Paintless Dent Repair
By Eve Kelly | Published Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009

Paintless Dent Repair

Crunch. Uh-oh. Patrick backed into my best friend’s car.

I rang up Eddie Martin, owner and master technician at the Dent Devils (619-726-6767, thedentdevils.com), a paintless dent-removal shop. “People think of us as ‘the body-shop alternative,’” said Martin, “but in reality, the body shop is the alternative to us. Depending on the damage, I bring the car back to factory specs without using paint or Bondo. If a body shop uses Bondo or breaks the paint, then it’s not factory original anymore. On top of that, we’re usually cheaper, faster, and more environmentally friendly.”

It sounded good, so I asked how he managed it. “Paintless dent repair is done with special tools — stainless steel rods and hammers. You go in ...........

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Seems the new trend these days is multiple web sites with different names from companies that offer (PDR) paintless dent - door ding repair / removal, Bumper repair, spot painting, wheel repair , window tinting, (PPF) paint protection film plus tools and training for these services. I've been noticing this more and more as times are getting tough with less work to go around. This is not just on the web and blogs but on Google and yahoo pay perclick which is supposed to be against the rules. The other trend has been offering services the company does not offer but only subcontracts out instead.

Seems kinda funny to me why anyone would spend so much effort and money, When it could be spent branding their own name.

When I first started using Google pay perclick this was not allowed.

Is this good marketing or just another way of misleading customers into thinking they are someone else after they have ruined their reputation by putting out poor quality work, training or tools for so many years.

So how do you know if you are dealing with one of these misleading companies?

Try to Google the following....... company name, any listed phone numbers, any persons name in the article, you can find out who owns the web site by going to places like GoDaddy or sometimes even the BBB will give you the information.

IMO if they are going to mislead you into thinking they are someone else then whats going to stop them from anything that might be misleading.

With the increased use of aluminum in today’s cars designed to decrease fuel consumption requirements, repair-ability should be a major concern in choosing not only the right company but right tech when dealing with new high-tech aluminum and high strength steel. Not to worry! Aluminum can be repaired by a tech with lots of experience and proper training, that fully understands the differences in working aluminum verses steel. Don't be mislead by a fast talking company because if they do things improperly, not only will the paint crack, but they will ruin an otherwise fixable panel by further stretching the aluminum, then bringing it to the point where it will start cracking from work hardening. At this point, it will become non repairable with Paintless Dent Repair or even by a collision repair shop using conventional paint and body methods. At this point in time there are very few shops like ours, in my personal experience, that have properly-trained techs that are able to appropriately handle aluminum welding and paintless dent repair on aluminum.

 What makes aluminum hard to repair?

 Here are a few basics:

Aluminum acts like a spring is why normal Paintless Repair process do not work this is what gives it its strength. So in most cases Aluminum needs to be preloaded when removing crowns and kinks. When pushing a tech needs to hold the push longer to give more time for the aluminum to react. When a tech is working anything other than a small soft ding he should be using lots of heat as this will cause the aluminum to expand so it will be easier to push. Also using metal tips are not recommended in most repairs as it  causes more damage.  One of the other things that most techs do not under stand is they need to use heaver hammers because they give more of a forceful and smoother transfer of energy instead of giving a bouncing action.

Before you spend any hard earned money letting just anyone touch your auto please do a simple back ground check with the Bureau of Automotive Repair(BAR) for your protection first. All these auto related services have to be registered with the BAR to legally operate around San Diego County and the City of San Diego to perform alarm installation, Auto Body and Paint, Auto Collision Repair, Auto Glass and Windshield Replacement, bumper repair, , mechanical work, painting, paintless dent repair, wheel repair . From what I was told by my BAR rep was if they are not registered you do not have to pay anything, Not even for parts! They are also supposed to have estimate sheets filled out when doing repairs that have the companies name and phone printed on it, not just hand written.
Both shops and mobile repair have to be register with Bureau of Automotive Repair and the City of San Diego plus each city or county if they are mobile!

If a company cannot take the time to legally operate in San Diego why should you trust them with your second largest investment or even more important your life!

Click Here to see if a company is legal with the Bureau of Automotive Repair

Bureau of Automotive Repair
10240 Systems Parkway
Sacramento, CA 95827
(800) 952-5210

Field Office
1310 Union Plaza Court, suite 100
Oceanside, Ca 92054
(858) 716-1025

Bureau of Automotive Repair
10240 Systems Parkway
Sacramento, CA 95827
(800) 952-5210

Field Office
1310 Union Plaza Court, suite 100
Oceanside, Ca 92054
(858) 716-1025

BAR Mission: To protect and serve California consumers by ensuring a fair and competitive automotive repair marketplace and administering a model motor vehicle emissions reduction program.

Hopefully this post saves someone a lot of grief in going with the wrong company.

Eddie Martin owner of The Dent Devils Paintless Dent Repair and Auto Reconditioning shop.

Check out our testimonials A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau.