An accident, even with minor damage, is always a headache for a motorist. Analysis group, help, insurance - all this takes a lot of time and effort. And after all the formalities have been settled, it is often necessary to wait for a queue for repairs, and the repair itself can take a long time. Meanwhile, many dents can be straightened out in a couple of hours, and without painting.

You've probably heard of auto repair shops offering body repairs without painting. “Straightening the wing without straightening, without filler and without painting - all one thing is to seek help from Filipino doctors to remove appendicitis,” - so think most of those who have seen such ads. But the technology of repairing dents in an "unconventional" way does exist. It is called Paintless Dent Removal, which literally means "painless removal of dents."

Specialists who eliminate minor damage by using a special tool appeared back in the sixties, and, strange as it may seem, their main place of work was automobile factories. The main task of these craftsmen was to eliminate minor defects on the bodies of cars that came off the assembly line. Dents from a tool or from a careless employee reclining in the wrong place are not uncommon in large-scale production conditions to this day. As a result, the car loses its presentation. In theory, you need to send it to body repair, and then to painting, but in terms of production it is unprofitable, and in general it is quite difficult to do from the point of view of technology. You cannot put a completely assembled car in the spray booth again, but disassembling it to the skeleton is a complete hassle.

Here the masters who know how to eliminate minor defects of body elements on commercial vehicles come to the rescue. It must be said that until a certain point each of them worked, relying solely on their experience and skills, until Oscar Flyg and Erich Nussle, working at the Mercedes-Benz plant, generalized this knowledge and created PDR technology in the 1970s.

Today, specialists who own this technology are on the staffing table of any car plant. Their qualifications are so high that if you do not know where there was a dent or other defect, then it is simply impossible to find this place on the body. However, even if you know, then in this case it will not work to convict them of unprofessionalism. For example, can you find such a place on your car? Not? And it may exist, and not one ...

What is the beauty of this approach to repair? The main plus is that you can really remove a dent on the body without painting. There is, however, one serious limitation with this method: the paintwork should not be damaged, that is, there should be no scuffs, no chips, or cracks on it. Until recently, specialists did not take up work even if there were creases on the ribs. But this technology is constantly being improved, and now even the damage that seemed previously hopeless from the point of view of PDR repair is not without difficulty, but is still being eliminated. Special hooks, shovels and other devices allow you to get to the most difficult places of the defect, after which they are "squeezed" out from the inside. In the same places where it is impossible to do this, special glue or vacuum systems are used that pull the metal towards themselves.

The question arises reasonably: why bother so much if you can simply straighten the metal, putty and paint?

The first is, as already mentioned, saving time. One and the same dent using PDR technology can be removed in 1.5–2 hours, whereas for disassembly, straightening, priming, putty, finishing, painting, drying, polishing and subsequent assembly, even by a very good specialist or specialists, because The tinsmith and the painter are not always the same person, they will leave, subject to technology, at least two days.

The second point is cost savings. Repairing a dent using PDR technology, from the point of view of a specialist performing it, is not too expensive. Of course, it is necessary to have a set of tools, but this is the consumable part, if you do not use glue systems, and ends. Painting work requires the purchase of not only the paint itself, but also heaps of related consumables: degreasers, solvents, crepe, putty, skins, primers. Plus, let's not forget that while your car is in the drying chamber after painting, you also need to pay for the electricity needed to operate the equipment, and the painter, of course, includes it in the cost of the work, just like renting a box, and the rest overheads. Sometimes even a box is not needed for repairs using PDR technology: everything can be done right in your garage or in the parking lot.

We also take into account the fact that most of the bodies of modern cars are galvanized, which protects them from corrosion. Alas, with traditional repair, straightening and preparation of metal for painting, this microscopic layer of zinc is removed without a trace, and no matter how good modern painting materials are, they cannot provide the same protection as zinc applied to the body during car production.

This means that over time, the repaired site may require repair again due to the appearance of corrosion. And PDR technology does not in any way damage the paintwork and the protective coatings underneath.

And, of course, a car restored using PDR technology is almost impossible to convict that it was being repaired, while a body element repaired using conventional technology, even with a good color match, will be distinguished by excessive gloss, and the thickness gauge attached to the proposed the place of repair, and will give it out with giblets.

So if, as a result of an accident or for some other reason, a dent or dents appeared on your car, do not rush to go to the painter. To get started, contact a specialized PDR center. Most likely, today you will be in the workshop or even a specialist will come to your house, and in a couple of hours you will admire the intact car.

In addition, most of the services that have mastered this technology can pre-calculate the cost and time of repairs from a photograph. And if they refuse to repair you due to the impossibility of using PDR technology, then feel free to go to a service that understands a lot about bodywork and painting work.

The network is replete with reports of PDR repairs. Usually, the services themselves rivet articles on this topic, trying to attract attention to themselves. It has its own effectiveness, but not always we, the finishers, ”trust such publications.
The magazine in which I periodically work, at one time released a whole cycle of materials on the topic of paint-free repair. The articles were intended for the "petty bourgeois", that is, for those who want to use this technology in their service. I am sharing it with the same owners of the Passat, since you will not find such a complete analysis in an ordinary auto press. The specialists of the Av-Masters company, the only enterprise for the production of such a domestic tool Av-Tool, helped us to understand the question.

