Paintless Dent Repair: What, When, and Why

Paintless dent repair gets your vehicle back into good physical health in a quick, easy, and affordable way. Sometimes things can happen, such as backing into an obstacle, getting into a fender bender, or, in some cases, dents can even just seem to magically appear. Whatever the cause, dents in your vehicle don’t look so great, and they can negatively impact the value of your vehicle if you were considering selling or trading-in. 

But what is paintless dent repair exactly? How does it differ from your run-of-the-mill dent repair? When should you opt for one and not the other? In this paintless dent repair overview, we’ll look at what you can expect from the service at a collision repair center and when it’s right to choose paintless dent repair. Let’s dive in. 

What is Paintless Dent Repair? 

Without getting too technical, the one main thing you need to know about dent removal is that it hinges on the metal’s “memory.” In other words, assuming the metal hasn’t been bent out of shape too much or for too long, it can revert to its original state and shape. When the dent or ding isn’t too severe, the auto body repair shop will coax the metal back to how it should be. Sometimes this is done by accessing the dent from the other side (aka, the interior of the vehicle) or by using a suction tool to “pop” the dent out.  

And that’s it. Simple as that. No pounding, grinding, or sanding. And then, no need for a paint application to cover up the cosmetic damage, hence the name “paintless dent repair.” 

When Should I Choose Paintless Dent Repair? 

In Kansas City, we’ll sometimes get hailstorms, and those little nuggets plummeting back to Earth are key culprits of dents and dings in vehicles. If you have kids in your neighborhood, you might notice a ding that’s suspiciously the size of a football. Regardless, if you find dents on larger pieces of the vehicle’s body, such as the doors, hood, or roof, paintless dent repair is a quick and affordable option to get the dings out. 

When Do I Need Traditional Dent Repair? 

When dents and damage to the vehicle are more severe, or the paint has cracked in the dent or around it, you may need to opt for traditional dent repair over paintless dent repair. They’ll need to hammer out the metal to get it back into shape, grind, and sand the area down to have a fresh canvas to apply new paint. Because of the extra labor involved, this process is a bit more costly. However, at McCarthy Collision centers, we make it as affordable as possible and offer service specials to help you save. 

Choose McCarthy for Paintless Dent Repair 

If your car has a few dents and dings, bring it to our collision center to see if it’s eligible for paintless dent repair. Our expert technicians understand vehicle repair and dent removal and can help get your car, truck, or SUV back into tip-top shape. Contact us today to find the McCarthy Collision Center near you. 

Tags: dent repair, do i need paintless dent repair, paintless dent repair, pdr, what is paintless dent repair
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