Many dents can be repaired without replacing a panel or using filler and paint. Trained technicians can literally push, or suck, your car's body work back into place by carefully massaging the dent from the backside, sometimes without even taking the damaged panel off your car. This technique is sometimes called "dentless paint repair," although the most commonly used term is "paintless dent repair." It uses specially designed tools that can remove dings and dents up to the size of a football without having to sand, fill or repaint. In dents where the cars paintwork is damaged, you can still use dentless paint repair tools, and use paint to touch up the area.
Paintless dent removal (PDR) rods are the standard PDR tool. They are designed to be slim enough to fit behind your car's body work and strong enough to push the dent out. They are manufactured in different sizes and shapes to adapt to each dent type. You can choose from a hail rod, a double bend rod, a hook rod -- all from sizes ranging from 48 inches to 1/2 inch.
Wire tools are used in a similar way to PDR rods but are reserved for small dents in areas that are hard to access, such as honeycomb hoods.
Glue stick guns are a relatively new tool in the PDR technicians tool box. The glue gun sticks a specially designed tab to the damaged panel. You can then use a modified slide hammer to lift the tab and, with it, the dent. It works well on firm and nonflexible panels but is not so effective on flat open-style panels like a car's hood.
Lights and reflectors are used to locate the exact location of the dent. Often the main problem a PDR technician has is seeing where the dent is, especially with small hail dents. PDR lights and reflectors help you see exactly where the dent lies and where you should apply pressure.