Guys, I will not overload the info. I will give two articles on the basis, technology, stages, types of tools, techniques, etc. I highly recommend finding such guys in your region.

In short, PDR technology is less expensive and more efficient than classic bodywork. The original (factory) paint is preserved on the car, and the repair time for hail damage is reduced to 1-3 days. This is an effective way to deal with any damage to the car body as long as the paintwork is intact. The service is especially successful in local repair and local painting centers.

Using the Volkswagen Passat CC as an example, we will show how cleanly and quickly a dent can be removed using the paintless dent removal technology and the AV-Tool.

First, you need to evaluate and inspect the car, and also classify the type of dent:
The simplest type of damage is gentle dents without damaging the paintwork.
Sharp dents are caused by contact with a sharp object. In the center of such damage, a chip occurs in 40% of cases.
Longitudinal dents (scars) mean that there was a tangential impact, a fall of a barrier or other object.
A complex type of damage occurs on the rib, since it is responsible for the rigidity of the part. The edge is difficult to break, and if it is damaged, it means that the blow was strong.
Volumetric dents can be located throughout the plane and have all of the above damage.

Now the material from which the part is made is determined. It can be steel or aluminum alloys. Manufacturers have different steels: thin, thick, plastic and less plastic. Aluminum is more difficult to straighten, so the price for working with it is higher. It is also necessary to assess the condition of the paintwork and determine if it has been repaired before. If the surface was not painted in the factory, then cracking or paint tearing may occur. The foreman warns the client about the possible risks and, having received consent for the repair, proceeds to assess the access.

External and internal inspection of the car is carried out. This is necessary to estimate the time required for repairs. Usually, minor localized damage can be repaired in a couple of hours, but extensive damage, such as dents on the roof, can take a couple of days.

The car must be washed and dried, after which a tool should be selected. The task of removing smooth and voluminous dents lies with the adhesive system, but hooks are used for deep scars. Our dent is hybrid, so to speed up the process, the specialist prepared both systems at the same time. The glue system will perform a jerk that will lift most of the surface, and hooks will help bring the surface to its previous state.

Now the part is disassembled, trim clips, protective covers are removed. It should be borne in mind that correcting the same type of damage on various parts is unequal in terms of labor intensity. In the case of a roof, you will have to dismantle the ceiling if it is impossible to carry out repairs with an adhesive system. To get to the damage, an individually bent pressure lever is needed. Therefore, before starting work, it is better to prepare an optimal set of several hooks. This is done so that it is convenient for the master to work in difficult and hard-to-reach places.

For example, on a door panel, the dent can be located in the upper, middle or lower parts. Therefore, the specialist will need several hooks of different lengths and shapes that work for twisting. It is also worth stocking up on power-type hooks that are suspended from special rings. They can be useful in the event that there is no amplifier nearby for the stop. Dents are also found in places where the upper reinforcement passes, respectively, a pair of hooks with an upper reverse bend is needed. And in the middle of the door, thin "whale tails" are used, which will pass between the outer sheet and the amplifier. And if you carry out strength work, then one more hook will be added.

It is difficult for a painter to accurately determine how correctly he brought out the surface.

Usually a specialist does this by eye or touch. Smooth defects are simply invisible. In the case of PDR technology, a special halogen lamp is used, under the light of which all flaws are clearly visible.

The technology is based on the refraction of light and shadow: in order to see damage, it is necessary to expose the light in a special way.

When working with damage, the foreman uses special dent lifting techniques. The dent rises and the lamp descends proportionally. In the lower position of the light source, installed on a plane so that the rays spread over the surface, you can see the places that have risen above the "horizon". These high points are removed with a hammer punch.

For a final surface check, the specialist uses a dark strip on the lamp, which, reflected from the repaired area, is distorted in the unfinished places. The reflection of the strip must not be distorted or refracted.

Finally, the part is assembled and polished if necessary.

The adhesive system is suitable for straightening smooth, flat damage. You don't need to disassemble anything. It's easier to install the fungus, warm up the gun, insert a glue stick, apply glue to the clip.

It is installed exactly on the dent, after which the metal can be leveled with a minilifter. The surface is brought to an ideal state with a punch with a hammer.

Repair of dents without painting using PDR technology

Hail, unsuccessful parking or a solid stone flying out from under the wheels - and now a dent appears on the surface of the car body. Of course, it spoils the appearance of not only an expensive and respectable car, but also other cars, not to mention the mood of the owner of these cars. Previously, with such dents, it was necessary to paint the car, which means giving it away for repair for several days, in addition, an extra minus for the car, because painted car parts appear. Now there is a new technology for straightening dents without painting, which is gaining more and more popularity. This technology is called - PDR, Paintless Dent Repair. This technology was developed in 1974 in Germany. Although in our country this practice has appeared relatively recently. But for modern car owners, such repairs are very convenient - after all, they do not need to leave their car in the salon for several days and get to work by public transport. Secondly, even after the dent has been repaired, they can drive their own car in the same way as before - without any restrictions and precautions, which are usually required after painting. And, finally, and most importantly, you can avoid such difficult problems as paint selection and “color matching” - in the case of PDR application, the body is covered, as before, with factory paint. It is worth noting that the price for such repairs is even lower than for painting and bodywork, and the time is spent only 1-2 hours, depending on the experience of the master. PDR paintless dent repair technology is the ideal solution for those preparing their car for sale. After all, as they say, "they are greeted by their clothes," and the impeccability of the car's appearance is a guarantee that it will be bought faster.

