Dent/Scratch Repair...which first?

[AdrenaliNate]

Thanks to my lovely wife, I have a brand new dent and scratch in my 05 Tacoma. I'm going to have the dent removed by a PDR but was wondering if I should repair the scratch (down to the metal) before or after I have the dent repaired...or does it not matter?

[secrecyguy]

I vote for dent first.

[AdrenaliNate]

Thanks...I was thinking the same but wasn't sure if it mattered or not.

[PolishAndWax]

Originally Posted by AdrenaliNate

Thanks to my lovely wife, I have a brand new dent and scratch in my 05 Tacoma. I'm going to have the dent removed by a PDR but was wondering if I should repair the scratch (down to the metal) before or after I have the dent repaired...or does it not matter?

I second 'dent first'.

[Pb]

yeah, dent first. It'll be easier to fix the scratch once the dent is fixed and the body is flat. It's hard to fix a scratch down in a dent or crevice.

[AdrenaliNate]

Thanks guys. Maybe a picture would have been helpful because the dent isn't that deep so the scratch wouldn't have been that difficult to repair. I was afraid the new paint would stretch and crack if I waited to repair the dent afterwards. Thanks again.

Also, does anybody think I'll need to primer the horse-hair sized scratch that went down to the metal or will factory touch-up paint be enough? If so, is it simply auto primer that you would find at any auto parts store?

[StupidDent]

No, you want to fix the scratch first... why? because PDR guy uses the reflection from the paint surface to repair the dent. If they can't see the reflection due to paint scratch, your dent wont be repaired fully.