If we look at the before and after photos of this Hilux Front Guard, we can talk through it to see how complicated this work can be.

Damage to a large front fender is quite common. There are a lot of situations where people lean against their vehicle, or even sit on the roof. There is an inherent problem with larger vehicles and larger panels. Most commonly they have less bracing behind them. This can be a cause of concern as pressure is applied to the panel by a tradesperson or family member. The built-up energy that is applied must go somewhere, and as the panel is quite large it can produce an even larger dent than say, a smaller car might get from the same force.

Once the dent or damage has occurred there is a lot of stored energy in the panel, and this must be carefully worked out.

Even an experienced PDR technician can not be blasé’ about it – thinking they know just how the panel will react. A methodical working of the dent shifting from high point to low point - all the while monitoring the panel, produces the best results.

Law of Conservation of Energy

There is a Law of Conservation of Energy that must be acknowledged and adhered to. • Where has the energy been stored? • In the dent or away from it? • Is the dent sharp or shallow? • Has the energy collected in the eyebrow? • Which tool is best for this stage of the repair – Soft Tip? • Are their high spots of concern?

When there is an eyebrow, it changes the "rules" you will need to follow during the repair process. If you repair it as you would a dent that doesn't have an eyebrow, you

1. will not be able to repair the damage to a satisfactory standard, and
2. It can lock / force the energy into the dent when it’s not ready and can cause irreparable damage;

- which could then require conventional repairs, or the panel might even need to be replaced.

In order to repair an eyebrowed dent correctly, the stored energy needs to be released, allowing the energy and metal to flow back into the centre of the impact.

The technicians at Erasadent say – “You're almost "reading" the panel and how it's reacting while you work on it, to let you know if you need to be working on the low of the dent or whether you should be trying to knock down the eyebrow. You can't force it in any way, or as mentioned earlier, you might lock the damage in, making it irreparable.”

Smaller cars don’t experience these larger dents as often, as they usually have more bracing and of course, there is less steel per panel for the energy to get stored in. However, this does not make them immune to damage. And the staff at Erasadent see their fair share of smaller cars too.

Erasadent is always ready to appraise your vehicle and give you an assessment of the repairs required.

Their admin and assessment team are friendly and approachable and will guide you every step of the way and help you to understand the process also.

Being an RAA Approved Repairer you know that you can trust them with your pride and joy. They have the experience and technical know-how, plus the professionalism to see the job through to your satisfaction.