New business removes dents

It happens. You're parked in the lot at Ray's Food Place and somebody's stray shopping cart comes rolling across the pavement - and right into your car. You now have a nice dent in your driver's-side door.

"I love those carts!" says Mike Cmelik with a chuckle.

That's because Cmelik's Dent Craft Paintless Dent Removal specializes in a quick and relatively inexpensive fix to just that kind of everyday mishap.

Utilizing specially designed steel rods with a variety of tips - some of which Cmelik has designed and patented for the industry, "we can take dents out of your car without having to do any paint or bodywork. Basically, we massage that stuff out."

Because there is no need to match paint and apply it, the turnaround for repair is short.

"Most repairs take less than an hour," Cmelik says. And, he notes, "most of the time the repairs that I do for people are less than their deductible."

The Dent Craft process can take care of dents and dings up to about the size of a basketball. Scuff marks can be buffed out - as long as the paint is intact.

"If the paint's cracked, that's an indication that you need to be talking to the guy at the body shop, not me," he said.

Estimates are free, and Cmelik is entirely mobile and can come to the client. Clients can text a photo of their dent and receive "a pretty close estimate from those pictures," Cmelik says. The repair can be done on the spot, or an appointment can be set up.

Cmelik has been a "car guy" for his whole life, and worked in the paint and body industry for years. His father tipped him off to the paintless dent removal process. At first, he admits, he was skeptical. But after seeing the process in action, and the quality of the results, he was convinced - and he launched his own business.

His wife, Karen, handles the books and the website work and social media.

The business has been successful. He contracted with big car dealerships and "chased hail for All-State." He and Karen moved to Santa Rosa, California, to be close to family - and there they ran into a firestorm. Literally.

The couple was caught in the massive firestorm that hit that community last summer. They received no warning and barely escaped the onrushing flames. Ten minutes after they evacuated, their house and shop had burned to the ground.

The loss of all they owned was, of course, traumatic, but Mike and Karen were determined to look forward and not focus on the rear-view mirror. They had purchased two-and-a-half acres in Sisters with an eye toward retiring here - so they simply decided to move here now.

"We had something we wanted to do, so we focused on that," Karen said. "Our move up here was easy; we didn't have anything to haul up here."

The couple is renting a home in Tollgate until they build on their homesite.

Mike loves his work, and the couple also enjoys outdoor recreation and motor sports.

"We have a ton of stuff we love to do," Mike said.

And they're excited to be doing it in Sisters.

For more information on Dent Craft, contact Mike Cmelik at 541-588-2299 or email [email protected]

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

• Email: editor@nuggetnews.com
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