Paintless Dent Repair.... aaargh

[Jonny042]

So some of you probably read my rant about some $%^%#er pushing two shopping carts against my car, leaving a grand total of five dents to be repaired on the right side of my car.

Enter paintless dent repair, the perfect solution. Then the problems start...... there are (or were) only two specialized places in this little podunk ass backwards town that do PDR. Went to the first place and hte ONE technician is out of town doing hail repair in Calgary. Until December. And he quoted a flat rate of $175 per dent.

The other place is out of business.

OK, so a quick search reveals that one of the more respected body shops in town is advertising that they do it too, so I went over there the guy seems confident that they can do it although "we can't guarantee the results" because one dent has a bit if a crease. The crease is maybe an inch long and the dent is less than 3/16" deep.

This morning I drop the car off and we were looking over the car and he's marking dents with a grease pen and I made a few comments about panel access from behind. He starts acting a little cagey... so I said "you're not going to glue something to my car.....are you?"

He goes on to tell me how PDR from the back of a panel is stone-age, blah, blah, blah....

OK, so, whatever, they have my car and I can only hope that this isn't some tactic to sell me a whole fresh coat of paint.

Time will tell...... I'll let you know how it goes.

[tobluforu]

I bet it comes out great as I can't believe the magic some of these guys perform with smoke and mirrors. Well, leave the smoke out. If it's creased then that's another issue.

[hcoles]

I've had good luck in the past.
There is a place around here that seemed to be the originator of the idea or process.
I like to take the car in to the location instead of having them work remotely.
Then they have easy access to plenty of power for heaters/tools/etc.
I don't know much about the process but it seems heating the paint is important.

[attamz]

I don't want to sound rude, but if this guy is doing this on a regular basis, chances are he knows what the better method is and doesn't need your criticism. This is how porsche owners get a reputation for being arrogant.

[Bob Kontak]

I have had several removed over the years and it is magic.

I also got an odd ball look from the guy that did my door when I asked if I could remove the door panel for him.

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by attamz

I don't want to sound rude, but if this guy is doing this on a regular basis, chances are he knows what the better method is and doesn't need your criticism. This is how Porsche owners get a reputation for being arrogant.

Oh.....

That IS a very good point, and you're absolutely right. For the record I was arrogant before I had a Porsche-aw, but now I have an excuse to be this way.

And, I hope you're right. Unfortunately the bar for bodywork and customer service and honesty in dealing with customers is very, very, very low in this town.

Thanks for all the well-wishes AND positive experiences, I feel better now...... only 2-1/2 more hours till I can go pick it up.

[hcoles]

@Bob,
I run into this sort of attitude from time to time. You try to help by e.g. getting the door panel out of the way assuming in any case it will make it easier for the person trying to get at the backside of the dent. I'm not sure where this comes from, I'm guessing they don't want you understanding the process and trying to help, it makes them uneasy. Sort of like when you offer to let the tire shop use your non-maring socket when installing wheels. They don't want advice from the peanut gallery.

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by tobluforu

I bet it comes out great as I can't believe the magic some of these guys perform with smoke and mirrors. Well, leave the smoke out. If it's creased then that's another issue.

The real magic to me is in the use of the reflection of a light or a black/white striped board to magnify and amplify the dents so you can see what you are doing. It's a classic case of using technology to perform magic. I do this when blocking a panel to prep for paint and it works wonders... although it can drive you crazy too.

To me it's the glue-on thing that makes me nervous.

Whatever, I have to remind myself too that it's just a car, I'm sure plently of people would trade my problems for theirs

[skinnerd]

Relax.....and ease up Dude.

The "glue on thing" is just one of their many tools to use.

You should see a great improvement.
Maybe not perfect....but what do you really expect.

They will eliminate most of what you can see.
You'll be happy in the end I'll bet.

[Bob Kontak]

hcoles - Nah, he was really telling me he (or I) did not need to do that with the look. He was pretty cool.

I actually watched him do part of it with reflection board with the lines on it. He did tap a little with a plastic hammer but I never saw how he got the main part of the dent out. I don't think he ever went behind the dent.

[attamz]

Originally Posted by Jonny042

The real magic to me is in the use of the reflection of a light or a black/white striped board to magnify and amplify the dents so you can see what you are doing. It's a classic case of using technology to perform magic. I do this when blocking a panel to prep for paint and it works wonders... although it can drive you crazy too.

To me it's the glue-on thing that makes me nervous.

