Dent Repair on Hood - Anyone with experience?

[sstevetx]

Something bounced up from the highway and hit my hood this weekend leaving 2 dents. The top edge of the lower dent reaches up to 5.5 inches from the lip of the hood and the other at about 7 inches up. Anyone have any experience getting dents out of their lightning in this part of the hood? I called a half-dozen paintless dent repair places, but only one got back with me so far. They had no experience with a Lightning and said they need to get to the undersize of the hood which is blocked by some panels and whatever else is directly behind the fake grill area. They quoted me $400-$550 to do it, but I'm not letting someone start pulling the hood underside apart that haven't done it before. I've never done PDR before, so I don't know if they need to pull all that apart to properly repair it or not.

I am thinking the dealer may have to repair this due to their understanding of the Lightning, but wanted to reach out to the community and see if anyone has any suggestions.

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[RickLightning]

Contact your insurance company for their recommended shops. Nothing unique about the Lightning hood as compared to the gas F-150 hood.

 

[HOTAS]

I’ve used PDR several times with excellent, amazing results. If the paint isn’t damaged, it’s the way to go.
Dent Wizard in Athens Ga. Is unbelievable.
I had a multi-contour dent removed from the hood of my Model Y, with PPF ! PERFECT results.
Removal of the under hood trim was necessary but very easy.
F150 under-hood isn’t complicated.
I don’t really care for the mobile guys, I prefer the Franchise shop.
Visit and see some examples of their work. No need to rush into it..

 

[Henry Ford]

I've had PDR on a steel bodied F150. If done right it's miracle work. I'm assuming a reputable shop can fix that. $550 from a well reviewed shop sounds like a deal to me. I would not call my insurance company for that price.

On a slight tangent, if you call your insurance company about damage it can be used against you for actuarial purposes even if you don't file a claim. At least that's the deal in Michigan. Could be different in other states.

Edit: the dealership will not repair that. If they took the job they'd outsource it to a PDR shop. You might be able to get a recommendation from your dealership.

 

[Maxx]

I have a small dent with damage to the paint. The aluminum under paint is exposed. I have heard that Aluminum rust is the same color as the metal and will protect what is under the layer of rust. In other words it does not eat through. Is that correct? If the cosmetic issue does not bother me, is it safe to leave it as is?

And where is the best place to get a perfect match of small amount of carbonized gray metallic paint?

 

[CdnCGM23]

I had something similar happen.. i used a dent repair specialist called Dent Paramedic. For $200 they did a fantastic paintless job that you'd never know there was a dent.

 

[broncoaz]

Good advise from all in this thread. Let the PDR place repair it. The dealer will either sub it out to them or want to mud and paint the hood for $$$$.

After a major hailstorm in Scottsdale in about 2012 the dealer group had 1200 damaged cars, including exotics like Rolls Royce. PDR guys from all over the world were there for months. The Rolls Royce team were from Australia and did amazing work on the stainless bonnets. My 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 got hit on the top and right sides. They ended up PDR repairing everything and I got them to paint the roof and hood where the sun had faded the factory paint.

 

[Jesse-Infotainment]

The PDR guys have had a lot of time to work aluminum and know how to handle it. Go PDR route and do your research local to you.

I realized youre in Dallas.. I have had GREAT luck with a few people over the years. There are a lot of them in Dallas also. Youll regret having a body shop try to fix and paint that.

 

[NCevGuyF150]

Something bounced up from the highway and hit my hood this weekend leaving 2 dents. The top edge of the lower dent reaches up to 5.5 inches from the lip of the hood and the other at about 7 inches up. Anyone have any experience getting dents out of their lightning in this part of the hood? I called a half-dozen paintless dent repair places, but only one got back with me so far. They had no experience with a Lightning and said they need to get to the undersize of the hood which is blocked by some panels and whatever else is directly behind the fake grill area. They quoted me $400-$550 to do it, but I'm not letting someone start pulling the hood underside apart that haven't done it before. I've never done PDR before, so I don't know if they need to pull all that apart to properly repair it or not.

I am thinking the dealer may have to repair this due to their understanding of the Lightning, but wanted to reach out to the community and see if anyone has any suggestions.

Oh man, I am so sorryThat happened to you. I spent a good part of my life working in a body shop. But I have not really investigated on taking the panels apart in the funk or under the hood. When I get back from my holiday trip, I’m going to check that out. Good luck finding somebody that can fix that for you. I do know that aluminum tends to stretch a little more than steel. Which may result in a little bit more difficult getting of 100% fix with PDR.

 

[Maquis]

I can believe anyone who looked at the photo would mention PDR!

 

[broncoaz]

I can believe anyone who looked at the photo would mention PDR!

It’s worth a shot. If they can get it close enough it’ll save some money, if not they can move on to conventional repair. The mud and paint repair would be easier with as much of the dent worked out as possible.

If it were my truck I’d be curious if a bug deflector would cover the damage and leave it as is.

 

[1buddyc]

Those are creases and not so much dents..
PDR will not be able to fix them properly.

 

[sstevetx]

It’s worth a shot. If they can get it close enough it’ll save some money, if not they can move on to conventional repair. The mud and paint repair would be easier with as much of the dent worked out as possible.

If it were my truck I’d be curious if a bug deflector would cover the damage and leave it as is.

Interesting you mentioned the bug deflector. I actually have one coming on Sunday to see if it covers it as one option.

 

[NCevGuyF150]

I have a small dent with damage to the paint. The aluminum under paint is exposed. I have heard that Aluminum rust is the same color as the metal and will protect what is under the layer of rust. In other words it does not eat through. Is that correct? If the cosmetic issue does not bother me, is it safe to leave it as is?

And where is the best place to get a perfect match of small amount of carbonized gray metallic paint?

Most automotive paint stores can mix paint to your paint code on your truck. However, each facility has a slightly different variant. You may need to blend the panel when painting in order to get a undetectable match.

 

[Henry Ford]

Those are creases and not so much dents..
PDR will not be able to fix them properly.

It's probably worth a second opinion but I'm deferring to the professional who has seen it in real life over the internet poster who has seen one low resolution photo.

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