We had a customer just last week named Tony who needed a dent repaired on his 2018 Toyota Camry. Tony had just parked his car in the Ross Park Mall parking lot. As he opened the door to get out, he heard a loud thud. He turned around and saw the neighboring vehicle’s door resting against his passenger door. He came around the side and looked at the door and saw a nice sized dent in the door. Tony, and the lady who had opened her door into his both realized the tight parking space had made maneuvering difficult, leading to the mishap. The lady said she was so sorry. She knew it was her fault, and she would pay to have it repaired. They exchanged numbers and insurance information. Then Tony set out to find a repair shop to fix his car.
When Tony called us at Dent Repair Now, it was a pleasant surprise that that the person who caused the damage was paying for the repair. That doesn’t happen often unfortunately. Tony explained the situation to us and described the damage. We gave him the options of texting pictures of his damage to us or bringing the car into our shop for an in-person inspection. Texting pictures to us is always a good option to start your repair process and definitely can give a starting point for cost of repair and on the opposite side of the coin, we can let you know if your damage does not make a good candidate for paintless dent repair. Check out this short video we made to show you how to take the best picture for an estimate.
With the increase in the difficulty of repairing damaged car panels as cars continue to evolve, we must evolve as well to maintain our ability to provide repairs that are as good as or better than a body shop repair. If you’re not exactly sure what paintless dent repair is or involves, let me explain.
Paintless dent repair (PDR) is a specialized approach dedicated to rectifying dents on vehicle surfaces without resorting to traditional repair methods like sanding, filling, and repainting. Technicians who are adept in this technique employ unique tools to carefully manipulate the metal back to its original shape from behind the impacted area. This method ensures the preservation of the vehicle’s original paint, making it particularly suitable for damages such as dings, dents, and hail dents. Not to be deterred by size, we specialize in larger dents, and more difficult repairs that other dent technicians pass on to the body shop. Our technicians are trained and skilled in using specialized tools to access the back of the panel and gently massage the metal back into place. This technique requires a lot of finesse and skill. It’s a meticulous and non-intrusive process that maintains the vehicle’s factory finish and resale value. (It can take anywhere from six months to a full year of apprenticeship just to become confident in the fundamentals of paintless dent repair. Once a technician has a working understanding of the basics, it can take another year or two before they are proficient. The next four to eight years are spent perfecting and mastering the craft. As technology and the car industry continue to evolve, so must the technician’s abilities.) Additionally, paintless dent repair not only offers a cost-effective and time sensitive solution but also promotes environmental sustainability by avoiding the use of harmful chemicals associated with repainting. If protecting the planet is your thing, you can read more about how paintless dent repair is safe for our environment by clicking the link below.
PAINTLESS DENT REPAIR: THE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY CHOICE!!
Tony was able to drop his car off to us first thing in the morning. While the dent in the door wasn’t on the larger side, and there was no damage to the paint, it looked like a straightforward easy repair. When working on door panels, our go to process is to roll the window down, protect the glass with a wedge, and slide a rod down through the door. This would be especially easy if the doors were hollow. So, we have to maneuver around mechanisms like the door handle, carrier plate, and crash bracing. 
If you look at the inside of this door, which we use as an example, the yellow bar is the crash brace, and the frame and skin are usually welded or glued together around it. Sometimes you can see the dent “wrap around” the brace from the outside. Also, the blue metal at the top is also fixed in the door and can be an obstruction our technicians have to maneuver around. In Tony’s case, the was below the crash brace, and we were unable to reach the back side of the damage and have enough leverage to push the metal adequately. In those cases, we remove the interior door panel. You can see in this video what is involved with that.
We were able to remove the Camry door panel and had great access to the damage. We took away the dent and Tony couldn’t even see where we worked on the door. Mission Accomplished!!
YOU CAN WATCH MORE VIDEOS ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL!!
We’d love to make your car, truck, or SUV look as good as new too! Please feel free to reach out to us and let us take a look at your damage. We can help you decide if paintless dent repair is the right way to go, or if a body shop is best option. You can fill out the form on our website or text us photos of your damage to 724-554-1756. We will be in touch with an estimate and options as soon as possible.
You can also stop in at the shop for an in-person evaluation of your damage. We are located at 4699 Campbells Run Road, 
Pittsburgh, PA 15205. That’s right next to I376 (The Parkway) just off of the Campbells Run Road exit if you’re coming from I79 or Downtown Pittsburgh. Make a left at the stoplight. If you’re coming from the airport area, you will need to use the Ridge Road exit and then turn right.
For more information, you can check out our website Dent Repair Now.
