Dents and dings on the body of most cars are common, but removing those dents used to mean pulling the dents, adding body filler, and repainting the vehicle. A better option for minor dents is to take the car to a body shop that offers a paintless dent removal service.

Dent Removal

When you are considering paintless dent removal service for your car, you need to determine if the dents you have on the vehicle can be fixed using this method. While the tech at the shop will need to look at the dents, there are some things you can check to determine if the dents you have are good candidates for this kind of repair. 

The dents need to be on the flat part of the body panel, no closer than about two inches from a body style line, to be removed with this method. Any dent with a sharp crease in it will not come out well with paintless dent repair, and any dent that has missing or chipped paint in it will not work. 

Most minor dents along the surface of a door, fender, roof, or hood are often repairable with this method, but the body shop will inspect the body and let you know. Often, an extremely deep dent is harder to get out, and the metal can become stretched as a result of the dent, making it tough to repair. 

How Paintless Dent Removal Works

A paintless dent removal service requires a trained technician to use some special body tools to reach behind the body panel and slowly push the dent out. The tech must be careful to push small amounts of metal, or they can warp the metal, and the dent will look worse than when they started. 

When the metal starts to move, the technician may need to work from both sides of the panel, pushing the dent out and then pushing the sheet metal from the front back a little to smooth out the metal. Often, a special light is used to highlight the panel's surface and make it easier for the technician to see when the panel is straight. 

If the panel is pushed too far or too fast, it can crack the paint, so it is essential that the tech takes their time during this process. The tech may need to push the metal back and forth many times to get the dent out, but when done correctly, most people will not be able to find the original dent in the car. 

Because the car does not need sanding, priming, or painting after the repair, the paintless dent removal service is often less expensive and faster than traditional repairs.