If you own classic car chances are you not going to get a parking lot ding any time soon. However, tools falling on fenders bikes bumping into it while it’s in the garage, or thing falling off shelves are common stories we’ve been told. When I first learned PDR (Paintless Dent Repair) I was told that metal on cars from 1980 and older was too thick and strong to be effectively repaired with this process. This statement might hold true for large, complex, and deep dents but for your average door ding, they couldn’t be more wrong.
Things That Make A Dent Unrepairable With PDR
When it comes to Classic Cars, restored Classics, and Hot Rods there are a few things that can make a ding or small dent Unrepairable with PDR.
- Paint Condition Old and custom color paints tend to be softer then more modern two-component paints. Often times paint is single-stage and can easily get divots when knocking down a crown or a high spot from the panel. Great care is taken to ensure that this doesn’t happen These paints are susceptible to cracking as well. We will use heat to warm the paint, making it more flexible if the paint is old or its age is unknown.
- Previous Body Work Almost all restored classics and hot rods have had body filler used on them. Most car owners have no idea where the filler is. When we start a repair we don’t start pushing hard right away. We test the panel with light pushes. Testing it to see how the metal is reacting and if our tooltip is easily detected from the outside. If there is body filler where the dent is we probably can’t repair it with PDR.
Recently we had the opportunity to work on this 1965 Mustang GT350H. The owner drives it daily and had acquired a few dings in the side panels.
As you can see there is a ding visible in the white light and an outward dent (probably caused by something in the trunk sliding around) in the yellow light. The ding was massaged with special tools for PDR from the backside of the panel. The outward dent was knocked down using a plastic tapper and lightweight hammer.
This is the panel with the repair completed.
This is the front fender with a nice size ding. This is the finished repair. No dent visible at all. The paint was not damaged and received a light polish after the repair was finished.
At Concours Auto Salon we take great pride in our work. Extra special care is given when we have the opportunity to work on American Classic Cars like this one. Old car or a new one we would love to repair dents for you.
