Well I parked my S at the end of a Wal Mart parking lot (I know I shouldn't have even taken it to Wal Mart in the first place) which sloped up hill by itslef only to find a shopping cart a sitting a few inches from my drivers side door. The mirror was pushed in and there is now a small dent 6 inches below the mirror. I'm guessing someone puched the cart into so my car and that the mirror saved it from more serious damage.

Well now I looking for a good paintless dent removal place in So. California but first I want to know how it works. I just saw a comercial on TV for 'Pulls a Dent" and I'm hoping that they don't charge $125-$175 to use on of those things.

I asked my dad and he said something about using electricity

So I'm not going to be able to do anything about this dent until Tuesday, but if anyone can give me any info about how they do this and where a good place to get it done would be, I really appreiciate it.

Thanks
JT

 

I can't give any input about good locations in SoCal, but I can give you a basic rundown on how they do paintless dent removal (at least the technique I've seen performed).

Basically, they have these long metal rods, each having unique shapes and bends on the ends. They take these rods and start looking for a way to get behind the panel so they can push the dent out. Sometimes they have to drill little access holes, but most of the time they don't.

Of course it helps if the car surface is clean so that light reflects clearly and accurately on the paint surface. They use florouscent lighting; I guess it reveals the dent better than standard lighting.

Most of the guys/gals doing this work will also tell you up front if they're going to get good results based on the type of damage, where it's at, etc. If the dent is on a crease, it's almost impossible to restore original shape using PDR.

 

This looks pretty cool.
Question is if it works or not.
A large size dent will probably have some what of a small crease in it, but this might be worth you looking into.



1-Apply glue to dent pulling tab.

2-Quickly apply to center of dent and let cool for a few minutes.

3-Place pulling bridge over dent pulling tab.

4-Twist wing nut on to dent pulling tab and twist the dent out till it pops.

5-Remove glue with supplied glue remover. Polish with soft, clean cloth.

This thing looks pretty cool actually.

 

Unfortunately, I have some experience with this. I had a small ding worked out by Dent Doctor. I'm not sure if they are all over the country or not, but I know it's a chain and it's on the web.

Like Fester said, they use a rod to push out the dent from the inside out. Depending on where the dent is - they can usually do this. If the dent is near a side door brace you're out of luck. When they finished with mine it did look much better, however, I was still able to see where the dent was. Also, if the dent is severe enough the paint will crack when the metal is flexed back to the original position. Polish and polish gets into the microscopic crack and causes minor discoloration within the crack.

Keep in mind that if you are not happy with the dent removal by Dent Doctor (or whomever), you can deal with the mechanic on the price. I paid half of what he asked since I could still see the spot and his polish got into the small crack.

Car and Driver or Consumer Reports recently had a small piece on that gadget that supposedly removes dents. I'll paraphrase for you - don't buy it. It didn't work at all.

Good luck. Don't forget Murphy's Law....as soon as you repair your dent you will end up with another somewhere else. Eventually, you grow a little more tolerant. I did anyway.

 

Do you think it can repair this ding?

 

I use the Ding King on my S. I had a dent on the right quarter pannel, up high (SUV door I think). The ding king got "most" of the dent out. It is hard to get it smooth. I can fell some ripples. I will say it looks alot better. I frist tried the paintless dent remove. Unfortunated, he could not reach the dent. The Ding king is better than nothe, but it is not perfect.

 

We had a paintless dent guy at Fall Colors 2002 and he removed three dents from the passenger side of my car, including a very complex dent in the lip of the fender well. The whole thing cost $125 and when he was finished you could not tell that there was ever any damage. If you find someone who is skilled, this work is worth every penny, and then some.

 

I had a "very much in demand" PDR fellow remove two dents in my wife's Intrigue and you could not tell where they had been when he was finished. He charged by the hour ($70) and my repair cost $65. This guy was highly recommended, and because he was so good we had to wait about a month to get the car repaired, but it was worth it.

We asked our insurance agent who they recommended to find him.

Good luck,
Bob

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Rick Hesel
[B]We had a paintless dent guy at Fall Colors 2002 and he removed three dents from the passenger side of my car, including a very complex dent in the lip of the fender well.

 

I am thinking of buying the ding king but does it work.