[JT58]

Yes a little too big for PDR to get the dent all the way out. Most shops would use a dent puller to get most of the dent out, then use filler and repaint the entire fender. And from my experience a lot of them would partially spray the nearby areas- hood and door to get a "perfect" look. Some colors re harder to "perfectly" match than others. I would expect it to cost about 650-750. But shop around and go with a new fender if you feel better about it.

If it were me, I would have PDR get out as much as they could and try to do the work myself- sanding and a bit of filler, then paint, wet sand to blend, then clear coat and buff to blend everything in. You can do pretty good with a manual spray can- it's all about the wet sanding and blending in. Not for everyone but definitely the cheapest route to go. My GF's son did body work like that a lot at a restoration shop and he got pretty good at it. It's not perfect, perfect but pretty close.

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by JT58

Yes a little too big for PDR to get the dent all the way out. Most shops would use a dent puller to get most of the dent out, then use filler and repaint the entire fender. And from my experience a lot of them would partially spray the nearby areas- hood and door to get a "perfect" look. Some colors re harder to "perfectly" match than others. I would expect it to cost about 650-750. But shop around and go with a new fender if you feel better about it.

If it were me, I would have PDR get out as much as they could and try to do the work myself- sanding and a bit of filler, then paint, wet sand to blend, then clear coat and buff to blend everything in. You can do pretty good with a manual spray can- it's all about the wet sanding and blending in. Not for everyone but definitely the cheapest route to go. My GF's son did body work like that a lot at a restoration shop and he got pretty good at it. It's not perfect, perfect but pretty close.

Personally, I would go the route of PDR and see how it looks. It's the absolute least disruptive overall and leaves all of the factory-sprayed paint and such in place.

If the paint or clear is damaged "enough" to where it needs actual paint repair, you could then move on to something like what you described - have the last bits of the dent pulled/filled and then deal with spraying only that area on the panel itself, potentially preventing any blending onto adjacent panels and only having to blend -within- the panel, and clear of just the one panel itself.

If it's still something that doesn't sit well, then move on to replacing the panel all together and dealing with blending onto the adjacent panels.

[slwdwn]

Thanks all

I took it to one last PDR shop today who is highly regarded and he straight up said PDR wouldn't be the best option - and mentioned that there's minor paint damage in the area also.

So its down to 2 possibilities;
1. Let the body shop repair the existing fender
2. Let the body shop paint and install a new fender (also paint portions of the hood and the door).

I think I will go with option 1 and get the existing fender repaired and spot painted.

Appreciate all the feedback

[mikem2104]

dont blend!!! just dont do it. get a body shop that will color match and spray off the car.
my opinion, depending how bad the "minor paint damage" is to existing, is i'd do the PDR first and see if you are happy.

if not, then more drastic steps.

Yes, blending is normal but i would still try and avoid it. try and avoid painting panels that dont need it as you are inviting future failures. orange peel will be off, overspray, clear coat could fail.

my 2 cents.

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by slwdwn

I think I will go with option 1 and get the existing fender repaired and spot painted.

Sounds reasonable. I personally always feel better when they are not removing major parts of my car to "fix" it. Any trim clips, pop rivets, etc. that they break go back on the car even if they are just jiggling in place. They don't reorder the full fastener package because no one ever looks at that and they cost like $50.

You can't keep the car perfect.

The sad reality is that, if you drive the car, it will eventually get small dings, rock chips, etc. My first ding came from a pebble flying off the wheel of a concrete truck. I was a few hundred feet behind him. But at highway speed the physics were just right and it came bouncing down the road and hit my roof.

[activeSS]

See my post #18. Hate too say I told you so.

Find a shop that you can visibly see what kind of cars they are working on. Ask for a verbal idea of how it will be repaired. In other words, drop the fender liner to hammer and dolly from the back side. Loosen the bumper for access and so no paint edges. Color sand and polish finished paint. Etc. Keep the color in the forward section of the fender.

You will be just fine. It's an easy repair.

Originally Posted by slwdwn

Thanks all

I took it to one last PDR shop today who is highly regarded and he straight up said PDR wouldn't be the best option - and mentioned that there's minor paint damage in the area also.

So its down to 2 possibilities;
1. Let the body shop repair the existing fender
2. Let the body shop paint and install a new fender (also paint portions of the hood and the door).

I think I will go with option 1 and get the existing fender repaired and spot painted.

Appreciate all the feedback