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Subject: Paintless dent removal pics Author: DavidC (moderator) : member since December, 2003 : 12116 posts Posted on: 2004-02-07 22:12:09

These pictures were taken last April, but they're as timely as ever. Paintless dent removal is a good alternative to traditional body work for small-to-medium sized dents and dings. The PDR tech has an array of specialized tools that allows him to manipulate the metal from both sides of the skin to smooth out problem areas. It works amazingly well, IMHO. It definitely requires a practiced hand, so shop around for recommendations in your area. The repairs below cost around $150, as I recall, and took about 2.5 hours to complete.


The photo above shows how the hood had a very noticable dinner-plate-sized depression on the passenger side. Several body shops had already turned down repair, saying that it had to be replaced entirely.


Within about 15 minutes the PDR person had it and several other dents on the hood completely fixed. I was amazed.


Here, the arrow points to a long, horizontal crease in the driver's-side rear door. Ironically, I got this crease at a local BMW event but no one 'fessed up to it.








The crease was a particularly difficult repair because the E38's structural steel bar in the door made it hard to get the tools behind the crease. Though still somewhat noticable to me, the finished result is very good. It's virtually invisible to others, and the cost is dramatically lower than a new door.

All in all, I had a good experience with paintless dent removal and would use it again.

David Cecil
'97 740iL, 117k miles
'86 735i, 91k miles

www.e38.org has links for everything about your BMW 7-series automobile

• Paintless dent removal pics (pic) - DavidC 2004-02-07 22:12:09 (62482 views)
  • WOW, that is a great deal for what was done! (nt) - 4sho 2004-02-08 18:31:50 (1899 views)
  • Did he deconn the air bag in the door? - chicagoe38 2004-02-08 12:12:16 (4288 views)
    • No. I don't have airbags in the rear doors, which is (m) - DavidC 2004-02-08 12:44:15 (1364 views)
  • Re: Paintless dent removal pics - cru3000 2004-02-08 09:21:52 (2298 views)
    • I used Dent Wizard... - diver90 2004-02-08 15:22:17 (3137 views)
    • Yes, I've heard of Dent Wizard - DavidC 2004-02-08 11:03:25 (7629 views)
      • Re: Yes, I've heard of Dent Wizard - apwe38/Allan 2004-02-08 14:42:37 (2202 views)
  • Re: Paintless dent removal :: Doing it Wednesday - mancho 2004-02-07 23:02:34 (1844 views)
    • Please take some before and after photos of the project (nt) - DavidC 2004-02-08 01:48:37 (1671 views)