When your car develops dents (due to hail or knocking a trashcan, for example), the body shop can use one of two ways to get it fixed. The first way is paintless dent removal in which the dent is gently removed by massaging the affected panel. The second way is to use the traditional dent removal approach of hammering out the dent then repainting that panel of the car. Different situations call for the use of a different dent removal method. This article discusses situations when panel beating is a better approach for dent removal.

When The Dent Is Very Large

The tools used in paintless dent removal (PDR) are very small so their effectiveness is limited to small dents, such as dents that are about the size of a golf ball. If a dent is wide, such as the size of two palms placed side-by-side, PDR will be inadequate and the traditional panel beating approach is the only option left. This is because the panel beater can use his or her hammer to straighten the panel that has been distorted by the impact of a rock or another car hitting your car. The restored panel is then painted so that its appearance is uniform with the rest of the car.

When The Dent Has Damaged The Paintwork

One of the attractions of PDR is that it leaves the external paint intact as the dent is removed. However, if the impact of a rock damages the external paint of a panel, the best way to fix that dent is to panel beat the car. This is because PDR aims at preserving the original paintwork but once that paint has been damaged then there is no point in avoiding repainting the affected panel.

When A Dent Has Sharp Edges

PDR is inadequate when a dent on a car has sharp edges. This is because the tools that are used to remove dents using PDR (such as a hammer handle) cannot straighten sharp edges in the body of a car. In such a case, the panel beater has no choice but to hammer out those sharp edges before repainting the affected panel.

It is important that you contact a panel beater like Bannockburn Panel Repairs when your car is dented. He or she will be able to make a decision as to which approach is the best for removing the dent so that your car looks flawless once again.