Go Green - Choose Paintless Dent Repair

The business of auto body repair can be quite hazardous to the environment. A number of chemicals and solvents may be utilized in order to satisfy our desire for vanity in our vehicles. While the final result looks great, in most cases the same or better results can be obtained through paintless dent repair, which uses no harmful chemicals and restores your automobile’s finish to its pre-incident state.

There are three main ways in which harmful chemicals enter the body: breathing, absorption through the skin, and swallowing (less common forms of chemical entry include injection or entry through the eyes).

Most commonly harmful chemicals are absorbed into the body through the breathing in of gases, vapors, mists, dusts and aerosols released into the atmosphere from industrial processes. One such offender is auto body shops.

The byproducts of body shop work may include harmful chemicals such as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), benzene, formaldehyde, acetone, acid mists, solvents, metal fumes, lead fumes, and zinc fumes. Additionally various detergents, enamels, paint aerosols, paint thinners, resins, abrasives, and cutting oils can be released into the atmosphere during the auto repair process.

Many jurisdictions require certain safeguards be followed to minimize (but not eliminate) environmental contamination resulting from the discharge of auto body repair shop chemicals. Recapturing mechanisms are somewhat effective at decreasing the amount of harmful chemicals released into the environment, but they are not fail safe. Furthermore, even if recapturing is successful, the harmful chemical byproducts must still be disposed of in some fashion. Quite simply, everything ends up in the environment in one form or another.

Much of this is unnecessary. There is nothing wrong with having a desire to protect your investment in your automobile and wanting to keep it looking in great shape. However, the vast majority of repairs that have been traditionally performed by body shops can now be done via paintless dent repair technology.

Paintless dent repair technicians are able to restore dents, dings, hail damage, and creases in auto bodies without the use of any harmful chemicals. The process is simple, quick, and cheap when compared to the costs (both out of pocket and environmental) associated with traditional means of repair. Furthermore, the end result of paintless dent repair is often preferable to that of body shop work as it makes use of your car’s original finish. This eliminates any depreciation of your vehicle resultant from having a non-standard finish applied, as well as solves any problems regarding matching of paint.

If your car has suffered hail damage, dents, dings, or creases, do yourself and Mother Earth a favor – take it by a paintless dent repair expert first – you and your children will be glad that you did.