What is the essence of such a repair? And the bottom line is that from the inside of the part, special tools exert pressure on the damaged surface, which leads to the retraction of the dent itself. Depending on the depth, size, location of damage, as well as the condition of the paintwork and the thickness of the body metal, metal tightening methods can be from the outside or from the inside. To align the dents from the inside, special tools of various configurations are used. Thanks to their different thicknesses and lengths, you can get into the most inaccessible places without disassembling and removing body parts. If there is no access to the dent from the back side, the glue technique is used. This is a special piston that sticks tightly to the dent and pulls it out. To remove a dent with slight damage to the paintwork, the paintwork technique is used. So, if there are scratches and chips in the dent zone, then this zone is “blind”. And the larger it is, the more difficult it is to achieve quality in repair. Although small and shallow scratches can be easily removed by abrasive - special restoration polishing. A small chip is also tinted, and even paint from other cars on damage is removed without a trace.

However, not all dents can be removed with PDR technology and you need to be aware of this. For example, if the paintwork is damaged, or the metal is severely deformed. Often there are very small dents, but so deep that it will not be possible to repair them without painting - the metal will be too tight. And the main indicator that the metal is stretched is the absence of paint in the deepest point of damage.

For example, the most typical dents - 4 cm - are jokingly called "bunnies" among auto repairmen. 95% of these "bunnies" can be removed, and only 5%, according to statistics, do not lend themselves to PDR due to their poor location and depth.

So, they practically cannot be repaired without painting: car thresholds, in 95% of cases, with rare exceptions, when the dents on them are gentle and without sharp creases; edges of parts of the hood, trunk and door, because they are usually glued and welded, and there is no access to the tool inside them - such a dent can only be slightly improved; roof pillars, if they have sharp creases; those dents in the panel that appeared due to pressing, indirect impact and when the body is skewed.

But if the body itself, apart from a small dent, is practically in perfect condition and the paint has not been damaged, there will be no trace left after the repair using PDR technology.

But at home, making such repairs without painting is not an easy task. Even experienced craftsmen will not always tackle such complex tools. And there are often cases today when such a service is provided by barely opened auto repair shops with “green” and young specialists, and as a result, the dent on the body of their client becomes even more unsightly, or there are two of them at all. And there is a logical explanation for this - the lever for pulling out the damage itself is capable of leaving unsightly traces under pressure, and therefore only an experienced person can work with such a technique. Otherwise, the experiments of beginners in this business end up with traditional repairs, already with painting.

For those who dream of mastering the wisdom of PDR, experts recommend training on parts from a landfill. After all, it is important to learn how to press in the "right" places and to observe certain techniques for relieving tension, otherwise the metal is tightened - and it is by no means easy to eliminate it.

But if a corrosion center is visible on the damaged body part, or the metal is exposed due to a peeled piece of paint, or the scratch is too deep, it is best to contact a specialized paint service station - the “home” PDR technology is already powerless here.

As for dents, in the place of which there was previously a straightening and painting, the possibility of using PDR to straighten it depends on the examination of the damage itself. So, if there is no putty in the area of \u200b\u200bthe dent itself, then the technology for removing dents without painting is implemented without problems. But it is better not to repair the sealed place in this way - the putty can crack elementary. All you can try to do in this case is to carefully remove the dent itself to an imperceptible level.

And there is even such a myth among motorists: if the car is left in the sun, the dents will disappear by themselves. But in fact, the metal only heats up in the sun, which means it expands, why the dents can become both visually smaller and increase. And as soon as the metal has cooled, all damage will return to its original size.

Do not fix all dents with dry ice, hair dryer and compressed air. Only 2% can be slightly corrected in such ways. This technology is called thermal drop, and it only works when the dent is not close to a decorative line, on a curve, or near an amplifier. And also, if it does not have sharp creases and broaches inside of it. Only very small "bunnies" are removed in such and similar tricky ways, and all the same, you still need to refine the surface with a tool.

PDR - technology for repairing dents without painting

You've probably heard of auto repair shops offering body repairs without painting. “Straightening the wing without straightening, without filler and without painting - all one thing is to seek help from Filipino doctors to remove appendicitis,” - so think most of those who have seen such ads. But the technology of repairing dents in an "unconventional" way does exist. It is called Paintless Dent Removal, which literally means "painless removal of dents."

Specialists who eliminate minor damage by using a special tool appeared back in the sixties, and, strange as it may seem, their main place of work was automobile factories. The main task of these craftsmen was to eliminate minor defects on the bodies of cars that came off the assembly line. Dents from a tool or from a careless employee reclining in the wrong place are not uncommon in large-scale production conditions to this day. As a result, the car loses its presentation. In theory, you need to send it to body repair, and then to painting, but in terms of production it is unprofitable, and in general it is quite difficult to do from the point of view of technology. You cannot put a completely assembled car in the spray booth again, but disassembling it to the skeleton is a complete hassle.

