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Paintless dent repair on Laramie bumper?

nimbus

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Is this dent a good candidate for paintless dent repair? I've never used it before so am curious about your thoughts. Thanks!
 

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Is this dent a good candidate for paintless dent repair? I've never used it before so am curious about your thoughts. Thanks!
If the repair person can gain access behind the dent, in most cases this would be a good candidate.
 
My PDR guy refused to fix a bumper dent due to it being steel and I think laws preventing cosmetic repair of a safety mechanism like a bumper. I took it to two shops and got the same answer. Ended up buying a new bumper unfortunately.
 
I have an identical dent in my bumper (trailer coupler hit it) and my trusted PDR guy said no can do on the bumper as well. Mine is chrome so maye that matters but he basically said it wouldn't work.
 
My PDR guy refused to fix a bumper dent due to it being steel and I think laws preventing cosmetic repair of a safety mechanism like a bumper. I took it to two shops and got the same answer. Ended up buying a new bumper unfortunately.
So getting a fresh coat of paint (cosmetic repair) is illegal if it's on a safety mechanism?
My PDR guy refused to fix a bumper dent due to it being steel and I think laws preventing cosmetic repair of a safety mechanism like a bumper. I took it to two shops and got the same answer. Ended up buying a new bumper unfortunately.
I wonder how much of all this is misguided.

Almost all "bumpers" we see are not bumpers. They are bumper covers. Without getting on the ground and looking I wouldn't know if we have an actual bumper up front but I am petty sure we do.

With that said based upon OPs picture it appears to be his rear bumper, I fail to see how there could be any safety attributed to 6 feet behind where any human is allowed to sit legally in the truck.

Here is a company that does steel PDR

I would say it's more likely the PDR person just didn't want to deal with the job and thus refused to work on it when there is easier work to be done.
 
So getting a fresh coat of paint (cosmetic repair) is illegal if it's on a safety mechanism?

I wonder how much of all this is misguided.

Almost all "bumpers" we see are not bumpers. They are bumper covers. Without getting on the ground and looking I wouldn't know if we have an actual bumper up front but I am petty sure we do.

With that said based upon OPs picture it appears to be his rear bumper, I fail to see how there could be any safety attributed to 6 feet behind where any human is allowed to sit legally in the truck.

Here is a company that does steel PDR

I would say it's more likely the PDR person just didn't want to deal with the job and thus refused to work on it when there is easier work to be done.
Plastic bumpers are normally just covers with a crash bar/bumper behind them but if the bumper is steel to start with it is normally the actual bumper. I know for a fact thier is nothing behind the steel bumper on these trucks. It is a rather thin metal and dents pretty easily.
 
Probably has more to do with the thickness of the bumper steel vs regular body panels. Harder to PDR thicker guage steel, especially if there is no access to get to it from behind. Which IIRC, that section of the bumper wouldn't be easy to get to.
 
So getting a fresh coat of paint (cosmetic repair) is illegal if it's on a safety mechanism?

I wonder how much of all this is misguided.

Almost all "bumpers" we see are not bumpers. They are bumper covers. Without getting on the ground and looking I wouldn't know if we have an actual bumper up front but I am petty sure we do.

With that said based upon OPs picture it appears to be his rear bumper, I fail to see how there could be any safety attributed to 6 feet behind where any human is allowed to sit legally in the truck.

Here is a company that does steel PDR

I would say it's more likely the PDR person just didn't want to deal with the job and thus refused to work on it when there is easier work to be done.
Just what several companies told me 🤷‍♂️ I live in hail storm country too, so PDR is pretty common around here. But perhaps my language could be more clear: hiding structural damage to a safety mechanism with a cosmetic repair (PDR or filler plus paint) is something these companies would not do.

My dent was in the rear bumper after my trailer popped off hitch and rammed the bumper. I don’t think painting and replacing a OEM factory bumper was any easier than doing the PDR if they could have, but it certainly made them more money off me lol
 
Repairing the dent in the bumper has nothing to do with the safety aspect of it. It's a bumper! It has everything to do with the fact that it's not paint, so it would be too reflective to get a good view of the damage and the metal is considerably thicker than a steel body panel, 11 gauge vs 18 gauge. Can it be done, yes, but it's not easy using traditional PDR tools. Due to the thickness, you won't be able to work the metal back to perfection and there might always be visual issues with it.
 
I dented my chrome rear bumper the exact same way.

Had it fixed by a mobile PDR.

Was 90% effective. No one could notice unless they were looking for it.

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