Paintless Dent Removal: Does It Work?

What is Paintless Dent Removal?

An alternative to traditional restoration, which usually involves body work and repainting, paintless dent removal is a much less invasive way of removing evidence of bumps and dents. While it almost always takes less time than body work, paintless dent removal can still require a lot of prep-work and careful consideration by the person doing the repairs.

Being able to ease the metal back into shape means that the different angles and contours of the dent need to be identified and understood. Experienced paintless dent repairers can do this by using special tools and lighting to figure out exactly what is going on with the damaged area. Once the area has been mapped out, the repairer will need to apply a variety of different types of pressure to gradually ease the dented metal back into shape. Since dents have to be smoothed out from behind, interior paneling may need to be removed from the car during the process and put back in place when the repairs are done, but no permanent replacements should have to occur.

Can You Do Your Own Paintless Dent Removal?

It can be more than a little disconcerting to watch someone else hammer and put pressure on an already-damaged part of your vehicle, but in the case of paintless dent removal, an experienced hand is usually best. While you can learn to do paintless dent removal yourself, the number of tools required and the importance of precision in the task mean that it is usually a better option to go to someone who really knows what they’re doing. The amount of money it costs to hire professionals for paintless dent repair cost can be worth it if it means the job is done as well as possible from the start.

How Much Does Paintless Dent Removal Cost?

One of the biggest factors in your decision to repair a dent can be how much it will cost you. Since dents are generally only cosmetic, it can be tempting to simply leave them alone and move on. However, small dent repair costs are usually low and it can be worthwhile to spring some money on them. While a lot can depend on the specifics of the damage, such as how big the dent is and where it’s located, it’s usually safe to safe that paintless dent removal can be a much cheaper option than traditional restoration. It can also be worth keeping in mind that while repainting often lowers the resale value of your vehicle, paintless repair, when done well, shouldn’t make a noticeable impact on how much money you can get for the car later.

As far as the exact cost of paintless dent repair goes, you should expect it to be somewhere in the range of $50-$400. Small dents, such as those on the doors tend to be cheaper than larger areas of damage, but paintless repair should remain affordable even in cases of large collision damage.

Will Paintless Dent Removal Work on Your Car?

Most of the time, small dents can be successfully repaired without extensive body work. The exceptions can be for very large areas of damage or damage where the metal has been stretched too far beyond its original shape.

If the damage is extensive, or if there are cracks in the paint or stretching in the metal, you may be safer going for professional body work as a solution. Professional body work is usually more expensive and time-consuming, but it can sometimes be a better option in extreme cases. Rather than pushing the metal back into shape, traditional body work and repair generally involves putting a filler in the dent and repainting over it.

A few tell-tale signs that paint will need to be redone can be:

• Bubbling
• Chipping
• Creasing
• Peeling

If these problems exist you will likely be better off taking the route of traditional dent repair instead of trying to solve the issue through paintless repair.

Paintless Repair Vs. Traditional Repair

Before committing to traditional dent removal instead of paintless dent removal, it can be important to note that not only is traditional removal more of a hassle, but it may not hold up as well as paintless dent repair in the long run. Repainting and body repairs may also lower the overall value of your vehicle should you decide to sell it in the future.

Another interesting benefit of paintless repair can be that it is more environmentally friendly than traditional repair, as none of the chemicals that would be released into the air during repainting are needed. While this may not be the biggest selling point of paintless repair, it is another good thing to keep in mind.

Repairing Dents

While not the most pressing of repairs, dents are something you should fix at one point or another to keep your vehicle looking its best. If the dents are small and there is no serious creasing in the existing paint, paintless dent removal should be a great way to remove most evidence of the damage while saving yourself a lot of time and money. Paintless removal is a permanent solution to denting that should make it so your car looks as if the damage never occurred in the first place. Consider it a great all-around option for any situation in which the paint remains intact and the metal simply needs to be pressed back into shape.

You can get the parts you need at your local AutoZone Store. If the job is too big for you, seek out one of our Preferred Shops to help you do the job.