Types of Dents and How We Repair Each
Dents are not all created equal, the right repair depends on the size, depth, location, and whether the paint is broken.
- Door dings & small dents (less than a quarter, paint intact). Almost always candidates for paintless dent repair (PDR). We massage the dent out from behind the panel without disturbing the paint. Result: a perfect repair at a fraction of the cost.
- Medium dents (palm-sized, paint intact). PDR is often still possible, but takes longer. We'll assess and tell you honestly.
- Larger dents or dents with broken paint. Traditional repair: dent pulled out, body filler if needed, paint refinish.
- Sharp creases. Even paint-intact creases sometimes require filler and refinish, the metal has been stretched too far for PDR alone.
- Hail damage (rare in Lancaster, but happens). Multiple small dents across hood, roof, and trunk, usually PDR if the paint is intact.
Why Paintless Dent Repair Is Almost Always Better (When Possible)
PDR has three big advantages over traditional body repair when the paint is intact:
- It preserves your factory paint. A refinish, no matter how good, isn't original. PDR keeps every panel original, which matters for resale value, especially on newer vehicles.
- It's faster. Most PDR jobs are same-day or next-day.
- It's less expensive. Typically 40–60% of the cost of traditional dent-and-refinish.
When PDR Isn't the Right Call
We don't push PDR on dents it can't handle. We'll recommend traditional repair when:
- The paint is cracked, chipped, or broken at the dent
- The dent is on a body line or panel edge where the metal can't be massaged back
- The metal has been stretched beyond what can be reformed
- There's also collateral damage requiring a refinish anyway