You’re getting into your car, and you spot a dent on the side of the door. You take a quick look and realize no paint has been damaged. You remember hearing about paintless dent repair but wonder: how is paintless dent repair done? Is it a gimmick? Is it safe for my car? Read on for the answers to these questions.

What is Paintless Dent Repair?

When you get a dent in the body of your car, and there is no damage to the paint you can get it fixed without having to do major body work. Because it is much easier than typical bodywork, a specialized technician can get rid of a dent in your car quickly and for much less money.

How is Paintless Dent Repair Done?

There are steps that need to be taken to complete a paintless dent repair.

1. Examine the repair needed: Upon seeing the vehicle for the first time, the technician will have a good look at the dent that needs to be repaired. The location on the car, and whether he can gain access to the dent from behind are important. There also must be no damage to the paint and the size of the dent will also determine if the paintless dent repair can be done. According to DentOut.com who specializes in paintless dent repair in Allen, TX, 80-90% of dents can be fixed with paintless dent repair.
2. Access the dent from the inside: This may sound complicated, but a trained technician would know right away how to access most parts of the body from the inside. Headlights or panels may need to be removed, but to do the job right this is necessary.
3. Use of a special light: The technician will use a special light that will allow him to have a better look at the dent and shadows. This helps him in knowing where to apply the pressure in the next step.
4. Use a special tool to push the dent out: Having accessed the dent from the inside, the technician will apply slow pressure to the inside and outside of the dent until it becomes smooth again. It is very meticulous work and depending on the severity can take a bit of time.

Benefits of Paintless Dent Repair

There are many benefits of deciding to get paintless dent repair done to fix your car:

• It could be covered by your insurance. According to State Farm, if paintless dent repair is included in your policy, they will not only pay to get it done but if any problems occur as a result these repairs, these would also be covered by them.
• It is less expensive than getting body work done because it takes less time and no fillers and paints are needed.
• Will maintain the factory paint warranty that you may have on your car. Some car companies have paint warranty or added paint protection that the customer has purchased. Getting a paintless dent repair rather than bodywork ensure that it does not affect this warranty.
• The structural integrity of the car remains the same.
• Maintain the resale value. When body work is done on a car, this could show not only when looking at the car but could also show on a Carfax report.
• It is a great option for unique cars like antiques as matching the paint color can prove to be difficult.

When can Paintless Dent Repair Not be Used?

There are certain instances when paintless dent repair is simply not an option. For instance, if there is a chip or scratch in the paint, the paint will obviously be needed to fix it. Also, as previously mentioned, the technician needs to be able to access the dent from the inside, depending on where the dent is, this is not always possible. Finally, it can only be used on metal, so plastic components of the body are a no-go.

What about Do-It-Yourself dent removal?

For the fee you are going to pay, this type of job is usually best left to the professionals. Not having proper tools and techniques can often end up causing even more damage. As you can see in this video, someone tried to fix the dent themselves and ended up having to bring it to a paintless dent professional in the end. Plus, the dent was worst than what it was in the beginning.

Worst case scenario, when you try doing the job yourself, you may even chip the paint having to then bring it to a body shop which will take much more time and put an even bigger dent in your wallet.

A paintless dent repair is a great option for getting small dents in your car fixed. If there is no damage to the paint, and it is possible to access the dent from the back, you are good to go. You will save time, money, and maintain the authenticity of your vehicle without having to touch the paint.