You’ve run to the grocery store to run an errand and come back to a horror scene… a runaway cart that a careless person has haphazardly discarded has smashed into your brand new car and left a massive dent on your door. What are you to do?
There are two primary methods to repairing dents on a vehicle. You have traditional body repair, which includes the use of paint filler, and you have PDR, which requires the skills of a trained technician with specialized tools to pop the dent back into place.
So, which is better? Let’s look at both methods of repair in detail.
Traditional repair uses paint filler, a.k.a Bondo, to fill in dents, creases, and other damage on your vehicle to ‘restore’ the shape of the body panel. The vehicle is then sanded, painted, and buffed before being put back together.
Sure, your car looks as good as new, but is it?
The problems with paint fillers are numerous. Bondo will crack over time if not mixed correctly, leaving the repair looking worse than the original damage. Not only that, but the paint will fade differently over Bondo than it will over the rest of the vehicle, making the repair more noticeable after some time.
PDR, or Paintless Dent Repair, is a more conservative approach to fixing dents. Using specialized tools like dent rods and blending hammers, a certified technician will gently massage a dent back into its original shape, often in a matter of minutes, restoring the look of your car. No fillers or painting here!
Wait a minute, is it really that easy?
Well, yes! PDR is the simplest, easiest, most cost-effective way to get rid of a dent. In fact, it’s the preferred method by most insurance companies when it comes to repairing hail-damaged or dented vehicles. In the case of our shopping cart mishap, the customer can come out paying less than their insurance deductible if they choose the PDR route over the traditional repair!
In every possible case, it’s always beneficial to see if PDR is an option. Its ability to retain the integrity of the body panels and paint is a massive advantage to the vehicle owner over invasive body repair. It’s more cost-effective, and it retains the value of the vehicle better over time.
In this case, the answer is clear, chose PDR!
If you have questions about the hail damage process, door dings, dents, or damage to your vehicle, please reach out to us at the shop. We would love to help clear anything up and understand how you want to proceed with your car’s repair. We are here to make your repair easy, seamless, and we are here to help. We want to get you back on the road with a car restored to its factory condition. Please give us a call or stop by the shop to estimate the damage. We want to explain the dent removal process to make things seamless and easy and get you back on the road and cruising. Call Us Today at 903-280-8190 or fill out ourcontact form here!
More and more cars are made of aluminum. We all love our trucks in Texas, and many new trucks, including Ford’s, are made completely of aluminum. Technology is evolving on cars, and so is the repair process for PDR. Preferred Paintless PDR is ready and willing to fix your aluminum dent, ding, or hail damage.
Many vehicles these days have aluminum panels throughout. Although this has many benefits for the manufacturer and the driver, aluminum is more difficult to repair properly.
When cars and trucks are made with Aluminum, it is lighter, than steel and it allows automakers to increase dent resistance—they can make body panels thicker while still lowering weight. And a lower-weight vehicle has better acceleration, better braking, and better handling.
Aluminum doesn’t have a memory like steel, which most vehicles are made of, and it takes a lot of manipulation to repair properly. Our technicians are legitimate artists who have to rebuild curves, body lines, and your car’s shape back to the way it was in the factory. Aluminum is also 7 times harder to repair than steel. It takes a lot more tork, strength, and pushing to get the panel back, equating to a longer repair time. Aluminum is one of the hardest metals to repair, and it takes a skilled and seasoned tech to get this back.
Heat can be a valuable tool in Paintless Dent Removal. Aluminum also reacts differently from steel when heat is applied. Heat is an important part of dent removal, so we don’t crack or hurt the paint and make the metal easier to push. Aluminum not only needs heat for shaping, but it is also tricky in how it reacts to heat.
Too much heat can compromise the integrity of the aluminum and leave it permanently softened. It can also damage the paint and make it bubble, but the heat the necessary to make the aluminum malleable so it can be reshaped.
We are trained and ready to repair your aluminum cars, trucks, and vehicles at Prefered Paintless Services. Hail damage is also one of our specialties. We can fix any aluminum car that has been hit with hail or any other damage that may have occurred. While aluminum is harder to ding and dent, it still happens.
If you have questions about door dings, dents, or damage to your vehicle, please reach out to us at the shop. We would love to help clear anything up and understand how you want to proceed with your car’s repair. We are here to make your repair easy, seamless, and we are here to help. We want to get you back on the road with a car restored to its factory condition. Please give us a call or stop by the shop to estimate the damage. We want to explain the dent removal process to make things seamless and easy and get you back on the road and cruising. Call Us Today at 903-280-8190 or fill out our contact form here!
