Paintless Dent Removal: The Truth About Paintless Dent Repair

Too good to be true? Paintless dent repair is more common than you might think. Image credit: Brett Sullivan.

It may seem impossible to remove a dent from a car without affecting the paint or repainting the panel at all.

But with paintless dent removal (also known as PDR or PDR dent removal), you can actually fix your dents, dings, bumps and scratches without having to repaint the thing.

Paintless dent repair is exactly what it sounds like - a panel punching method that requires special tools and a lot of skill to perform correctly. It's not a new technology, it's been in use in places around the world for about 40 years, but it's becoming more common, with repair shops and mobile phone carriers now more prevalent than ever in major metropolitan areas.

Toolbox in Dent Garage. Image credit: Brett Sullivan.

How is paintless dent removal done? It's a bit of a dark art, with a lot of secrets related to the tools you need for the perfect finish. Basically, however, the repairman will remove any interior trim that is in the way and use tools to reshape the panel back to its original shape, being careful not to damage the sealed paint. 

This kind of work can be done on hoods, bumpers, fenders, doors, trunk lids, and roofs – as long as the metal and paint are intact, a paintless dent repairman should be able to handle it. 

Or you could just try it yourself, right?

While it is possible to buy a DIY paintless dent repair kit, if you want the job done properly, you should call in a professional. People who prefer to save money and are not perfectionists may want to try DIY PDR, but we suggest you try your skills on the trash, not on your pride and joy. 

We spoke with two paintless dent repair experts to better understand the process.

Seminar at DentBuster. Image credit: Brett Sullivan.

DentBuster

François Jouy, widely regarded as the first person to practice paintless dent removal in Australia when he arrived here from France in 1985, having learned the art of paneling from his father as a young and energetic student.

Mr. Ruyi owns and operates DentBuster, a South Sydney workshop renowned for its quality work. He regularly repairs luxury cars, prestige models, supercars and even high-end celebrity cars (the late billionaire businessman René Rivkin was a client of Mr. Jouyi).

While DIY kits often rely on suction tools as part of the fix, Mr. Ruyi has around 100 handmade paintless dent repair tools he uses in his work, each for a different purpose, different bumps, different creases. . His favorite tool is a small hammer, which he has been using for over 30 years.  

François Jouy, Managing Director of DentBuster, talks about his profession. Image credit: Brett Sullivan.

Tools like this - and this level of craftsmanship - don't come cheap, and that's key: if you want a perfect finish - in other words, a car that looks just like it did before it was damaged - then you can expect to pay for it. . Or let your insurance cover the costs, at the very least.

There are mobile operators who will make quick repairs to your home or workplace, and while some undoubtedly have the experience, experience, and right tools to get the job done, anything that seems too good to be true usually doesn't result in result. at a level of quality that will return the car to its factory standard.

The scope of work for Mr Ruyi is wide, from repairing hail damage (which takes up about 70 percent of his time since the massive hailstorm in Sydney over the past two years) to fixing minor dents like a Mini Cooper. you see here who received an inexplicable bump when he parked on the street. Dent Buster repairs were supposed to cost less than insurance.

This Mini received an inexplicable hit on the street. Image credit: Brett Sullivan.

“A little bump like this is more than just one hit. The metal warps on impact and there are smaller creases that you can't see until you turn on the lights and look along the line of the car," he said, before pointing out that there were actually four flaws resulting in one crease in top of the door panel.

Mr. Ruyi dealt with these dents by removing the door trim and outer door handle, and treated the dent inside and out, gaining access to the inside of the door by working around the side burglar bars. 

Before the shot: Mr. Ruyi made this dent inside and out. Image credit: Brett Sullivan.

It's not easy and you can see in the before and after photos that the final product was like new. 

As long as the paint is intact, PDR can be used for everything from small dents on carts to more severe impacts on panels. Even marks that you think can't be fixed without a replacement panel can be fixed with PDR in most cases.

Also in the workshop was a ZB Holden Commodore with the roof skin removed to keep the turret full of hail marks, and a partially assembled Renault Clio RS 182 with the hood removed, as well as a few other vehicles such as the BMW X2 dealer demo in desperate need of repairs.

Repair Renault Clio RS. Image credit: Brett Sullivan.

“I have been working on hail damaged vehicles since December 2018 and have over a year of work after just one hurricane,” he said.

Mr. Ruyi has some advice for those who haven't yet applied for hail insurance: "You really should do this!" 

This is because if you have been in a car accident and there is no known pre-existing damage to the vehicle that you have not reported to your insurance company, they may have reason to refuse to pay for your repair. Check the terms of your contract.

“I recommend that people check with their insurance to see if they have a choice of repair shop because there are temporary hail repair centers that hire cheap workers to get the job done as efficiently as possible and this can mean a worse outcome for the customer.” - he said. 

Finished product! Image credit: Brett Sullivan.