Whatever, I have to remind myself too that it's just a car, I'm sure plently of people would trade my problems for theirs

I didn't mean to come off like a dbag in the first post... while the glue may sound primitive, you have to realize that the glue has been developed to not harm the paint on your car. Otherwise they wouldn't use this method. My point in the matter is it is fine to inquire about methods (in which you are unfamiliar) that this guy is going to use in the repair of your vehicle but to freak out and tell him he isn't going to glue something to your car could be insulting.

[Wil Ferch]

Whether the body shop advertises that "he does this" or not....it ALL comes down to his skill and frequency of doing this. If it's a businesss,recently acquired as a franchisee....I'd be worried. If it's another "tool" in his arsenal of knowledge....then it may be OK.

Personally...my recommendation would have been to widen (geographically) your search and hunt down a dent-removal place that 1.) has this as their "main" line of business, 2.) has some experience doing this and 3.) (optional), can even lay claim to doing this on Porsches and other German cars that have slightly thicker steel.

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by attamz

but to freak out and tell him he isn't going to glue something to your car could be insulting.

No worries, in fact I think maybe I'm the one who came off as a Douche..... bit of a miscommunication perhaps. I didn't freak out and take off, I left the car with them, and when I said it I said it as a question, as in "do you mean to say you are going to glue something to my car?" with eyebrows raised, a dubious tone, perhaps, but not freaking out.

Sorry, it's so hard to communicate through a keyboard sometimes.....

[HarryD]

I second Wil's comments. Be aware that most Body shops do not have personnel that possess the specialized skills to do paintless repairs.

As far as gluing on a tab so they can "pull" the dent, this is the latest new thing.

This week end I was talking with a fellow that does paintless dent repair in Oklahoma (they get lots of practice - think hail storm).

He told me that in the past, they were unable to dentless on panels where they could not get behind the dent. There is now a product out there that you glue the tab to the paint, pull the dent and release the glue with a solvent that does not attack the paint. He reported that it has really improved the range of dents that they can repair.

[kidrock]

I can understand Jonny042's concern about experience and reputation. There are areas where the quality of work will be of a higher standard. For example, I've been to many Harley Davidson repair shops where the mechanics were "certified" by H-D...but the end product at some of these shops was shoddy, at best.

What it really all comes down to is, the practitioner.

Get a good look at the shop, and who will be doing the work. Maybe even do a search online and do your homework before releasing your baby into the hands of either a magician, or butcher.

There are no guarantees, obviously. But going in with a little bit of knowledge can be a powerful tool.

[porschenut]

I've heard off them using suction cups instead of glued tabs. This is how they got the dents out of my BMW's trunk lid a few years back. Took 10 minutes for 3 dents @ $35/dent.

[Jonny042]

Well, I got the car back.

The GOOD news is it looks better than when I brought it there.

The BAD news is the dents remain. I can still positively identify all 5 of them. And my wallet is $260.00 lighter.

I now have 3 smallish door dings and 2 barely perceptible ones. I don't even think they tried one of them, it doesn't look any different to me.

I am also concerned that they seem to have polished the areas quite heavily - the texture of the paint is different in the areas they "worked" on and I can even pick out areas that look like they were wet sanded. Which I didn't think was part of the deal.

So..... aaargh.

[89911]

I have had generally good luck with dent removals. I use to have a guy that would come to my house and charge $50/panel to remove any dents in it. The ideal way to fix any dent is to have good access behind it. Some panels have double walls and prevent this without drilling holes in metalwork that is blocking it. They also may need to remove interior panels to gain access. For black cars, dent removal can be a mixed bag. The dent may be gone, but you still can see some changes in the paint around the area of damage. I would like to see how pulling the dent out with adhesives work. I have watched him do his thing and its a lot of back and forth with adjustment from the back and directly on top of the dent. I have seen him actually tap the dent with a hammer and what looks like a center punch. I guess he is just trying to work out the metal to be as strait as possible. Sorry it didn't work out. I think in the right hands, they could come out. If he couldn't access from the back, it could explain the poor results.

[Zeke]

Johnny, I don't know where your little podunk town is, but the advice Wil gave you is what you should do in the future. Wider circle.

Here in SoCal, there are a l million of these guys and most are quite good. I paid $85 for 3 good door dings and I can't see a thing wrong with the door.

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by milt

Johnny, I don't know where your little podunk town is, but the advice Wil gave you is what you should do in the future. Wider circle.

Here in SoCal, there are a l million of these guys and most are quite good. I paid $85 for 3 good door dings and I can't see a thing wrong with the door.

Yes, the advice is good..... and I suppose I might have to take it if I want these dents gone.

I've got to update my profile! I'm a long way from anywhere. Nearest "good" PDR place is probably a 6 hour drive, assuming I could find one in Minneapolis. If I wanted to stick in Canada, Winnipeg is the nearest at 8 hours drive.