Paintless Dent Repair

[ttmott]

Someone put a door ding in my Hellcat Redeye. Didn't even have the balls to leave me a note. Not very big but a hickey on a flawless body (aka bikini thread). You can see it on the edge of the door on the body line. I took it to the body shop and they wanted to fill it with body filler and repaint the entire side of the car. And, they were going to report it to carfax; what's that all about.....
So, I'm looking into this paintless dent repair; several in our area.
Any experience out there on this paintless dent repair??

Thanks

 

[K-DUB]

I had it done on my 300. Much bigger dent but was also on the body line. You could not even tell afterward. I was very impressed and would definitely recommend that route. (sorry the pic is sideways)

 

[BillK2632]

I have had some taken out with great results, like it never happened. I have also taken a few out myself with a kit from HarborFreight. Definitely look into paint less dent removal before you let a body shop work on it.

 

[Jeremygavin]

My neighbor owns his own paintless dent repair business and he is an artist. He took a few creases I put in my truck a few years ago and you would never know it happened. He also took a nasty dent out of my buddies black 911 4s. A ladder fell on the front fender in his garage. Never even know it happened. Get the right guy doing the work and you will never know.

 

[ttmott]

Thanks guys - there is a thousand Youtube videos on it and all with amazing results. One guy bashed a door body line in over an inch with a hammer and amazingly enough pulled it all out like it wasn't even there. I'm skeptical.... Going to have a couple look at it and see where it goes.

 

[techmitch]

That's gonna be a tough one on a bodyline/sheet metal stiffener like that especially since it is so close to the forward edge of the door where the skin is crimped on. Some of those guys are really good and I hope you find the right one.

 

[ttmott]

That's gonna be a tough one on a bodyline/sheet metal stiffener like that especially since it is so close to the forward edge of the door where the skin is crimped on. Some of those guys are really good and I hope you find the right one.

Thanks Mitch - That is what the body shop said. The first Paintless Dent guy just left. He was uncomfortable accessing the back side and wants to remove the door; said it shouldn't be a problem with the door removed. He thought he could remove the door, fix the dent, fix any paint issues and have it all back together in a day - $400..... The body shop was over $4000.

 

[techmitch]

$400.00 is not enough to R&I the whole door alone (R&I inner door panel = 0.8) so that price worries me a bit and yes there may be some minor paint work needed in and around the hinges from that work but it would be worth much more to avoid any filler or paint work on the outside not to mention the carfax report.
Without seeing a good pic of the inside hinge area it may be worth you time to R&I the door panel yourself so you and other estimators can get a better idea of what needs to be done.

 

[ttmott]

$400.00 is not enough to R&I the whole door alone (R&I inner door panel = 0.8) so that price worries me a bit and yes there may be some minor paint work needed in and around the hinges from that work but it would be worth much more to avoid any filler or paint work on the outside not to mention the carfax report.
Without seeing a good pic of the inside hinge area it may be worth you time to R&I the door panel yourself so you and other estimators can get a better idea of what needs to be done.

I bet that door is well over a hundred pounds. It looks like four nuts on some studs and electrical. I could easily do that removal and install but if I ding or chip it then it's on me.... There is a plastic liner on the inside of the edge but the frame is well away from the dent area and who knows where the electrical connector(s) are.

 

[Jeremygavin]

My neighbor says 70% of his time is gaining access to the back side of the dent. Actually repairing the panel is the quicker part of the process.

 

[Creekwood]

We had some pretty significant vandalism damage on one of our cars. Basically a kicked in door panel with multiple dents and creases. The guy came to the house to fix it, and after he was done you could not tell. It’s clearly a skill but the good ones are really good.

 

[Havana Shamrock]

That sucks but I have seen them work miracles ( dent guys) I was thinking same thing access it from inside I’d try it before I’d put a carfax on it.
We always park our cars far far away and come out and some idiot parks in the next slip.
Any cool shots of your red eye? I had a 1970 non hemi car in my youth love ‘em still. Last hellcat is 2023 they’re estimating 909 HP.

 

[ttmott]

That sucks but I have seen them work miracles ( dent guys) I was thinking same thing access it from inside I’d try it before I’d put a carfax on it.
We always park our cars far far away and come out and some idiot parks in the next slip.
Any cool shots of your red eye? I had a 1970 non hemi car in my youth love ‘em still. Last hellcat is 2023 they’re estimating 909 HP.

At Sebring having a ball last summer and my 70 Hemi Cuda. Bought the Cuda in 84 and still have it.

 

[ttmott]

Here is a lap at Sebring in it; street tires and stock brakes. Turn up the volume.

 

[Skybolt]

Here is a lap at Sebring in it; street tires and stock brakes. Turn up the volume.

That is totally awesome! One question though, why did you let that C4 pass you?

I wish I had a track by me for that, I miss that stuff so very much.

 

[440 Jim]

My Dad was FHP and worked Sebring every year when I was a kid, got to be in the pits with him. I think that's what started me into cars.

To the original subject, a few years ago we had bad hail damage to both my truck and her Tahoe. PDR was the ticket, looled perfect afterward.

 

[techmitch]

My Dad was FHP and worked Sebring every year when I was a kid, got to be in the pits with him. I think that's what started me into cars.

To the original subject, a few years ago we had bad hail damage to both my truck and her Tahoe. PDR was the ticket, looled perfect afterward.

Here ya go FHP @ttmott

 

[Havana Shamrock]

My BP was up watching the video!!! Loved it and the CUDA I know there’s a hellcat in my future test drove a hemi challenger just didn’t pull the trigger maybe there’s a reason. Beautiful cars Tom.

 

[ttmott]

First PDR company who was mobile that said he could do it for $400 by removing the door then called the next day and said their insurance was limited on the car value and mine was too much risk for them. He charged me $30 for all that. I think you were right on that Mitch @techmitch
Second PDR company who had a shop didn't even want to mess with it due to the amount of work to get to the dent. It seems they were pick and choose the easy stuff for production...
Third guy tomorrow morning; going to meet him at the local Crysler Dodge dealer.
I've got a fourth in the que who I understand specializes in the higher end autos. This guy -

 

[Carpediem44DB]

Here is a lap at Sebring in it; street tires and stock brakes. Turn up the volume.

Fun stuff Tom, Brings back memories of my SSR2 racing days in the early 90s. Closest thing we had to Sebring was Portland Oregon. Flat and surrounded by grass, our home track was Sears Point Now Sonoma International Race Way. Sonoma has a lot of terrain change and is very unforgiving if one leaves the race track! Fun times! We didn’t have the cool imbedded data video stuff back then.