How to maintain your car paint
4 min readAutomotive hail repair tricks: Paintless auto body repair does not need the intensive labor that once went into traditional car repairs. With a paintless body repair, it is possible to repair your car within no time. This process is convenient for the owner of the vehicle as well as the person repairing the vehicle because it will not be in the garage yard for long. It’s a win-win for everyone involved. With PDR, the quality of service is better: It is possible for the car to become damaged without the paint getting ruined. For instance, a hail storm can result in dozens of tiny dents that don’t cause any further damage to the vehicle’s paint. According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), there were 6,045 hailstorms in 2017. These storms caused $1.8 billion worth of damage to crops, homes, and vehicles. Companies that manufacture car paint have made great strides in ensuring that car paint is durable enough to withstand hail. Without paintless dent repair, auto technicians would have to damage your paint job anyway just to repair the hail damage.
Just like any skill, PDR takes a significant amount of time to master. NOCO always recommends you see a professional in order to be fully satisfied with a repair. However, it is possible to remove dents yourself at home, granted you have the correct tools. Properly removing dents involves getting the special metal rods and body picks to push out dents from the underside of the body panel. This is easier said than done, as you simply cannot place your hand behind the panel you need to work with. There are liners and multiple panels that will may need to be removed to get to the working surface. On top of this, PDR is very much a technique of “fine tuning,” meaning that it is easy to push too hard and make the dent worse and/or cracking the paint.
“How much does car hail damage cost to fix?” Costs vary by auto shop, location, supplements (necessary auto parts), and the extent of the damage. For small dents, you can expect to pay under $100 for dent removal service. Larger dents equal larger bills, as will damage to windows, bumpers, and mirrors.
Cheaper than professional repair. Paintless dent repair (PDR) kits can substitute a trip to the repair shop and help keep more money in your wallet. There are kits for tiny, medium-sized, and large dents, and the average price of the kits is generally a fraction of what you’d pay for repairs. Easy and convenient. With the right dent puller, it’s very easy to set up in your driveway or parking lot. The best PDR tools are shipped with detailed, easy-to-follow instructions. You can rest easy knowing they will not damage your car’s paint. Push-from-behind PDR is completed by using specialized tools, including rods, to push the dent from the back of the vehicle’s panel. The deeper and wider the dent, the more time and manual effort it’ll take to fix. The more tools and rods you’ll have at your disposal, the more flexibility you’ll have to fix the particular dent. To begin working the underside of the sheet metal, the Tech uses long metal rods named PDR tools. These tools are used to reach into tiny gaps between panels and into other holes, and they prevent the need to remove panels and lining. However, for dents in difficult locations some disassembly may still be required. Using the PDR tools the Tech will slowly push the dent upwards repeatedly, stretching the metal back into its original position. Depending on the severity and location of the dent, this may take many pushing repetitions to flatten the dent.
If your car is totaled, you probably have two options: Let the insurance company take it to the scrap yard, or ask for your car back. Keep in mind that your car may still be driveable even if it’s considered “totaled,” especially if most of the damage is purely cosmetic. However, keeping a totaled car is always a risk as there could be underlying damage that’s not visible to the naked eye. The cost and difficulty of hail damage repair depends on the severity of the damage. If you have comprehensive coverage, your insurance should cover the cost of repairs if you’ve met your deductible. For specifics regarding the damage of your vehicle, it’s best to talk with a trusted body shop to get an estimate on the cost of repairs.
Bring your hail damaged vehicle in for your 100% Free, No Obligation Estimate. Once you’ve received your estimate, drop off your vehicle with us. If you need a ride, just let us know! Already have an open claim? Bring your claim number with you! Not sure how to file a claim? We’re happy to help, just ask! Our team of leading industry professionals will thoroughly assess the damage to your vehicle. We then determine what is needed to make your vehicle look like new. Explore a few extra info on Hail Damage Repair Colorado Springs, CO.
What is Paintless Dent Repair? Do Auto Body Shops Recommend Paintless Dent Repair? Paintless dent repair (PDR) refers to a method of removing car dents while keeping the original paint intact. The process sometimes takes only a few minutes–your vehicle no longer has to stay at the auto body shop for days or even weeks. PDR approaches damaged parts of the surface from the inside, which seems more complex than it actually is. This method of repair may be used on steel and aluminum panels. The most common use for PDR is the repair of large dents, hail damage, minor creases, bodyline damage, and door dings.