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Being a cautious, defensive driver is a skill everyone can benefit from. But no matter how careful you are, there’s always the possibility that your vehicle will sustain a ding, dent, or scratch. When you take your vehicle into the shop for dent repairs, you have two choices—conventional or paintless. Here’s a closer look at how they differ from each other.

An Overview of Paintless & Traditional Dent Repair

The conventional method of bodywork repair involves a series of steps that can take days to complete. It begins by sanding off the paint on the damaged area of the vehicle, banging the dented metal back to position, and filling in the gaps with putty. Afterward, the technician applies a coat of primer, base coat, and paint to cover the repaired surface. Sometimes, this method merits replacing entire panels or re-painting over larger areas.

dent repairOn the other hand, paintless dent removal is a less tedious repair technique—it doesn’t involve bonding, sanding, or painting the problematic spot. A technician works on the damaged panel’s other side and uses specialized tools to push out the dent or ding without affecting the paint. Because this method is faster and more straightforward, it costs less as well.

How to Decide Between the Two

Damage

The extent of damage to the auto body will dictate whether traditional or paintless dent removal will work. Keep in mind that the paintless method won’t fix sharp dents, deep gouges, and scratched paint jobs, as it only involves massaging out the sunken portion and not re-painting over it.

Paint Type

Older model vehicles often have inflexible paints, so when the auto body gets damaged, the paintwork appears broken as well. Rather than risk corrosion, it’s better to opt for traditional dent repair to cover the opening completely.

Warranty

If your vehicle is still under a manufacturer’s warranty, paintless dent repair lets you maintain that coverage since it won’t disturb the original paint job, unlike with the traditional method.

Time

Between the two, the paintless technique can be completed quicker than its conventional counterpart because of the fewer steps involved. It will often take less than a day, depending on the extent of repairs.

 

Whether you need conventional or paintless dent repair, let the technicians at Tracy’s Collision Center handle it for you. Based in Lincoln, NE, this trusted auto body shop has provided a range of premium quality works, such as collision repairs, dent removals, and auto paint repairs, for almost five decades. Call (402) 441-4820 for repair or collision estimate, or view their full list of services online.

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