Will Paintless dent removal work? (pics)

[OBSSEST]

1 yr. and 7 months without a single door ding... then my own mom backs out of her garage and hits the Camaro in her driveway. Got 2 estimates today, both require a new bumper cover. The dent on the fender panel, just above the red lens, doesn't appear to have any crack or chip in the paint. One shop is willing to let their paintless dent removal guy smooth that out and then replace the bumper. The other shop says no way, that dent needs to be pulled and the entire panel re-cleared. Keep in mind, that fender panel goes down across the gills, then up and over the roof then down the side of the windshield. I prefer to keep as much factory original paint as I can and that seems like overkill (or over gauging the insurance company) to me. The bumper cover is popped OUT, and the fender edge appears straight, other than the quarter sized dent. The shop that wants to paint the fender panel suggested that the area where the dent is is solid and a paintless fix on that spot would have to drill holes and compromise the edge of the panel in order to work the dent out. Can anyone who has had their bumper cover off comment on the access to the dented area above the lens? Any thoughts on this? thanks

[UT-Engineer]

If the paint is craked PDR wont work. That needs a little more touch. A good body shop can fix that, i would hope, without having to order a new bumper and fender. Repainting and clearcoat is also in order in my opinion.

[r magni]

That will definitely need a paint and body shop repair, ouch!

[OBSSEST]

Definitely paint on the bumper cover area, but on the panel above the lens, the paint is still intact and has NO damage.

[Adam's Polishes]

Thats well beyond the scope of PDR unfortunately.

[lets_go_bills]

At the end of the day, you're the one who has to live with it. But I'd say PDR doesn't apply here.

[OBSSEST]

PDR really can't fix just the area in the green circle? Geez, I've seen door dings worse than that fixed without paint.

[mth35115]

The bumper cover can be repaired fairly easely, I did worse to mine. As far as the paint, I would get the whole panel recleared. I have a dent in the same panel on the drivers side and that is what is being done to my car. My friend who does my bodywork, is an experienced bodyman who does my work at the cost of materials. He says this is the only way to guarantee a prefect match.

[lets_go_bills]

OP,

I don't think so. The dent is at an edge/corner. That's a tricky spot. Plus, there's paint damage nearby. PDR may cause the paint there to crack.

You could try it, but like I said, you're the one who has to live with it. That's a sweet ride you've got and Black is the worst color because it shows imperfections the easiest. You may not be happy with the result of just PDR there. Plus, it could raise issues if you intend to sell the car one day. If it was me, I'd demand perfection. Most C5ers are anal about their Camaros.

[Batman0837]

That is not a good spot for PDR at all. Its not the size it's the location.

[lets_go_bills]

Originally Posted by Batman0837

That is not a good spot for PDR at all. Its not the size it's the location.

Yep. I agree. Too tricky of a spot. PDR is for the middle of a large panel.

[Cam 427]

Originally Posted by OBSSEST

PDR really can't fix just the area in the green circle? Geez, I've seen door dings worse than that fixed without paint.

I've had PDR done in a tricky spot on my truck which turned out nice. It wouldn't hurt to ask a PDR shop about it.

[Batman0837]

I'm a PDR tech, I wouldn't consider trying it w/o a disclaimer that it won't come out 100%. Also since the location will make the dent stubborn to cooperate there's always the chance the paint will crack during the process...then you're back to square one. In my opinion if you can live with less than 100%, then go for it. But it's your Camaro, get it fixed right and be done with it...

[Batman0837]

Originally Posted by Cam 427

I've had PDR done in a tricky spot on my truck which turned out nice. It wouldn't hurt to ask a PDR shop about it.

Tricky spots can be worked with if the dent is actually easy to repair once you get behind it. With this particular dent, it's the location that will contribute to the dent being difficult to push out, it won't be hard at all to actually get behind, which is about all this dent has going for as far as PDR is concerned. Of course all my opinions (as someone in the PDR field) are based on these pics w/o physically seeing it to assess the whole scenario.