Paintless Dent Removal - PDR Tools

Paintless dent removal refers to the various techniques used for correcting the damage from the body of motor vehicles. It is also referred to as paintless repair. It is an ideal solution for repairing minor damages, non-collision dents, door dings, hail damage, bumper indentation, or creases that have no paint damage. It usually leaves no traces of the damage, if it is performed by a qualified technician.

The tools are available in various shapes and angles such as pointed, rounded, flat, sharp edged, straight, curved, right angled, and hooked. The thickness of each of them is designed to be used for various purposes; a larger dent may require a thicker tool and vice versa.

This equipment is available as sets in the market. The number of pieces per set may vary depending upon the purpose and the manufacturing company. For example, a beginner's set usually consists of 16-18 pieces, while a technician set consists of about 38-40 pieces. While purchasing these tools, always opt for the superior quality metals like carbon steels that are non-rusting and highly durable.

The main principle behind the working of PDR is to apply pressure gently on the opposite side of the dent or ding by using specified tools, so that the metal is pushed back to its original shape without disturbing the car paint finish. The technician tries to align the localized dented part by using lightweight hammers.

Any irregularity in the damaged part is then corrected by light taps or gentle hand manipulation. The effectiveness depends on the paint quality and the severity of the metal stretch that has been incurred by the damage. While performing this procedure, the technician applies the pressure with proper eye and hand coordination.

This procedure offers several advantages in comparison to the traditional method of body repairing. To mention a few, PDR corrects the metal body by maintaining the original paint finish of the vehicle. It is cost-effective (charges about one-third of traditional body repair) and requires lesser time (about 30 minutes) for repairing.

It is operated without using the fillers or paints, which is so in case of conventional repairing techniques. Hence, there is no chance of incorrect color matching in case of PDR.

Regarding the cons, this option is not suitable for very sharp dents, creases, and dings that involve extensive paint damages. A major drawback is that it can be used for correcting damages incurred to metal parts, but not plastic parts. It is also not effective for the scratches and/or damages incurred near the edge of the panel. Though these damages can be corrected by using PDR techniques, repainting is usually required afterwards.

Nowadays, PDR training is offered in various private institutes. The training is usually a short-term course for about a month. During the training, the trainees are taught with on-field projects regarding the various techniques. Some institutes provide tools to the students.

On completion of the training, the institute provides a certificate regarding the said course. The average charge for paintless dent removal is USD 50 to USD 120 per repair. Hence, if a technician repairs two dents per day, the annual earning is about USD 53,787.