Often, in learning the history for something, we gain a whole new appreciation for it—and, oftentimes, that history can challenge preconceptions. Paintless dent repair is no exception to these rules. For example, some people think the technique is a new, untested method of repairing cars, but this cannot be further from the truth. Paintless dent repair has been around for roughly half a century, almost as long as has the mass manufacturing of cars themselves.
However, even though the history is long, it is still muddy in places, as is the history for almost everything. Nonetheless, Dent Heads, a Bloomington car dent repair specialist, takes a stab at recounting that history below.
Many Stories, One Technique
It’s generally accepted that paintless dent repair got it start in Europe—specifically Germany. It’s said that manufacturers of high-end vehicles, such as Mercedes and BMW, wanted a way to repair minor imperfections on the cars while on the assembly line. High-powered fluorescents might have given them the light they needed to roll out fine dents in the car’s finish.
Europe is one thing, but how did paintless dent repair get a foothold in the U.S.? There are many theories:
● Natallio Armando Balderrama and his founding of Dent Wizard. Balderrama was an Argentine man who came to the United States in the 1980’s. Frustrated with the cumbersome nature of typical car dent repair procedures, he founded Dent Wizard, the first American company to specialize in paintless dent repair, in Florida.
● Juergen Holzer and his founding of Dent Kraft. A Minnesotan, Holzer founded Dent Kraft in 1978 after his global travels fixing high-end cars. Though Dent Kraft was not the “original” paintless dent removal firm, as per corporate documentation, it is still considered one of the first professional practitioners of the technique.
● Tom Harris and Darwin Sanders and their founding of Dent Doctor. This firm began in 1986, when a talented businessman and a body-shop pro united their talents. While the firm, again, does not claim to be the “original” paintless dent repair practitioner, it does call itself a “pioneer” of paintless dent repair.
Looking for Local Paintless Dent Repair? Dent Heads Is Here to Help
As you may notice, many of these larger paintless dent repair and car hail damage repair firms are located halfway across the continent. The point of paintless dent repair is to be efficient and timely; you aren’t going to want to do a cross-country road trip to get it done. Why not contact Dent Heads instead? We’ll come to you with our skilled mobile paintless dent repair technicians! Give us a call today at 612-986-1307.