Paintless Dent Repair – Austin
What is Paintless Dent Repair?
Paintless dent repair (PDR) is an innovative way to fix surface dents and damage to your automobile or truck while keeping the original factory paint intact.
Paintless dent removal uses physical pressure to mold car dents back into shape. The result is a clean, seamless repair that retains the vehicle’s original color without new paint or additional chemicals.
Additionally, paintless dent repair is more affordable than auto body shops, shop repair time is shorter, and the PREFERRED method for dent & ding repair by ALL insurance companies.
Superior Dent Solutions is a locally owned and operated paintless dent repair shop in Liberty Hill, TX. We serve the entire Austin area and surrounding cities.
How does Paintless Dent Repair work?
Dent Manipulation is the core of PDR, and it requires immense skill, patience, and specialized tools. Our Austin master PDR technicians use a variety of dent pulling methods, including:
Dent Pushing
The most common method involves using specialized metal rods and body picks of various shapes and sizes. The technician carefully applies gentle, precise pressure to the backside of the dent, slowly massaging the metal back to its original form.
Tapping/Blending
As the dent is pushed or pulled out, small high spots or “crowns” can form around the repaired area. Our technicians use light hammers and other blending tools to carefully tap down any high spots, refining the surface until it’s perfectly smooth and matches the surrounding panel.
Glue Pulling
For areas where back-side access is difficult or impossible, our technicians may use a “glue pulling” technique. This involves bonding a specially designed tab to the exterior of the dented panel. Once the glue is set, a pulling tool is used to gently pull the dent outwards. After the metal is restored, the glue is removed without damaging the paint
Lighting & Inspection
Throughout the process, we use specialized LED lighting and reflective boards. These tools help us visualize the subtle imperfections in the metal that are invisible to the naked eye, allowing for precise and thorough repair.
Are there any Limitations to Paintless Dent Repair (PDR)?
Paintless dent repair’s primary use is for repairing door dings and auto hail repair. There are only a few reasons PDR would not be an option for a complete repair.
Paint damage. A ‘true’ paintless dent repair requires the area in and around the dented surface to have no paint damage including scrapes, peeling, bubbling, scratching, or chipping.
Metal only. Plastic bumpers, fenders, and other non-metal parts exceed the limitations of paintless dent repair.
Surface area. When the surface area of a singular body panel is so damaged, it may be more cost- effective to replace it rather than use paintless dent repair.
Paintless Dent Repair FAQ’s
The History of Paintless Dent Repair
Frank Sargent debuted the process in 1931. Twenty years later, Oskar Flaig showcased PDR at a popular car show in NYC, the “International Motor Sports Show,” which is today called SEMA.
The evolution of PDR has expanded to include hundreds of thousands of technicians worldwide.
Today, PDR has become the preferred method for dent repair by insurance companies and the auto manufacturing industry.
How much does paintless dent repair cost?
The cost to repair a dent with PDR depends on three main factors.
- The size of the dent.
- The depth of the dent.
- The location of the dent.
- Paint damage in or around dent.
- The amount of dents per panel.
Superior Dent Solutions specializes in the removal of dents & dings caused by hail damage.
The cost remove a singular dent such as a door ding, collision damage, or accident car very greatly depending on the factors listed above. The cost to repair a typical parking lot door ding (1/2″ diameter) using PDR averages between $90-$125. After the first inch, every additional inch costs around $50. For example, a softball sized dent which is 4-6″ could cost between $200-300 to repair. If there is any paint damage, we would estimate that cost in the shop.
How does paintless dent repair work?
First, an auto technician determines the easiest way to access the dent. This is usually accomplished by going through a window, removing pieces of trim or inner panels, or, for multiple dents, combining the three.
Using a unique set of tools, the technique gently applies even, slow pressure at the outer edge of the dent. The gentle massage gradually reshapes the metal back into position, making it smaller and smaller until it eventually vanishes, and the car surface looks new.
When is paintless dent removal recommended?
Paintless dent repair is a solid solution for almost any minor ding, dent or crease on the surface of your automobile or truck. It’s particularly effective in fixing damage caused by hail or small objects that haven’t scratched or peeled away any of the original paint.
Paint-less dent repair is a recommended course of action anytime a vehicle experiences minor dent damage, whether after a hailstorm or a minor traffic accident. It’s an effective and quick way to repair structural indentations.
What are the benefits of paintless dent repair (PDR)?
- It saves money. Paintless dent repair, on average, is less expensive than traditional car dent repair. It doesn’t usually require additional expenses for materials since all it entails are in-house tools and minor physical effort.
- It’s convenient. Depending on the extent or amount of damage, paintless dent repair can be extremely quick. Repairs using more traditional methods can leave a car in limbo for a long time, but Superior’s service usually turns a car around in less than a week.
- It preserves paint color. Even if it’s considered the “same color,” new paint doesn’t always match the manufacturer’s original color exactly and can leave off-shade spots on the car. Paintless dent repair keeps the appearance and integrity of the original color intact.
- It doesn’t invalidate factory paint warranties. Paintless dent repair avoids the application of new paint, fillers, or sanders, which means no actual structural change is made to the car’s finish, so the original paint finish warranty is untouched.
- It helps retain a vehicle’s value. Even minor physical damage to a car can cause its resale value to drop substantially. Paintless dent repair seamlessly removes those irregularities and helps your car maintain its worth.
- It’s eco-friendlier. No new cans of paint or filler to open means introducing fewer harmful chemicals into the environment.
What kind of dents does paintless dent repair fix?
Paintless dent repair removes dents of various shapes and sizes, caused by a wide range of conditions, objects or events including:
- Hail or thunderstorms
- Rocks, gravel, pebbles, or other road fragments
- Minor fender benders, collisions or parking accidents
- Door bumps from a crowded parking lot
- Damage to sharp body lines
Certain dents aren’t fixable with PDR, including those with scratched paint or exposed sharp edges, located close to a panel edge, or have previously had bodywork.
Will the dents come back if repaired with paintless dent repair?
Before any vehicle is repaired, it is assessed by one of our paintless dent repair technicians to make sure the vehicle is a good candidate for PDR. As long as the paint is still intact and the dent isn’t too complex in nature, the dents will not return when repaired with paintless dent repair.
85-95% of dents, not caused by a major collision or wreck, can be successfully repaired with PDR.
Contact Superior To Schedule A Free Inspection
Schedule your hail damage inspection by clicking the button below. You can also call us at 512-430-5855.