Hail can leave many parts of your car damaged and in need of replacement. Cosmetic hail damage done to the exterior of your car can come in many forms, and each has a specific method of repair. Whichever part of your vehicle has hail damage, there is a repair method for you.
Below are a few car parts that often receive cosmetic hail damage along with their recommended repair methods.
Body panels, hoods, and trunks
Your car’s metal panels are some of the most likely parts to get damaged. Parts like the hood, trunk, and roof have large, flat surface areas that hail can easily find. Body panel hail damage in Texarkana is characterized by small, round dents. To remove these dents and revert your panels back to their smooth condition, paintless dent repair is the way to go. It’s inexpensive, fast, and doesn’t show up on service reports.
Windows (side and windshield)
Like body panels, windows take up a large percentage of the exterior of a car. However, windows are much more fragile than body panels, and can easily receive hail damage in Texarkana. Windshields have more surface area facing upward than side windows, but are made of thicker glass to prevent as much damage as possible. Side windows are thinner and more easily broken, but their angle makes them harder to be damaged by hail. To repair window damage caused by hail, contact a specialty auto glass replacement company. Some companies require you to come in, while others can bring their services right to you.
Doors
Doors can get round dents from hail, but are less likely to receive damage than parts like the hood or the trunk. Doors being perpendicular to the ground as opposed to parallel helps protect them from hail damage, but hail that is traveling at an angle may still cause door dents. Like body panel hail damage, door hail damage can be repaired with paintless dent repair.
Mirrors and lights
The smallest car parts on this list, mirrors and lights have lower chances of receiving hail damage than other areas of a car. Hail may cause these parts to crack or shatter, which could cause difficulty in use while driving. Mirrors and lights, if damaged by hail, will likely need to be replaced.
If you haven’t heard of paintless dent repair, it’s one of the best methods of dent repair in Texarkana, and for good reason. PDR has been around since the mid-20th Century and is used by many different body shops. Looking for dent repair for your vehicle? Here’s why you should choose paintless dent repair over traditional body shop repairs:
1. It’s fast. Traditional body shop repairs can leave you without a car for weeks, while Texarkana paintless dent repair can have your car ready in as little as a few hours. With less steps than traditional repairs, PDR can get your car back on the road in no time.
2. It’s cheap. PDR is much less expensive than traditional repairs, as it does not require paint or replacement parts.
3. It’s covered by insurance. Many insurance companies trust paintless dent repair and therefore cover it because it’s a reliable process that consistently produces quality results.
4. It stays off service reports. The non-invasive process of PDR allows it to not show up on service reports, which can be good for the resale value of your car.
5. It’s better for the environment. Body fillers and putties that are used in traditional dent repair as well as the paint that covers them up release harmful gasses into the atmosphere. PDR technicians use tools to remove dents instead of filling them in and do not use paint in their process, saving the environment from these pollutants.
With all these benefits, why wouldn’t you choose Texarkana paintless dent repair? It’s available near you and will dramatically help the resale value of your vehicle without doing damage on your bank account. Many dents can be fixed with paintless dent repair as long as the paint on your vehicle has not been chipped. Visit your Texarkana auto body technician today to see if your car can be fixed with paintless dent repair.
Paintless dent repair is one of the best forms of dent removal out there and is a great option for those who wish to save money and time on dent repairs. However, not everyone has time in their schedule for car repairs or the money to spend on transportation while their cars are in the shop. If that sounds like you, consider mobile paintless dent repair for your car damage.
Comparing PDR to traditional dent repair, you’ll find PDR to be superior in many ways, including cost and wait time. Traditional dent repair fills dents with putty and paints them to match the rest of the car, while PDR technicians work out dents with pressure and small tools. Paintless dent repair’s use of existing panels rather than replacement parts saves drivers money and wait time. This repair process doesn’t show up on service reports and is covered by many insurance companies.
Despite all the advantages of PDR, some people still hesitate to get their dents repaired based on their need for reliable transportation. Rental car costs while your vehicle is getting repaired can add up and make your repair process more complicated. If you can’t rent a car, transportation can be even more difficult or costly while you wait for your vehicle. If you’ve ever thought, “There isn’t a dent repair solution near me,” you’re in luck. Mobile paintless dent repair has arrived.
Mobile paintless dent repair brings the advantages of body shop PDR right to you. Mobile PDR near you can come to your home, your office, or wherever is most convenient for you. It works best for dents that are baseball-sized, which can be removed in about an hour. Mobile PDR means no rental cars and no trips to the body shop. This process is all about working with your schedule to provide you quality dent repair. For those who can’t make it to the body shop, mobile paintless dent repair near you is the best choice.
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