Paintless Dent Repair Guide 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does the acronym PDR stand for in the auto body industry?
- Paintless Dent Repair (Correct answer)
- Panel Damage Restoration
- Primer Drying Routine
- Professional Detail Reconditioning
Correct answer: Paintless Dent Repair
PDR stands for Paintless Dent Repair, a method of removing dents without repainting.
Question 2: Which type of damage is generally NOT a good candidate for PDR?
- A small door ding
- A shallow hail dent
- A dent with cracked or chipped paint (Correct answer)
- A soft crease on a fender
Correct answer: A dent with cracked or chipped paint
PDR requires intact paint; cracked or chipped paint usually means conventional repair is needed.
Question 3: What is the main advantage of PDR over traditional dent repair?
- It uses more body filler
- It preserves the factory paint finish (Correct answer)
- It requires a longer cure time
- It always needs a paint booth
Correct answer: It preserves the factory paint finish
PDR keeps the original factory finish intact, which protects vehicle value.
Question 4: Which tool is most commonly used to push dents out from behind a panel?
- Heat gun
- Metal rod or PDR rod (Correct answer)
- Orbital sander
- Wire brush
Correct answer: Metal rod or PDR rod
PDR rods are used to access behind panels and gently push dents back to shape.
Question 5: Why do PDR technicians often use a special reflective light board?
- To heat the metal
- To read the dent's shape through shadows and reflections (Correct answer)
- To dry adhesive
- To charge their tools
Correct answer: To read the dent's shape through shadows and reflections
A reflection board reveals the dent's high and low spots so the technician can work precisely.
Question 6: What is the glue-pull method in PDR primarily used for?
- Dents with no rear access (Correct answer)
- Repainting panels
- Sanding edges
- Replacing trim clips
Correct answer: Dents with no rear access
Glue pulling lifts dents from the outside when there is no access behind the panel.
Question 7: Hail damage repaired with PDR most often appears on which areas?
- Tires and wheels
- Horizontal panels like the roof, hood, and trunk (Correct answer)
- Interior dashboard
- Exhaust system
Correct answer: Horizontal panels like the roof, hood, and trunk
Falling hail strikes horizontal surfaces most, so roofs, hoods, and trunks are typically affected.