The job of the future: when and how car hail damage repair was born

An increasingly well-known and valuable job for the automotive sector, which revolutionized factory work in the last decades of the 20th century and which is increasingly recognized as the job of the future.

We’re talking about the hand process repair by PDR technicians who, through a real art handed down for a long time, remove hail dents (generic or caused by hail and blizzards) with specific techniques and tools, without having to resort to polluting products (putty or paint) and above all, minimum time used. 

Let’s find out in detail how this profession was born and how it has become, within a few decades, a worldwide acclaimed process.

When and where was the figure of the PDR technician born?

 

The PDR technicians profession is as fascinating as the story of its birth.

However, if in its beginnings it represented an authentic and exclusive work, handed down from father to son within the factories and therefore known only by a niche sector, today it is much better known and easy to access, as there are many companies dedicated to this work.

If its exclusivity is getting blurred, it certainly is not losing notoriety: becoming a PDR technician is now an increasingly coveted goal.

So when was the art of the Paintless dent remover born? 

While its forerunner remains unknown, we know for certain that between the 1960s and 1970s a revolution in the assembly line for the production of cars, and in particular in the production of sheet metal for vehicles, took place in factories. It first appeared in 1964 at a Ford production plant in Detroit, where a quality inspector tried it for the first time.

In order to avoid wasting materials and time with factory defects (with dents and bumps that arose during production) here came the need to create a new resource and then to integrate a new professional figure inside the factories: someone able to restore those pieces to their original state, completely manually, without having to repaint and in a minimum time.

And this is how, with the entry into the factory of the PDR technicians, the piece came back to life in a short time and, being able to be reused, it avoided great expenses for the repurchase.

Year after year, this profession spread in factories all over the world and even outside them, especially to repair vehicles damaged by hail, allowing the birth of companies with a core business based on this type of repair.

On the other hand, with the known climate changes and the increasing frequency of hail storms, the need to hire dent removal experts is increasing.

PDR technicians tools

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It should be remembered that the Paintless dent remover is considered a true craftsman: through precise and constant movements, he can bring the vehicle back to its original state.

All in all, he has three techniques at his disposal, known as PDR techniques (Paintless Dent Repair) and, therefore, three different types of tools:

  1. Levers: the most used tools, used all around the world, especially in Europe. Steel rods, of different sizes, which allow the levers to access the most hidden areas of a vehicle. A slight upward pressure will allow the technician to return the surface of the sheet metal to its original state.
  2. Hot melt adhesives: these are adhesives that, once placed on the sheet metal, are pulled off through the use of a second element (known as “Slide Hammer” and/or “Mini-Lifter”), which will remove, together with the adhesive, also the dent.
  3. Electromagnetic induction: the most recent technique and tool, which allow to remove the most stubborn dents, through the application of heat on the surface to “cure”.

If levers symbolize the work of the PDR technicians, the two further techniques represent the evolution of this profession and the simplification of more complex repairs. 

Why Lever Touch?

More than 26 years of experience in car hail damage repair. Repairs on a large scale. Ensuring craftsmanship at all times

car hail damage repair

We at Lever Touch repair vehicles in a purely artisanal way, thanks to the use of the PDR techniques (Paintless Dent Repairs) and the presence of highly specialized technicians. We repair vehicles on a large scale, without ever sacrificing craftsmanship. 

The right tools, combined with the skill and talent of our continuous trained technicians specialized in PDR techniques and SMART Repairs, allow us to offer fast and effective repairs to private clients, fleet owners, insurance companies and car manufacturers.

Ask for more information: [email protected]