We all know that dents can spoil an otherwise top lookin' car.
Yet, no matter how hard you try to steer away from them, you always
end up copping the odd ripple or dimple (which usually arises from
hail damage, car door openings or basic driver error).
Now let's imagine you've just noticed another surprise dent in the
side of your car - what should you do next? Well, so long as the
dent doesn't have any major paint chips in it, we'd recommend that
you call Dent Wizard for some of their amazing paintless dent
removal magic. The Dent Wizards - who operate throughout Australia
- will come to your home or workplace, wave their magic wands over
your car's battle scars and yield unbelievable results. And -
what's more - the job is usually completed within the space of a
couple of hours, and comes with a very reasonable fee.
Believe us, this isn't just a lot of hoo-ha - these Dent Wizards
really do pull the rabbit out of the proverbial hat...
Certainly, one of the biggest benefits of paintless dent removal is
that you can achieve a perfect repair job, without the need (or
cost) of having to get that panel dolly'd and then re-sprayed. And
we all know the downside of having to get one particular panel
re-sprayed - you very rarely get the perfect colour match and
finish to go with the rest of your car. Your pride and joy comes
back looking a bit like patchwork! But, of course, the advantages
of paintless dent removal don't end there. Notice that the
following process incorporates no bog or filler, no new panels and
gives you a much quicker repair time. We were enormously impressed
- it really is a great fix....
The Paintless Dent Removal Process
Here, a couple of the Dent Wizard guys have kindly bashed the
bonnet of this (hired!) AU Falcon with a rubber mallet to enable
them to demonstrate their unique panel massaging techniques
(they're obviously very confident in the quality of their end
result!)... The dent is around 5mm deep and 10cm in diameter.
The first step is to have a good, hard look at the dent. This
particular dent came from three repeated strikes from a mallet -
which means the dent has three different dimensions to it.
Recognising this, the Wizard knows that the repair will later have
to be tackled from three different angles of attack.
The dent is then clearly marked out (on both sides of the panel, if
possible) to make identification easier.
Depending on where the damage has occurred, the next job is to get
the panel work-ready. Here, our test dent necessitated securely
supporting the bonnet in a workable position. Notice that the
Wizard has supported the bonnet with a sturdy adjustable-height rod
(similar to a photographic mono-pod) and used a rubber tie-down
strap to keep the bonnet perfectly still. Obviously, it's no good
to have the panel flapping around while it's being
massaged...
The next preparation is to wheel over a fluorescent light that
shines across the dent. Interestingly, it's of key importance that
the edge of a beam light falls through the centre of the dent. The
reflection of this line of light through the dent actually makes
the damage much easier to see. (And, notice, this is also the same
technique we've used in our photography to help "lift" the
dent.)
With those initial prep jobs out of the way, the Dent Wizards can
now get to working their awesome magic. Using a so-called blade
(which, in this case, is essentially a long, curved shaft with a
rounded tip), the highly trained Wizard repeatedly bumps and taps
the underside of the dent back into its original position. This
massaging is performed at various angles to the dent (bearing in
mind that this dent has three separate parts), and with minimal
force behind each hit - it really is a matter of plugging away
gently. Here, the leading edge of the bonnet is being used as a
support, and the Wizard is paying close attention to the changing
form of the dent.
With the eye of the dent eventually massaged out to near its
original position, the Wizard then concentrates another piece of
equipment on the outer face of the dent. Unbeknown to most of us,
when a dent is pushed back out, it leaves a slightly raised edge
around the perimeter. The Wizard carefully flattens this out using
a "tap-down" with a padded tip. Again, it's a job requiring a
trained hand and a lot of patience. It's not something for the
average Joe to "have a go at"...
This two-step process with the blade and tap-down is then carried
on until the dent is worked completely flush. So it's a bit more of
this...
...and a bit more of that.
Now - with the dent now completely gone - the final job is to
remove any telltale signs of work having been done. Usually a quick
rub over with some polish will get rid of any left over tap-down
and transfer marks. However, if there's been some paint separation
in the dent (either before or during the repair) a delicate brush
touch-up will mask this.
The Verdict
Before...
...and after!
Looking at where the mallet king-kits were, there is now no way you
could pick that there has ever been any kind of repair. Without a
hint of exaggeration, the job is that good. Expand the photo and
bring your eye right up close and you still won't see any traces of
damage - not in the line of the bonnet or in the paint. This really
is a perfect repair.
It is no wonder that the work performed by Dent Wizard comes backed
by a money-back satisfaction guarantee!
So much does this kind of job cost?
Well, the demo dent on the Falcon will take only about $110 to fix,
while a typical door opening dent costs around $83. Over and above
this, charges are generally kept to between a third and half the
anticipated costs of having a conventional panel shop fix it.
Obviously, that's a pretty big saving!
Note that the ultra-experienced Dent Wizard "master technicians"
can also tackle some much larger scale dents. We've seen photos of
a rear guard repair on a later model Jaguar - with the dent about
the size of a football! So, obviously, there are no real
limitations for the paintless dent removal process - except if the
metal has been stretched by a sharp crease, there's excessive paint
separation or the panel is inaccessible from behind (like double
backed panels). Older cars (ie 15 years and over) can also give
some hassles in terms of paint brittleness and previous paint
repairs. But, other than that, there's no reason why the Dent
Wizard can't give you a perfect repair on virtually any part of
your car - they carry a variety of tools so they can fix just about
anything.
David Copperfield eat your heart out...
