Local Guides · 7 min read
Paintless dent repair is often described in marketing terms rather than practical ones. For Centennial drivers deciding whether to bother getting a dent looked at, what is actually useful is a straight list of what the method can and cannot do.
What PDR handles well
- Door dings. Shallow round dents in accessible panel areas. The classic case.
- Hail dents. Multiple shallow dents across horizontal panels, priced by panel.
- Shopping cart damage. Wider, softer dents along doors and quarter panels.
- Large soft dents. Width is not the problem people assume; depth and sharpness are.
- Shallow creases. Along body lines, with more time required.
- Roof and hood dents where access can be created.
Where PDR has limits
- Any area with cracked, chipped or missing paint. The shape can be improved but refinishing will still be needed.
- Torn or split metal.
- Panels containing body filler from previous repair work.
- Sharply creased plastic bumper covers.
- Severely stretched metal, where the panel has more surface area than it started with.
- Panels that genuinely cannot be accessed, though these are rarer than people expect.
How to check your own dent in a minute
- Run a fingernail across it. Smooth paint is a good sign.
- Look at it from a low angle in daylight with a reflection running across the panel.
- Note whether it sits on a flat area, on a body line, or on a panel edge.
- Consider whether the panel has ever been repaired before.
Those four observations tell an experienced technician most of what they need before seeing the car.
Why the answer matters more on newer vehicles
Keeping factory paint is worth real money at trade-in, and repainted panels are picked up by inspection and by paint depth gauges. Where a panel can be corrected without refinishing, it is generally worth doing that way even if the result takes longer to achieve.
Background is in does PDR affect factory paint.
Getting a straight answer on your vehicle
Send a low-angle photograph with a reflection through the dent and a wider shot of the panel through our assessment form. If PDR is not the right method, we will say so rather than quote work that will disappoint you.
Centennial service details are on the Centennial paintless dent repair page.