Here the masters who know how to eliminate minor defects of body elements on commercial vehicles come to the rescue. It must be said that until a certain point each of them worked, relying solely on their experience and skills, until Oscar Flyg and Erich Nussle, working at the Mercedes-Benz plant, generalized this knowledge and created PDR technology in the 1970s.

Today, specialists who own this technology are on the staffing table of any car plant. Their qualifications are so high that if you do not know where there was a dent or other defect, then it is simply impossible to find this place on the body. However, even if you know, then in this case it will not work to convict them of unprofessionalism. For example, can you find such a place on your car? Not? And it may exist, and not one ...

What is the beauty of this approach to repair? The main plus is that you can really remove a dent on the body without painting. There is, however, one serious limitation with this method: the paintwork should not be damaged, that is, there should be no scuffs, no chips, or cracks on it. Until recently, specialists did not take up work even if there were creases on the ribs. But this technology is constantly being improved, and now even the damage that seemed previously hopeless from the point of view of PDR repair is not without difficulty, but is still being eliminated. Special hooks, shovels and other devices allow you to get to the most difficult places of the defect, after which they are "squeezed" out from the inside. In the same places where it is impossible to do this, special glue or vacuum systems are used that pull the metal towards themselves.

The question arises reasonably: why bother so much if you can simply straighten the metal, putty and paint?

The first is, as already mentioned, saving time. One and the same dent using PDR technology can be removed in 1.5–2 hours, whereas for disassembly, straightening, priming, putty, finishing, painting, drying, polishing and subsequent assembly, even by a very good specialist or specialists, because The tinsmith and the painter are not always the same person, they will leave, subject to technology, at least two days.

The second point is cost savings. Repairing a dent using PDR technology, from the point of view of a specialist performing it, is not too expensive. Of course, it is necessary to have a set of tools, but this is the consumable part, if you do not use glue systems, and ends. Painting work requires the purchase of not only the paint itself, but also heaps of related consumables: degreasers, solvents, crepe, putty, skins, primers. Plus, let's not forget that while your car is in the drying chamber after painting, you also need to pay for the electricity needed to operate the equipment, and the painter, of course, includes it in the cost of the work, just like renting a box, and the rest overheads. Sometimes even a box is not needed for repairs using PDR technology: everything can be done right in your garage or in the parking lot.

We also take into account the fact that most of the bodies of modern cars are galvanized, which protects them from corrosion. Alas, with traditional repair, straightening and preparation of metal for painting, this microscopic layer of zinc is removed without a trace, and no matter how good modern painting materials are, they cannot provide the same protection as zinc applied to the body during car production.

This means that over time, the repaired site may require repair again due to the appearance of corrosion. And PDR technology does not in any way damage the paintwork and the protective coatings underneath.

And, of course, a car restored using PDR technology is almost impossible to convict that it was being repaired, while a body element repaired using conventional technology, even with a good color match, will be distinguished by excessive gloss, and the thickness gauge attached to the proposed the place of repair, and will give it out with giblets.

So if, as a result of an accident or for some other reason, a dent or dents appeared on your car, do not rush to go to the painter. To get started, contact a specialized PDR center. Most likely, today you will be in the workshop or even a specialist will come to your house, and in a couple of hours you will admire the intact car.

In addition, most of the services that have mastered this technology can pre-calculate the cost and time of repairs from a photograph. And if they refuse to repair you due to the impossibility of using PDR technology, then feel free to go to a service that understands a lot about bodywork and painting work.

What is PDR Technology? How does paint-free dent removal equipment work?

What is PDR Technology?

How does paint-free dent removal equipment work?

Unfortunately, every car owner, even the most accurate one, sooner or later faces such an obvious problem as a dent. It can be a dent from flying debris on the road, from sloppy parking, falling snow from a roof, or from natural disasters such as hail. It does not matter! The fact remains that there is a small dent, but you don't want to paint it in any way. Yes, and they ask for a lot of money for this, and to paint the whole detail ... In general, some frustration.

But technology is evolving, including body repair. So, imagine for a second that you can not paint a dent, but simply squeeze it out. Don't believe me? Let me tell you the story of such a fascinating technology for removing dents without painting called Paintless Dent Repair (PDR or PDR in Russian).

The history of PDR technology

This story began back in the 60s. Oskar Flyg and Enrichh Nussle were employees of the Mercedes plant. During the next exhibition, they repaired cars. which were damaged by visitors during the exhibition. Oscar Flyg squeezed out small dents with a hammer handle, preparing the car for painting, but he managed to do it so skillfully that no further painting was required (until that moment, all body defects required painting). This was one of the first applications of this technology on painted elements and became the starting point in its development.

Of course, at the moment the technology does not stand still and the way the tools looked before and what the technology consists of now are two different things. So, what the technology looks like now and what systems it includes:

The first system we see is the (most obvious) hook system. When working with hooks, the dent is straightened by the method of acting on the defect from the inside of the part (squeezing out the dent).

The next, the most popular self-training among beginners among beginners to remove dents without painting, is the glue system, one of the simplest. The glue system includes such components as glue, glue adapter, back hammer, minilifter, back hammer and many other auxiliary tools. In this case, the dent is straightened by acting on the part from the outside, in other words, gluing into the dent. One of the top tools in this system is cold glue, very popular with experienced craftsmen.

