While body-shop professionals rarely agree on exactly which types of damage should be fixed with paintless repair, deep, long creases generally don’t make the cut. But the method usually works for repairing hail damage, which normally leaves a lot of small pockmarks. According to AAWC’s Brad Petersen, it accounts for about 20 percent of the work.
Parking-lot dings and scratches are also prime candidates for paintless repair, thanks largely to today’s clear coat finishes. Since many parking lot scratches are only in the clear coat, it can be polished to remove them.
Professionals rely on a paint thickness gauge to avoid sanding through the clear coat, something car owners can do in a hurry without the microfine, 2000-grit paper professionals use (see “Car Care,” July/August 1993). Although there are aerosol clear coats you can apply if you go a hair too deep, most won’t look like the original finish.
Also consider paintless repairs for small dents from road debris that often go unnoticed since they’re usually on lower body panels. If you leave those dents unattended, road salt and moisture-locking grime can bring on rust.
Like most other work, the quality of a paintless repair is only as good as the technician’s skill level. Even simple repairs can be botched without the proper training. Pros should also admit when a dent can’t be fixed with paintless methods. Here are some tips on how to select the right repair shop for your vehicle and how make sure the job is done right:
- Associations such as AAWC train and certify service technicians to perform paintless dent repair. Check for certification when choosing a shop.
- Shops that do quality work usually perform hail-damage repair for local car dealerships as well. Get recommendations from dealers you trust.
- Ask service technicians for references before you agree to have the repairs done. Inspect some of the cars they’ve worked on. If they’ve done quality work before, they’ll likely do the same for your car.
- If the damaged panel is aluminum, be sure the shop has worked with this metal before. Aluminum is far more pliable than even thin-gauge steel and demands an especially soft touch.
PHOTO (COLOR): SMOOTHING OUT SHEETMETAL: Service technicians use an arsenal of hooked metal rods to reach behind sheet metal and rub out dents until they match the car’s surface. The technique requires a soft touch, and the technician must begin at the dent’s perimeter, prying slowly toward the center.
PHOTO (COLOR): Pointless repair rods can range from 5 in. to 4 ft. in length. The tool’s size and hook angle are determined by the type of dent it’s meant to repair and by the distance it must span to reach the damage.