Just remember - it will be difficult for PDR to fix a scratch on your car's bumper if the factory paint has been broken. If the paint has been ripped off, a paintless dent repair won't work. Experienced PDR operators are trained panel beaters and will be able to tell you if you need to go to a full service shop when paint work is required.

You're probably wondering, "How much does paintless dent removal cost?" — and the answer is that it changes from beat to beat. 

The Mini Cooper you see here cost $450, while some of the hail damage work done by DentBuster cost over $15,000. It all comes down to how much work is needed - the Mini took about three hours, while some of the other cars that went through the garage spent weeks there. 

Mr. Ruyi's Mini looks like new! Image credit: Brett Sullivan.

Dent Garage

Simon Booth is the owner and founder of Dent Garage and Dent Medic, two companies that share the same goal of removing dents without damaging the car body.

Mr Booth has been in business for almost as long as Mr Ruyi, having opened a store in Sydney back in 1991. He previously worked at the Macquarie Center shopping center in north Sydney, but after the Sydney hailstorm, he decided to move out of the car park because there was so much hail damage to do.

Simon Booth, owner of Dent Garage. Image credit: Brett Sullivan.

“The hail is seasonal, so it will dissipate. Having said that, those two big storms that went through Sydney will continue for the next two or three years,” he said.

Mr. Booth also dents a door or hood from time to time, and he says customers should be aware of their vehicle - whether it's a new car with modern materials or an old car with a motley history - because that can determine if PDR is possible. . .

For example, he says that old cars that may have been wrecked or repaired in the past can work against you. 

“If the car is filled with putty - if there are pieces of swamp under the paint, then PDR cannot be done on it. If the metal is clean and the paint is good, then PDR is possible,” he said.

New car owners should be wary of aluminum panels. Many new vehicles have aluminum hoods, fenders and tailgates to reduce weight and improve strength over standard steel panels. But this can be a problem for PDR professionals.

“Aluminum is harder to fix. Metal has memory, so when we press it, it goes back to where it was. A panel pressed with steel wants to return to its shape in which it was pressed under heat. Aluminum doesn't do that, it won't help you. It's going to be over-adjusting, it's going too far," he said.

And while you might think that PDR only works if your paint is intact, Mr. Booth said there are ways to get around a damaged surface finish if you're okay with a finish that doesn't look like it came straight. from the showroom. floor.

"We dent where the paint is chipped - I offer touch-ups for free, but if you're more concerned about a dent than a chip like most people are, then we can get around that."

The little Toyota Echo that Mr. Booth was working on during our visit had a pretty decent dent in the rear side panel, apparently caused by someone at the train station who obviously didn't like the look of the car.

Close-up of a bump on a small Echo. Image credit: Brett Sullivan.

Mr. Booth said this repair would cost “about $500,” but if you're really on a budget, you can get it done elsewhere for as little as $200… “But you'll see the marks and the end result. it wouldn't be so good.

“Everything depends on the time. I don't charge more for a Rolls-Royce than I do for an Echo - I just spent more time on it to fit the car."

Mr Booth said his toolbox has evolved over the years as advances in the field mean there are specialty tools available to order online. Lighting is one example.

"Lighting is critical - you need a certain amount of light to see dents." Image credit: Brett Sullivan.

“We switched to LEDs from fluorescent lamps many years ago - they flicker, but LEDs do not. Lighting is critical - you need a certain amount of light to see dents.

“Today everything is bought in the store. I've been doing this for 28 years - and when I started, they were very primitive, made by blacksmiths. Now there are high-tech tools with interchangeable heads, and the Americans and Europeans make really good tools.

“Before, you had to wait months for an instrument, because someone would make it for you by hand. I started with 21 instruments during the first 15 years of my life. Now tools and everything else has become much easier to find. Now I have hundreds of tools.

“We use glue for places where we can't get tools, like rails. We only use hot glue on the original paint because it can peel off the paint. We glue the stripper to the paintwork, let it dry, then use a hammer to pull the dent out “high”, then we tap it,” he said.

How about an aftershot? Image credit: Brett Sullivan.

Tips 

Our advice? Get more than one quote and choose the company you feel most comfortable with. 

Whether you're in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or anywhere else in Australia, you'll be able to find a paintless dent repair specialist online. Just type "paintless dent repair near me" into Google and you'll have access to anyone nearby who can do the job for you. But be sure to do your research and check if the person doing the job is a qualified panel puncher or a licensed paintless dent repairer. 

Mr Booth warned that customers should: “Be suspicious of people who only have one or two reviews on Google. This means they have disabled reviews because you can. My reviews look too good to be true, but it's true!

Thanks to Simon Booth of Dent Garage and François Jouy of DentBuster for their time and help writing this story.

Have you done paintless dent repairs? Were you satisfied or dissatisfied with the results? Let us know!

CarsGuide does not operate under an Australian financial services license and relies on the exemption available under section 911A(2)(eb) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) for any of these recommendations. Any advice on this site is general in nature and does not take into account your goals, financial situation or needs. Please read them and the applicable Product Disclosure Statement before making a decision.