Paintless Dent Removal

What did you do? Tell her to keep saving until she had the full repair cost, preferably in larger bills because they are eaeier to carry?

 

I've used the same guy for years.
The stuff he has gotten out is amazing. Piles of little "wands" with different ends on them. The only thing my guy insists on is that the paint is warm and therefore plyable. He won't work on cold metal as he says the paint has a tendency to crack.


go for it but find a guy that has done it for a while and appreciates the value of the car

Stan

 

I had several small dents removed on my 308 by Dr. Dent. It was like magic. In with dents, out without. I asked a dealer who owns a real nice stable of cars who he used. He told me the place and who to ask for.

 

what if the dent was right on the line, or groove of the door? i just got one there, and im F**King pissed at myself. do you think they could do that? or is PDR just for flat panels. thats what i've heard.

 

A friend had a dent located right on a body crease on his Acura. It was removed perfectly using PDR.

Usually these guys are working on steel bodies. I wonder how well the PDR process works on aluminum panels like on a 360 or NSX. Anyone have first hand experience?

 

Not a problem, they can loosen, and move the fender liner sufficiently to access the panel. I have used the Dent Wizard on at least four occaisions, sucessful each time...they can do anything from tiny "innies" and "outies" to very large, "fist size" dents...not kidding, saw him fix a 911 Turbo that some jerk had smashed his fist into the front fender. Looked bad, had to use a heat gun to keep the paint from cracking...but it came out perfect.

 

Phil, I had a small dent/crease right on the drivers rear fender crease on a 550 and the inside section is sealed by liners, interior etc. I took this to the guy who usually does my dentwork and who is very good, and it seemed to stump him. He said he would have to drill a very small hole through fender liner to do it and reseal with caulk. This did not seem right so the next time I went to FofSF for service, I asked Bruce about it, voila, fixed perfectly and no holes! So if it is very tricky, I would ask for reccomendations from dealre or Ferrari shops and get someone who really knows these cars. The stuff a talented dent guy can remove is just amazing.

 

It's very touching that your daughter was actually willing to pay for the repair out of her piggy bank. Good kid you have there.

I heard PDR involves a small hole being drilled through the metal for access to the area behind the dent. But I'm not certain, because I've not had it done. Today I went down to the auto accessories store and found a PDR DIY kit that seemed to use some sort of glue for you to fix a clamp to the dented area and use a thumbscrew like device to pull the area out. So no drilling needed, but I wonder what the glue would've done to the finish over time ? In any case, I didn't buy it, because I have no handyman skills whatsoever. There are many PDR guys out there, but only some are really good enough to do a great job, and you should shop around before putting your baby in their hands. Good luck.

 

Wrong, though you must have access behind each panel, drilling is not usually required. Only in the most rare cases would a hole need to be drilled. Most every panel on a typical car can be accessed through drain holes, window openings or from inside the fender (removal of fender liner often required. I have yet to have any of my cars drilled yet....

The DIY kits work (according to some consumer mag I read some time back), but the results were uneven, and not always satisfactory. I would not risk it on my cars...I take it to a pro.

And yes, excellent advice...check with fellow FCA members or a local dealer for references. In particular with the aluminum body on the later Ferraris, I would want someone with prior experience working on it...although my guy says the aluminum seems to pose no specific challenges so far.

 

That is what heat guns are for....to warm the surface and keep the paint from cracking....seems to only be needed on the deeper dings...at least from my observation the process.

 

I'll add my $.06 (.02*3):

1) I have had great results w/ dent wizard
2) I had a terrible experience with the 'Ding King' (do it yourself gizmo, keep away!)
3) You didn't say how old your daughter was, but if that were me back in the day, I probably wouldn't have even admitted it, let alone come forward and offered to pay for it. And I was a "good" kid! You have an absolute angel there, and you should be very proud.

 

I had several taken out of my 308, in seemingly odd, difficult to reach places, and the guy did an outstanding job.
He even got rid of an "outie" ding located just over the bar that holds the front hood up (common problem with the 308).
Call your local Ferrari dealer. The guy came to the dealer while I was having some servicing done. My dealer trusts him, why shouldnt I??