PAINTLESS DENT REPAIR OR SIMPLE “PDR”
Paintless dent (PDR) repair, also known as paintless dent recovery, is a method of removing small dents from the body of a motor vehicle.
A wide range of damage can be repaired using the PDR method as long as the paint surface is intact. The PDR method can be used on materials such as aluminum and steel.
The most common practical use with the PDR method is to repair hail damage, general dents, minor bumps, and general body damage.
This method can also be used to prepare a very battered body for painting, minimizing the use of putty. This technique is now known as “push to paint“.
The limiting factors for a successful PDR repair are:
- The perfect training, know-how and skill of the craftsman.
- Color flexibility (most of the refined car finishes today allow the successful application of PDR).
- The degree to which the metal has been stretched by the damage, which depends on the thickness of the metal, the curvature or smoothness where the damage occurred.
- The intensity of the impact.
In general, the shallower the dent, the greater the chance of a successful paint-free repair. Even dents several centimeters in diameter can be repaired with this method, as long as the metal and paint have not “overflowed”.