Of course, when squeezing and pulling a dent, you can face the fact that bumps appear, peak pluses. The settling system is designed to remove these excess bulges. During upsetting, cores, stemmers, blending hammers are actively used. The upsetting system works by tapping pricks, that is, impact from the outside.

Blending is a subsystem of upsetting, the impact on the dent from the outside by the method of upsetting pricks at a distance, due to which the dent is lifted.

The next system is the overvoltage system. It includes trowels and counter supports or lifting pads. It works by striking the trowel on the tangent metal surface with the creation of a stop on the inside of the dent.

For comfortable work, you certainly cannot do without the widest component - these are accessories. This includes such important and irreplaceable equipment as various fasteners, scotch tape, stops, puffs, screens, nozzles, plugs and much, much more.

Unpainted dent remover

An innovative solution when working with cars with a large area of \u200b\u200bminor damage, for example, after hail, is the device for induction impact on the dent. The Swiss-made THOT Box induction device has established itself as the most reliable and convenient in operation. The principle of operation of the inductor consists in a magnetic head and spot heating of the metal, due to which the dent is pulled out. The main advantage when removing a dent using an inductor is the absence of reinforcement work, since the effect on the defect is only from the outside of the part.

PDR dent removal lighting

Last but not least, one of the most important parts of a paintless dent removal kit is, of course, lighting. Why? Everything is very simple here, if you do not see a defect, then you do not fix it. Currently, the German manufacturer Nussle has become a breakthrough in the light direction, namely a six-band lamp with an innovative diffuser and a tripod and control system thought out to the smallest detail. With reliable and professional light, you can see and fix even the smallest defect.

The main advantage technology is the fact that the dent is removed without painting the part, which means that during resale, no one will be able to see that you had a dent, the car does not become a bat.

No risk of color mismatch smudges and a thick layer of putty.

No special boxes required and a lot of space. One box is enough for the entire tool and for repairs.

Technology for removing dents without painting - these are new opportunities in body repair with a huge number of benefits for both customers and craftsmen.

Even the craftsmen of traditional body repair will be able to find a lot of interesting things for themselves to facilitate their work and speed up the work when painting.

In our center we are ready to offer you a full range of services in the field of removing dents without painting.

Here you can choose a worthy tool with the longest quality guarantee, of course, repair your car and learn innovative technology. Masters come to us from all over Russia and cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Krasnodar, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don ... and from all over the world: CIS countries, Israel, England, USA, Canada , Estonia and many, many others. And for the duration of the entire study, we will provide you with accommodation;)

Dent Removal Technology - PDR. Practical advice on carrying out work.

Did you get a dent in your car after careless parking? Or hail passed and left damage on the roof? According to the classical technology, it is necessary to putty to level, and then paint the part to be repaired. Or even replacing the tin element with the inevitable subsequent painting. Although in this case it is likely that the price of the car in the secondary market will decrease, since there will be traces of repair. At least in the form of a thicker paintwork, which, in our time, is easily checked with a special device.

But the PDR can be repaired without painting. The advantages are obvious - there will be no traces of repair, neither in the form of a thickened layer of paint (and putty), nor in the joints of parts. In this case, the total time spent on repairs will be lower. After all, you do not have to wait for the drying of painting materials. And you can use the car immediately after the repair "to the fullest." Because no gentle operation is required while the paint is fresh.

The essence of technology

The essence of PDR technology is to straighten damaged parts to their original state, without destroying the paint and varnish layer. The technology itself looks quite simple - using a special tool, deformations are simply bent back. But this simplicity is apparent.

With glue

Although a series of so-called "poppers" or dents from the outside to the inside outside the bends and ribs can be straightened even without disassembling anything in the machine. For this, special clips and caps of various sizes are used, which are glued with specialized glue to the conditional center of the dent.

It is necessary to correctly and accurately determine where to glue the piston. And this is not at all the geometric center of the dent. It all depends on the stresses in the metal, and the ability to determine the right place only comes with experience.

And the very nature of alignment requires a lot of skill. After all, you cannot just pull the piston and return to its original state. A number of gem-quality actions will be required. Otherwise, the elongated metal along the edges of the dent will bulge somewhat, which will not have a positive effect on aesthetics. The metal must be "guided" along the way of getting a dent in the opposite direction. Only in this case there will be no traces. In this case, the paintwork must not be damaged, because otherwise there is no need to repair dents using the PDR principle. Therefore, often, a seemingly simple dent, is straightened in several steps. But from the outside it all looks simple and akin to magic.

And upon successful completion, the glued cap must be removed. For this, a special solvent is used, which acts only on the glue, without affecting the paint. Traces of glue are washed off with the same solvent.

Thermal recovery

Another option for repairing some types of PDR damage is simple heating. Of course, not all types of damage can be eliminated in this way, as a rule, these are ordinary dents with a slight degree of deformation.

But the process itself is simple. After the specialist has established the possibility of leveling the dent in this way, the damaged area is simply heated with an industrial hair dryer. Metal, expanding from temperature and increasing its plasticity, itself restores shape.

