Home / Damage we repair / PDR
How we repair it
What is paintless dent repair?
PDR takes the dent out and leaves your factory paint exactly where the factory put it. It's the first thing we reach for on hail, and the reason a hail roof can come back looking untouched.
Paintless dent repair is a method, not a product. Instead of filling a dent, sanding it and spraying new paint over the top, a PDR technician works the metal itself back to the shape it left the factory in — pushing from behind the panel with specialty rods, or lifting from the front with glued tabs where there's no rear access. No filler, no sanding, no primer, no paint. Done right, the panel doesn't just look repaired; it is the same panel, with the same original finish, as though the dent never happened.
How PDR actually works
The skill in PDR isn't strength — it's reading the panel. Sheet metal under a dent is under tension, and pushing the low spot straight up just creates high spots around it. The work is done in small, deliberate increments, releasing that tension in the right order.
- Reading the dent. A striped light board is thrown across the panel so the reflection bends over every high and low spot. What looks like one dent in daylight is a map of detail under the board — that's what the technician actually works to.
- Gaining access. Trim, liners, tail lamps and window channels come out so a rod can reach the back of the panel. Where a panel is sealed or braced, we glue-pull instead.
- Working the metal. Dozens or hundreds of controlled pushes bring the low areas up gradually, while the crown around the dent is tapped back down so the surface reads flat rather than merely filled.
- Glue pulling. Where there's no rear access, a tab is glued to the surface and lifted, then the resulting crown is knocked down. Modern glue systems pull surprisingly hard without touching the finish.
- Final inspection. Back under the light board. If the reflection runs straight, the panel is done. That's a much harder test than a walkaround in a parking lot.
Factory paint is applied to bare metal in a controlled plant, baked, and backed by the corrosion protection underneath it. No refinish, however good, fully reproduces that. Every time a panel keeps its original paint instead of getting a new one, the vehicle stays a little more original — and that shows up in how it looks in five years and what it's worth at trade-in.
What PDR gets you
When PDR works — and when it doesn't
We'd rather tell you up front than start a repair that was never going to finish clean. Here's the honest line.
Good candidates
- Hail damage where the paint is unbroken — the classic PDR job, often a hundred-plus dents across a roof, hood and deck lid.
- Door dings and parking lot dents from other car doors, carts and knees.
- Shallow creases that didn't crack the finish, including many that run a fair length.
- Panels with reachable backs — doors, hoods, roofs, quarters and deck lids on most vehicles.
Not a PDR job
- Broken paint. If the finish is cracked, chipped or scratched through, the panel needs filling and refinishing regardless — PDR can't repair paint.
- Stretched metal. Very sharp or deep impacts stretch the steel past what can be worked back. Pushing further just makes it worse.
- Body lines and panel edges. Metal is stiffest exactly where it's folded. Some edge work is possible; a lot isn't.
- Previous filler. A panel that's already been repaired and repainted won't move like original metal.
- Plastic bumper covers. They can often be reshaped with heat, but that's a different process, not PDR.
- Aluminum panels. Possible, but aluminum work-hardens and doesn't want to move back. It takes longer, costs more and has real limits — we'll say so before we start.
Plenty of storm jobs are part PDR and part conventional repair — PDR on the panels that qualify, fill-and-refinish on the ones that don't. That's normal, and it's cheaper than refinishing everything. We'll show you which panels fall on which side of the line and why.
What we work on
We repair this damage on
Our work
PDR before & after
Photos from real jobs. Swap these placeholders for your own shots of this kind of work.
Common questions
PDR FAQ
Will the dent come back later?
No. PDR returns the metal to its original shape rather than covering the dent, so there's nothing waiting to move again. A panel that's been properly worked stays where it's put.
Does PDR damage the paint?
Not when the finish is sound to begin with — keeping it intact is the entire point of the method. Proper technique moves the metal underneath without cracking clear coat. If the paint was already compromised, PDR isn't the right repair and we'll tell you.
Is PDR cheaper than conventional repair?
Usually, yes, and faster too, because there's no filler, prep, paint or cure time. The savings are biggest on hail, where a lot of dents share one setup.
Can every dent be fixed with PDR?
No, and anyone who says otherwise is selling. Broken paint, badly stretched metal, sharp body lines and panels with previous filler all need conventional repair. We inspect first and tell you honestly which panels qualify.
Will my insurance pay for PDR?
On hail claims it's typically the method carriers expect and prefer, since it costs them less than refinishing. We document panel counts and work directly with your adjuster.
Do you have to drill holes to reach the dent?
Most access comes from removing trim, liners and lamps. Occasionally a small access hole in a concealed, corrosion-protected area is the right call — if that applies to your vehicle, we'll tell you before we do it, not after.
Can you do PDR on aluminum panels or a semi's trailer skin?
Aluminum can be worked but it resists coming back and takes considerably longer, so it costs more and has firmer limits. We'll assess the specific panel and give you a straight answer rather than a guess.
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Send us the details and a few photos if you have them. We'll come back with next steps and a time to get eyes on it.