Have you ever wondered how engineers are able to completely mend dents on cars, making it look good as new again? This week we caught up with Gavin Boal, owner and operator of Dentworx, who filled us in on how they do it.
Gavin specialises in Paintless Dent Repair (PDR), which describes a method of removing dents from the body of a motor vehicle.
How do they do it?
As long as the paint surface is intact, a huge range of damage can be repaired using PDR on both steel and aluminium panels.
PDR is mostly used to repair hail damage, door dings, minor creases, large dents, and bodyline damage.
The PDR method can also be utilized to prepare a damaged panel for repainting by minimizing the use of body filler. This technique is currently known as “push to paint” or “push for paint”.
By using specialised bars and rods, Gavin is able to gently mould the metal back into its original shape.
Limiting factors for a successful repair using PDR include the flexibility of the paint (most of today’s refined automotive paint finishes allow for successful PDR) and the extent to which the metal has been stretched by the damage, which depends on the thickness of the metal, the curvature or flatness where the damage occurred and the intensity of the impact.
Generally speaking, the shallower the dent, the greater the likelihood of paintless dent repair being a suitable option.
However, some large panel wide dents can be repaired using the PDR method and the before and after pics can be viewed on Gavin’s Facebook page.
Donegal Daily even decided to put Gavin to the test…
A member of the Donegal Daily team, Don Sheridan, had a dent on the front of his car following an unfortunate encounter with a firework during Halloween. Don dropped his car into Gavin to see if he could put his money where his mouth is. The result? Extraordinary!
Don says; “You wouldn’t even know it had been dented, it looks good as new. It was extremely well priced considering the high level of service and speed with which Gavin worked. Absolutely delighted!”
Have a dent you need fixed? Gavin provides free estimates!
To get in touch with Gavin you can phone 0878330100 or drop into Dentworx, Unit 46, Pinehill Business Park, Mountain Top, Letterkenny.
You can also visit the Dentworx website and Facebook page to check out the before and after pictures of dents he has fixed.
