. This guy spent a week and a half fixing all the vehicles. He was good
Bill.

 

[buck12]

I thought I should update this thread. Had the dents repaired today. I cannot tell where any of the four dents were. Where one of the dents was there is a 1/4" crack in the paint. When I look at a certian angle I can see a small line. If run a finger nail across the paint I can feel a slight catch. I don't know if it is just the clear coat or paint. I don't know if the this crack occured when the hood was dented or during the repair. I am happy with the results and hope the paint holds up.

 

[ray66v]

I thought I should update this thread. Had the dents repaired today. I cannot tell where any of the four dents were. Where one of the dents was there is a 1/4" crack in the paint. When I look at a certian angle I can see a small line. If run a finger nail across the paint I can feel a slight catch. I don't know if it is just the clear coat or paint. I don't know if the this crack occured when the hood was dented or during the repair. I am happy with the results and hope the paint holds up.

The crack can occur during the repair.

I would carefully fill the crack with clear nail polish. This will help keep it from corroding inside.