What is PDR
PDR is the acronym for Paintless Dent Repair or Removal. It is a method of removing dents on autobody panels without the use of fillers and painting. The technique involves using specialized tools to push out the dents from the backside of the panel.
PDR has been around for many decades, and is a very mature and safe dent repair technique. With the advancements in automotive paint technology and quality, coupled with the advancements in PDR technology and equipment in the last 15 - 20 years, the variety of dents that can now be repaired, and the quality of the repairs using PDR have greatly improved.
Please note, PDR is only suitable for cosmetic damages to the surface panel, and cannot repair structural damages.
Benefits of PDR
There are many benefits to, and reasons for using the paintless dent repair method.
Preserve the vehicle's original paint
Since PDR involves only reshaping the metal back into place, the manufacturer's paint is maintained. So, there would be no colour mismatches as you might see with traditional body work and painting. This is also good for manufacturer's warranty purposes. As well, this will certainly help the resale value of your vehicle.
Faster repair time
Small dents and dings can often be repaired in less than an hour, while more complex dents may take a few hours, and extensive hail damage may require a couple of days. This is much faster than the traditional method of fillers, sanding, and painting, which may take several days, or longer. So, you get your vehicle back much sooner. For those that rely on their vehicles for work, this means less down time, and more productivity.
Cheaper repair cost and Insurance cost
The cost of PDR is generally only a fraction of the cost of traditional autobody repair method, and often times even less than your insurance deductible. So, you may not have to claim it through your insurance, and thus don't have to worry about your insurance rates increasing. Also, not going through insurance means nothing goes on your vehicle record, and your vehicle's resale value won't be hit.
If your vehicle is a lease, or rental vehicle that you are getting ready to return, or if you are selling your vehicle, you should consider having the damages fixed first. The relative low cost of repair will be more than offset by any potential damage fees or depreciation in resale value.
Insurance approved
PDR is industry recognized and insurance approved repair process, and is actually preferred method of repair for hail damages and minor dents by many insurance companies.
Environmentally friendly
Since PDR involves no painting, there are no fillers, no harmful chemicals such as solvents, paints released into the environment. As well, since PDR is performed on the original part, there are no replacement parts, therefore less materials going to the landfills. All around making it an eco-friendly solution to your dent repair.
Conditions for PDR
While most dents can be restored to pre-damage conditions using PDR, there are still times when the conventional autobody repair method is required, especially if there is paint damage. Following conditions should be met for the damage to be successfully repaired by PDR:
- the paint must be in good condition, with no broken surface around the damaged area. Chips and scratches in the paint around the damaged area may cause the paint to crack during repair.
- must not have previous repair performed to the damaged area, including PDR.
If you are unsure if your damage can be repaired by PDR, please feel free to contact us for an honest opionion and advise.
PDR Pricing Factors
The cost of PDR repair is basically determined by the difficulty of the repair, which is affected by a variety of factors such as:
- severety of the damage. More severe the damage, the harder and more work it takes to repair;
- size, depth, and sharpness of the damage. Bigger, deeper, and sharper the dents are, the harder and more work it takes to repair;
- complexity of the damage. Creases, dents with complex shapes, dents with multiple impact points, etc. are more difficult to repair;
- location of the damage. Damages on body lines, wheel wells, and other areas where there are complex curves/lines are more difficult to repair than flat parts of the panel;
- accessibility of the damage. Damages in areas that are hard to access, i.e. close to edges, under braces, or double-walled panels are more challenging to repair.
- thickness of the metal. Thicker the metal, more resistence there is, i.e. trucks vs compact cars, and thus harder it is to reshape it back into place.
- type of metal. Aluminium, High Strength Steel (HSS) and alloy are harder to work with than standard steel.
Every dent is diffrent, and every make/model of vehicle is different, so if it seems like you are being charged very different prices than your previous repairs or your friends repairs of seemingly similar dents, it could be that difficulty of the repairs are much different due to the above factors.
Please feel free to contact us for a free, no obligation estimate.