What Can Paintless Dent Repair Fix?

Paintless dent repair is an excellent option for some vehicle owners who experience damage to their vehicle where the paint doesn’t chip or crack. Although paintless dent repair isn’t the solution for every repair, the process is used for a wide range of dents, from minor dings to huge dents.

Just because a dent is significant doesn’t mean the process must entail paint removal, sanding, Bondo application, and repainting. In many cases, paintless dent repair is less expensive than traditional repairs, and it often takes far less time to complete the job.

Here are some of the types of repairs paintless dent removal can remedy, as well as some helpful information about the process and whether it’s suitable for your vehicle.

Does Paintless Dent Repair Really Work?

Paintless dent repair has an excellent track record when you choose a repair facility to complete the work. You can expect the shop to handle a majority of repairs through paintless dent repair, with the rest of the repairs requiring a more traditional approach with sanding, putty, and painting.

One of the reasons paintless dent repair is an excellent choice for many vehicle owners is that it’s cost-effective because it offers the same results as more invasive techniques in a fraction of the time.

Not only is paintless dent repair a reliable service, but it’s even an environmentally friendly option for car repair since the process doesn’t require chemical material applications of paint or putty.

What Kinds of Dents Can be Repaired with Paintless Dent Repair?

Minor dents caused by impacts from things like car doors, hail, and shopping carts are prime candidates for paintless dent removal. When the paint isn’t damaged and the only thing marring the surface of your car is a dent, it makes sense to remove a dent with paintless dent repair.

In some cases, you can even use paintless dent repair on a dent that caused some paint damage. Paintless ding removal may still work when the damage includes a light scratch and is not that noticeable. For some vehicle owners, simply fixing a dent and returning later to deal with the paint is enough.

Paintless dent removal isn’t just a process for tiny door dings and dents. It’s also a process used for medium-sized dents that may have resulted from a minor collision or even deer damage. Sometimes, an impact with another vehicle results in nothing more serious than an indentation on the bumper. Even if the indentation is somewhat noticeable, paintless dent removal techniques can often remove it.

Another kind of dent that’s easily removable is one on a fender or bumper. These car components are easily removable, which means accessing the dent is easy. As long as the piece isn’t cracked and the structural integrity of the parts underneath the bumper are intact, paintless dent repair is an excellent option for bumper dents and dings.

Other areas that are often repairable with paintless dent repair include the hood, trunk lid, and roof. These areas offer easy access for technicians, which means repairing the dents takes just a short time to complete, especially when there are no cracks or damage to the paint.

What Kind of Dents Can’t be Repaired with Paintless Dent Repair?

If you have a carbon fiber panel on your car, you can’t use paintless dent repair to fix it. Carbon fiber hoods or fiberglass hoods require specialized repair. Bear in mind, however, that a technician can repair fiberglass. Many people assume fiberglass is done for when it’s bent or chipped, but it’s actually repairable.

Paintless dent removal is a simple option, even when a dent is an impressive size. Still, traditional dent removal may offer the best results for older vehicles that don’t have modern paint. A classic car that hasn’t seen a paint job in several decades won’t have the same elastic, malleable paint that today’s cars have.

Because the paint on an old car doesn’t stretch as easily, removing a big dent from a classic car may come with some difficulties. The paint may chip during the process, especially when the paint has already been dented once during the incident that caused the dent in the first place.

Some types of body panels aren’t repairable using paintless dent repair. Dents in plastic bumpers and doors are fixable, but paintless dent repair isn’t the process to repair those features. Likewise, some vehicles made of composite metals might not react appropriately to the paintless dent removal process. The best materials for quick paintless dent removal are metals like aluminum, steel, and high strength steel.

Your repair technician can usually help you figure out what method of dent repair will offer the best results. Even if you want to try removing the dent on your own, your dent removal tech is often the best source for information on what process will give you the best results.

Does Paintless Dent Repair Damaged Paint?

One of the benefits of paintless dent repair is that it doesn’t require that the technicians undertake the entire process of removing paint, filling the dent with bondo, and replacing the paint. An additional plus is that paintless dent removal doesn’t damage the existing paint either. 

In sporadic cases, paintless dent removal may impact the paint, but it’s pretty straightforward for the technician to fix the issue with traditional methods or obtain assistance from a technician trained in conventional dent repair.

Can Paintless Dent Repair Fix a Crease?

Your dent repair technician may need a little extra time to repair a crease with paintless dent removal. In recent years, improvements to dent removal machinery have allowed technicians to remove a vast array of dents today. 

Creases were once almost impossible to fix, but the industry has made some impressive updates to its techniques to make it possible to fix crease dents. Further, paintless dent removal is also possible with large dents, which means it’s not just the minor dents that are easily fixed. Today, you might have the opportunity to fix a significant crease from a fender bender with paintless dent repair.