Question about Paintless Dent Repair
- Thread starter MLPbrian
- Start date
fortunately the dents are not deep and there is no paint damage 
I am going to take it to a body shop where it will be fixed by a PDR tech. My question is, will those dent ever return after getting fixed by PDR?
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Woz1976-MT
New member
No, as long as that same spot isn't hit by hail again. 
PDR is a very good repair (I actually got to try it when I was in claims training with State Farm). As long as it's not a deep dent or a dent with creasing, it'll be fine. Basically they're massaging the metal to remove stress (IRC) and the metal begins to move back to its original shape -- a flat panel.
I think there are some YouTube vids about how it works and how it's done if you're interested.
Also, be aware that they can't always get 100% of the dent "out". Sometimes there will still be a very small indentation (usually not very visible at all). They'll probably explain that to you when you take your vehicle in.
PDR is a very good repair (I actually got to try it when I was in claims training with State Farm). As long as it's not a deep dent or a dent with creasing, it'll be fine. Basically they're massaging the metal to remove stress (IRC) and the metal begins to move back to its original shape -- a flat panel.
I think there are some YouTube vids about how it works and how it's done if you're interested.
Also, be aware that they can't always get 100% of the dent "out". Sometimes there will still be a very small indentation (usually not very visible at all). They'll probably explain that to you when you take your vehicle in.
Woz1976-MT
New member
If the hail dents are not deep they'll probably get them out. If they are large and deep (but not creased) there might be a VERY small impression visible.
The PDR Techs (the pros at body shops) are very good... otherwise the insurance companies wouldn't use them.
I had a dent removed on my old Honda Civic (a drunk gal tossed a beer bottle up when she saw a police squad driving down the street -- hit between the top of the windshield and the front of the sunroof). There was a slight crease in the single dent, but $125 later it was 95-97% gone. It was barely visible. Nice, shallow, round hail dents come out very nicely.
The PDR Techs (the pros at body shops) are very good... otherwise the insurance companies wouldn't use them.
I had a dent removed on my old Honda Civic (a drunk gal tossed a beer bottle up when she saw a police squad driving down the street -- hit between the top of the windshield and the front of the sunroof). There was a slight crease in the single dent, but $125 later it was 95-97% gone. It was barely visible. Nice, shallow, round hail dents come out very nicely.
Jetboy
New member
FWIW - I got a big dent (like hit with a baseball looking dent) in the door of our IS250. I was skeptical but the PDR folks took 30 minutes as I watched and smoothed the panel perfectly and buffed it. In the middle of the big open slab of the door it was perfect. Like black magic. Never saw it again. I don't think even a pro would ever be able to find the spot again without looking inside the door to see some tool marks. I went from skeptic to believer.
Mistaken
New member
I've had great luck with PDR. My previous car had small dings and dents all over it from the previous owner and they really bugged me after awhile. Had a guy work on it for about an hour and he took all of them out and even a large 9" dent down the trunk. Couldn't believe he got that out and was very glad I had it done.
flyinhawaiian01
New member
Some of the top notch pdr guys CAN get dents out even in curved/contoured panels, but it takes so long to get it all the way out, many don't take the time to remove them completely.
I watched our old pdr guy work on a roof dent for almost 2 hours non-stop (brand new mercedes, not even owned) in my friend's shop, he literally worked the dent out further than flush, then worked it back down so that none of the dent was visible. Of course, he probably charged about 500 bucks to do that dent, but on a brand new vehicle, and a mercedes, that's nothing to a dealer if they can't sell it with the dent!
Wish I had pics of the dent in my wife's van, same guy worked it for about 40 minutes and got rid of it completely. That was back in '08 and it hasn't returned yet. Of course, there are many other dings in the car now, but I don't wanna talk about them...
I watched our old pdr guy work on a roof dent for almost 2 hours non-stop (brand new mercedes, not even owned) in my friend's shop, he literally worked the dent out further than flush, then worked it back down so that none of the dent was visible. Of course, he probably charged about 500 bucks to do that dent, but on a brand new vehicle, and a mercedes, that's nothing to a dealer if they can't sell it with the dent!
Wish I had pics of the dent in my wife's van, same guy worked it for about 40 minutes and got rid of it completely. That was back in '08 and it hasn't returned yet. Of course, there are many other dings in the car now, but I don't wanna talk about them...
