Three days straight of PDR work last week actually made me reconsider my whole approach to hail damage

I always thought paintless dent repair was just for small dimples but after pulling 47 dents out of a hood on a Chevy Silverado I finally saw how far you can push it under good lighting. Has anyone else had a job totally flip what they thought a tool or technique could do?

2 comments

2 Comments

riverknight2d ago

Man, I had the same kind of eye-opener a few years back on a Ford F-150 hood. The hail had made these real shallow dents that were basically invisible unless you had the light at just the right angle, and I almost wrote it off as a repaint job. But I took the time to adjust my work light really carefully, and with a sharp tipped tool I was able to push those little buggers out from underneath. That job taught me that good lighting and patience can save a panel that looks hopeless at first glance.

james_ross2d agoMost Upvoted

I don't know, I gotta push back on that a little. In my experience, those shallow dents from hail are actually way more stubborn than they look, and trying to push them out from underneath with a sharp tool can sometimes stretch the metal and make things worse. I've seen guys go at it with good lighting like you said, and end up with a high spot that's even harder to fix than the original dent. Maybe I just don't have the patience for it, but I've found that those invisible dents often need a different approach, like a glue puller or even just leaving them alone if they're not showing up in normal light. Your mileage may vary, but I've learned the hard way that not every dent is worth chasing.