PDR, Car Enthusiasts And The DIY Way |
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Steven Magill
22 December 2012
Nothing can be more annoying to passionate car enthusiast than to see a dent and ding in their otherwise flawless baby. Yeah baby! That's how many car freaks call their cars.
Most wealthy car enthusiasts who are only in it for the lazy joy and pride of collection would immediately bring such problem to the attention of the dent masters. While this is wise especially if you don't really have any clue what to do, it can also be significantly expensive depending on the price of the car in question.
Dent masters however would rarely discriminate between a wealth and not so wealthy clients. And mind you not all car owners actually have the luxury of spending extra on an otherwise avoidable car dent repair operation. Some love cars not out of luxury but of unadulterated passion. Watch any Fast and Furious film and you could get the drift.
The good news is PDRs or Paintless Dent Repair can actually be done DIY. Just like many handymen's work, households and backyards can likewise accommodate dent repairs and non-professionals like you and me can actually do the job with the right set of instructions. The very first thing you need to do when attempting dent repair on your own is to make sure no cracks are breaking the surface of the paint of the dented area. Otherwise, any exposure of sheet metal means a quick repaint to protect your car's chassis from rust. If however, the paint was intact throughout the dented area, then PDR would most likely work its wonders on that car.
Your first new best friend is named the plunger. He'd be your first tool in helping you work magic on your car's dented area. Your next best friend is a liquid soup. Put some on the dented area and then pour some water into it to keep it lubricated. You need it lubrication to allow the plunger to slide over it easily.
Now let's get to work. Put your plunger on the dented surface making sure the rim is covered with soap and water. Slid on the plunger over the dented area and press it hard against the car to generate suction. Now push the plunger against the car and assume a repetitive plunging move, pulling back strong until the metal surface moves allowing the dent to be pulled out. You can do the same to the other damaged areas. You can slide around over the dent with your plunger to pull out all the other damaged areas.
That is just one PDR technique. There are others out there but then that would merit another full article. Suffice it to remember that just as a simple household plunger can do DIY dent repair, so can everybody else do what they do best.