However, here knowledge and experience are necessary for success, otherwise, on the contrary, the problem can be aggravated. For example, if you heat a section that is more seriously damaged and is not suitable for thermal restoration, then additional damage to the boundary layer is produced. It is more difficult to correct this later.

Direct mechanical action

Everything is not so simple here. This method is used to deform stiffeners or bends of elements. Usually, the impact is made from the inside, sometimes even with partial disassembly of the car interior.

It differs from the first technology by the use of many different devices, in the form of hooks and clubs. Moreover, it can be combined with the adhesive method. With a special tool, the dent is squeezed out from the inside in several steps. Repeating the path of the metal when receiving deformation, only in the opposite direction. Because dents can be serious, and when restoring the shape, a trace may remain at the edges, then even "bending" in the opposite direction is used, followed by a return. This method is used to achieve the return of the metal along the edges of the dent to its original state.

Of course, this procedure is already longer and requires a sufficient amount of effort from the master. But it is still faster than classical technology.

Also, in some cases, pulling is used. This is typical when power elements with a complex shape were damaged. It is effectively stretching to return them to their original appearance.

What tools do you need?

To repair dents using PDR technology, special tools and a special room will be required.

A tool anyhow, where you can't buy for a penny. It uses special alloys with high strength. After all, it is often necessary to carry out a significant effort with a thin twig that crawls into the technological hole. And the glue is used proprietary, which is compatible with paint coatings used in the automotive industry, has high adhesion and can be easily removed using proprietary materials. Therefore, such a set costs about 90 tr. And they are produced only in the USA and Germany.

The room for renovation must also be specially equipped. After all, only a special contrast illumination with parallel lines will help to accurately see the relief of the dent. From their reflections in the dent area, you can accurately see the relief. In small areas, a portable version is enough, but for repairs, for example, a roof, you need a full-wall lighting. Moreover, the contrasting lines should be strictly parallel and equidistant from the observation point.

In addition, it is unlikely that it will be possible to simply purchase tools and start making repairs with your own hands. It will take a long time to comprehend the basics of technology with your own experience to at least start to get something. Professional training required. And it is expensive.

How to choose a master

For the reasons described above, the presence of a special tool and a trained foreman in the technical center does not yet give any guarantee of high-quality work. After all, the experience of a professional plays a significant role here. The process of such repairs is complex, requires patience, a lot of knowledge and experience.

Therefore, the main selection criterion is which master will perform the work. Here it is wiser to use the recommendations of friends and acquaintances who have already done repairs from a master. The rest of the admonitions are unconvincing.

When is it worth doing such a repair?

The ability to restore its former shape depends on the degree of damage. Moreover, both the metal itself and the paintwork. The metal in the damaged area must not have breaks. Also, the attachment points (spot welding or gluing) must be intact. If the paintwork is damaged that cannot be repaired by polishing, then the point in carrying out repairs according to the PDR principle is lost. The paint must not be damaged.

That is, ordinary dents on the roof or doors, or fenders are not a problem if the paint is intact. Of course, if they are not extensive and fatal (whole metal). Such damage is repaired.

It's another matter if the blow fell on a bend, corner or joint of elements. It all depends on the nature of the damage and is determined by the master individually. In any case, a specialist, before starting the repair, will study all the damage and give a verdict - what can be fixed and what will not work.

A serious obstacle is the deformation of the power cage of the car body, made of high-strength metal with increased thickness. In some cases, these elements are not subject to recovery using this technology. In this case, it is necessary to apply the classic repair methods. Therefore, recovery from a serious accident using PDR technology is unlikely.

But most minor damage, with small contact accidents, troubles in the parking lot or when objects fall on the roof of the car, are solved without problems. But it is precisely such damage, according to statistics, the majority. In addition, after such a repair, no traces of it remain. The car seems to have never been damaged, which has a positive effect on the value of the sale.

In large cities with busy traffic, minor damage to the body from minor collisions is common. Repairing the dent thus obtained usually requires, among other things, painting work. In this case, the original factory paintwork of the machine body suffers.

Many motorists, in order not to spoil the coating, agree to drive through the city streets for a long time in a car with a damaged body. They will be pleased to know that now they have the opportunity to quickly get rid of the traces of these unpleasant "kisses" on the body of their car. At the same time, not even the slightest trace will remain from the dent, and the paintwork will not suffer at all.

PDR technology (DOL)

Paintless Dent Repair (in Russian - removing dents without painting) is a relatively new service for the Russian market, provided by some car services. But those who managed to use it were very pleased with the result.

This method was proposed back in the distant 50s by the German Oskar Flyge. PDR was used by Mercedes-Bens. The spread of this technology in those years was hampered by several factors at once: secrecy, high cost of equipment, high metal thickness used by the then auto industry to create bodies.

In the 90s of the last century, these barriers disappeared and PDR began to spread throughout Europe and the United States.

With minimal time and consumables, this technology has an amazing effect. Therefore, perhaps she is destined to replace the rest of the ways to eliminate minor dents in the car body.

The essence of technology

The process of paint-free removal of dents consists in the fact that levers of various configurations are introduced into the technological holes of the machine under the body. These levers, controlled by a technician, apply pressure to the dent from the inside of the body. Also, additional methods are used that "pull" the dents from the outside. To do this, a special fungus is glued to the dent site. By pulling back this fungus, the craftsman evens out the dent. The special glue used for this is removed from the surface of the car without leaving any traces.

