How Paintless Dent Removal Equipment Works

If you live in a part of the country plagued by hail storms or if you just have bad luck with door dings in parking lots, your vehicle may be a candidate for paintless dent repair. By using specialized tools, a local professional can have the dents pushed out of your car in the quickest, least expensive and least invasive method possible.

Assess the Damage

Before starting, the extent of the damage must be assessed. If you are just having parking lot dings repaired, this is likely an easy task. If your car was involved in a hail storm, this involves a rough count of the dents on each panel so the technician knows where repairs are needed. If there are any dents that have cracked the paint, then paintless repairs are not an option and the damage must be repainted.

Disassemble for Access

Parts of the vehicle blocking access to the backside of the dents must then be removed. This is most often headliners, headlights, tail lamps and interior panels.

Repair the Dents

Using special paintless dent repair tools, the technician will start at the outer edge of each dent and work in a circular motion toward the inside of the dent, applying outward pressure to press the panel back into its original shape. The tools are usually various lengths and have a handle on one end and a semi-sharp point on the other end; the point may be bent in varying angles to accommodate different areas of damage. On areas where there is no access to the back of the damage, the panel is cleaned and a special adhesive stud is applied to the damaged area. A "slide hammer" is attached to the stud and used to pull the dent out.