When performing these works, putty or straightening is not used. This technology allows you to restore the body to its original factory look, completely removing all traces of dents, without resorting to painting the damaged area. Thus, the appearance of the car is restored completely.

PDR technology can be applied to restore the geometry of the car body parts only when the dent did not damage the factory paintwork. This is the only condition that allows for paint-free restoration of the geometry of machine parts.

PDR, due to the use of fewer consumables than other dent repair technologies, is a more profitable method in terms of economy. In addition, paint-free repairs take significantly less time than paint repairs. A small dent left in an easily accessible place can be repaired in just 15 minutes. Of course, this is the easiest case. But even the most complex repair (large dents in area, hard-to-reach places) using PRD technology will take no more than 2-4 hours. For motorists, this is a definite plus - there is no need to part with your vehicle for a long time.




Htool selection for PDR technology

As for the cost, it is reduced by about two times, compared to the price at which the repair of a similar damage using traditional technology will come out. The selection of the right paint and varnish material and its application on the body is quite an expensive pleasure. Situations are not uncommon when the required paint is not available at a service station or in a car service. In these cases, it is sometimes necessary to wait several weeks for the necessary materials to arrive.

In addition, this procedure requires replacing part of the factory coating. And the presence of repainted parts in the car's structure significantly reduces the cost of the car when it is resold. Even if it turns out to perfectly match the paint and varnish composition, and the externally painted place will not stand out against the background of the entire body, there is a special device that determines the thickness of the paintwork, which is impossible to deceive. So the repainting of the damaged area will be noticeable anyway. This is another indispensable plus of PDR technology for a car owner who needed to fix a dent.

Also, PDR technology usually does not require dismantling of car body parts. Only in exceptional situations (when there is no physical opportunity to get close to the damaged elements) such a need arises. Less likelihood of compromising the integrity of the factory assembly is another advantage of paint-free dent removal.

A video on how to remove a dent with your own hands using PDR technology:




DIY tool kit for applying PDR technology:

What is PDR Technology?

How does paint-free dent removal equipment work?

Unfortunately, every car owner, even the most accurate one, sooner or later faces such an obvious problem as a dent. It can be a dent from flying debris on the road, from sloppy parking, falling snow from a roof, or from natural disasters such as hail. It does not matter! The fact remains that there is a small dent, but you don't want to paint it in any way. Yes, and they ask for a lot of money for this, and to paint the whole detail ... In general, some frustration.

But technology is evolving, including body repair. So, imagine for a second that you can not paint a dent, but simply squeeze it out. Don't believe me? Let me tell you the story of such a fascinating technology for removing dents without painting called Paintless Dent Repair (PDR or PDR in Russian).

The history of PDR technology

This story began back in the 60s. Oskar Flyg and Enrichh Nussle were employees of the Mercedes plant. During the next exhibition, they repaired cars. which were damaged by visitors during the exhibition. Oscar Flyg squeezed out small dents with a hammer handle, preparing the car for painting, but he managed to do it so skillfully that no further painting was required (until that moment, all body defects required painting). This was one of the first applications of this technology on painted elements and became the starting point in its development.

Of course, at the moment the technology does not stand still and the way the tools looked before and what the technology consists of now are two different things. So, what the technology looks like now and what systems it includes:

Hook system

The first system we see is the (most obvious) hook system. When working with hooks, the dent is straightened by the method of acting on the defect from the inside of the part (squeezing out the dent).

Adhesive system

The next, the most popular self-training among beginners among beginners to remove dents without painting, is the glue system, one of the simplest. The glue system includes such components as glue, glue adapter, back hammer, minilifter, back hammer and many other auxiliary tools. In this case, the dent is straightened by acting on the part from the outside, in other words, gluing into the dent. One of the top tools in this system is cold glue, very popular with experienced craftsmen.

Settling system

Of course, when squeezing and pulling a dent, you can face the fact that bumps appear, peak pluses. The settling system is designed to remove these excess bulges. During upsetting, cores, stemmers, blending hammers are actively used. The upsetting system works by tapping pricks, that is, impact from the outside.

Blending

Blending is a subsystem of upsetting, the impact on the dent from the outside by the method of upsetting pricks at a distance, due to which the dent is lifted.

Overvoltage system

The next system is the overvoltage system. It includes trowels and counter supports or lifting pads. It works by striking the trowel on the tangent metal surface with the creation of a stop on the inside of the dent.

Accessories for PDR

For comfortable work, you certainly cannot do without the widest component - these are accessories. This includes such important and irreplaceable equipment as various fasteners, scotch tape, stops, puffs, screens, nozzles, plugs and much, much more.

Unpainted dent remover

An innovative solution when working with cars with a large area of \u200b\u200bminor damage, for example, after hail, is the device for induction impact on the dent. The Swiss-made THOT Box induction device has established itself as the most reliable and convenient in operation. The principle of operation of the inductor consists in a magnetic head and spot heating of the metal, due to which the dent is pulled out. The main advantage when removing a dent using an inductor is the absence of reinforcement work, since the effect on the defect is only from the outside of the part.

PDR dent removal lighting

Last but not least, one of the most important parts of a paintless dent removal kit is, of course, lighting. Why? Everything is very simple here, if you do not see a defect, then you do not fix it. Currently, the German manufacturer Nussle has become a breakthrough in the light direction, namely a six-band lamp with an innovative diffuser and a tripod and control system thought out to the smallest detail. With reliable and professional light, you can see and fix even the smallest defect.

The main advantage technology is the fact that the dent is removed without painting the part, which means that during resale, no one will be able to see that you had a dent, the car does not become a bat.

The second important point is repair speed and cost. On average, repairing one dent takes 15-30 minutes, which is much faster than even local painting. And the cost of repairs is several times less, since practically no consumables.

No risk of color mismatch smudges and a thick layer of putty.

No special boxes requiredand a lot of space. One box is enough for the entire tool and for repairs.

Technology for removing dents without painting - these are new opportunities in body repair with a huge number of benefits for both customers and craftsmen.

Even the craftsmen of traditional body repair will be able to find a lot of interesting things for themselves to facilitate their work and speed up the work when painting.

In our center we are ready to offer you a full range of services in the field of removing dents without painting.

Here you can choose a worthy tool with the longest quality guarantee, of course, repair your car and learn innovative technology. Masters come to us from all over Russia and cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Krasnodar, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don ... and from all over the world: CIS countries, Israel, England, USA, Canada , Estonia and many, many others. And for the duration of the entire study, we will provide you with accommodation;)

We are waiting for your visit!)

There are a lot of reasons for the appearance of dents on a car without damaging the paintwork: a riot of elements, say, hail or a storm, a snow canopy or melt snow that has fallen from the roof of a neighboring house, a light blow by the door of a neighboring vehicle in a tight parking lot, blows of feet and hands of strangers and sometimes not quite adequate persons.

Almost every car owner has experienced similar damage, but not everyone knows that such damage can be easily repaired without resorting to standard body repair, followed by straightening and painting the part. In general, everything and as we are all used to.

Nine out of ten of these damages can be quickly repaired using a unique pDR (Paintless Dent Repair) technology... The main condition for performing such repairs is not damaged paintwork of the car body in the place of the dent.

This technology was invented in Germany, at the Mercedes-Benz plant, back in 1952 and is now ubiquitous in both Europe and the United States. Finally, our craftsmen got to her!

Small levers of different configurations and lengths are used to remove dents. With their help, pressure is exerted on the inside of the metal through the technological holes of the machine.

If it is impossible to get to the dent on the back of the iron, then special suction cups (fungus-pistons) are used, as well as special adhesives and levers - called microlifts.

PDR technology itself

Using the example below given photos and drawings, I will try to just tell you about the difficult - one of the ways to remove a dent without painting.

So, to straighten a simple dent, for example, on the hood, you need a hammer, a plastic cone, adapted in the form of a poker, an emphasis in the form of a wooden bar, a plate with contrasting lines and, of course, good light.

The photo below shows how the master outlined the approximate radius of the dent and installed a plate with contrasting lines (black and yellow) on the suction cup. It is needed for better control of the process during straightening, focusing on the change in the reflection of these bands in the repair area.

Having installed the "poker" on the stop and using it as a lever, the master begins to squeeze the dent up.
The figure below shows that any dent has a shape conditionally similar to a volcano or a crater, i.e. not just a dip downward, but protrusions outward are formed.

Having squeezed the dent up a little, you should tap its perimeter from above with a light hammer and a plastic cone, which does not cause severe damage to the paintwork.

Thus, acting alternately on the dent from below, and then, tapping its radius, in the end we must achieve a perfectly flat surface of the body part.

Having achieved the desired result, you should remove the traces left over from the repair, namely, carry out the work that is usually done when polishing the body after painting.

For this you need a fine abrasive, about P2000 and an abrasive polishing paste. By grinding we remove minor defects that have arisen after tapping, and by polishing we restore the original shine of the body part.

In this video, you can watch one of the specialist's tricks with PDR technology - repair using "mushroom caps".

Repairing body dents without painting is only one advantage, while theoretically there are absolutely no drawbacks. There is no need to leave your vehicle for several days in the workshop, auto repair is done quickly, the work usually takes from 30 minutes to 4 hours, in the most neglected cases.

In most cases, repairs using this technology will cost several times less than a typical body repair. The vehicle retains the factory paintwork, and your car does not automatically pass into the category of "painted", and this can quite strongly affect its price when selling in the future.

However, there is one very significant practical drawback - of course, the cost of tools and consumables for such repairs.

The price of a basic set is about 70-80 thousand rubles *. An approximate set, you can see in the picture below.

And this is a special device called a microlift. With its help, caps or fungi glued to the surface of the dents pull the metal out. In some cases, they resort to using a special reverse hammer.

But even here craftsmen figured out how to save money.
Making consumables and adapters from improvised means purchased in hardware stores.

In general, if you decide to do minor body repairs using technology of paint-free removal of dents PDR,then you should first of all familiarize yourself with the tools, of which there are a lot, as well as with the very technique of removing dents with the help of these cunning devices.

I consider this article as an introductory article. I think that this technology (PDR) of body repair without damaging the paintwork will continue to develop.

* Prices are in rubles at the time of this writing.