paintless dent removal

[Danube]

Today I went to a guy who does paintless dent removal.

It was on various panels on my daughter's car, nothing major.

The guy used different tools and I closely monitored his work.

I felt like I could do the same if I have tools.

What are your experiences?

Any of you have any experience in paintless dent removal ?

Any suggestions, advises, opinions ?!

Thanks !

[Eldorado2k]

I’ve never had it done, but from what I’ve heard they charge way too much for what it is…

[Silly Rabbit]

I know a dent guy. Started his career years ago in a bodyshop then moved to dent exclusively, been doing it for 15-20 years. It's like any job, time in gets wisdom. But it definetly is a skill to learn. The guys doing it do have knowledge. Amd their tools are like any specialty trade, not run of the mill hardware store stuff. They usually have thousands of $$$ in their tools. Guy I know is mobile, and it takes him 15 minutes just to get his tools and station set up. Yripod lights, chest of tools, etc ,etc. Heck, he had one small ball hammer (amoung many hammers in his selection) that seemed like it weighed nothing, it doesn't leave dents of it's own when you hammer panels. Think he said it was over $800 alone.
Some of these dent guys are on the road in drmand going all over the country (after storms and such) and working 12+ hours a day on end, hardly ever home if they want the work. There is a demand. Dealerships will bring in multiple guys like a hit crew after a big storm to repair all the damage caused. They work straight everyday till done then leave for another job.
Skills can be learned, but years in definetly gives experience and knowledge.
I respect the guys doing it.

[oneheadlite]

While the good ones make it look super easy, I feel that there’s a ton of artistry going on.

It’d be like watching SizzleChest do a detail and saying - “Yeah, I can do that.” You can, eventually, but there’s 10,000 hours that went into learning the craft and knowing just what to reach for and just how far to push for perfection. (And what order to go to get there)

When I was at the Audi dealership, we used a company called Dent Wizard (aptly named), and specifically had one guy on residency there. He was amazing. Like Silly Rabbit said, he had a go bag of specialized tools he either bought or made himself to accomplish just what he needed to get done. He’d talk about how metal has a memory, so if you’re lucky (dent size/shape/how long it’s been in the panel), it would kinda want to return back to normal. But once dented, the metal has been stretched, so to a certain extent there’s no going completely back to normal.

I’d love to learn the craft, even if it wasn’t to get a job doing it. Much like professional window cleaners, looks very zen. I’ve got a lot of respect for the guys and gals doing it - knowing what dents to pull from the outside, which to flex out from behind, managing when to tap them back in. If I had the disposable cash, there’s a local PDR shop that used to offer a class that I’ve wanted to do. I think part of the fee includes setting you up with a starter tool set. One day…

On that note - has anyone seen any good online resources that touch on how to get started?

[Setec Astronomy]

there’s a local PDR shop that used to offer a class that I’ve wanted to do. I think part of the fee includes setting you up with a starter tool set. One day…

I wonder if they didn't offer that class just to convince you that you need them to do the PDR on your car.

[Klasse Act]

I’ve never had it done, but from what I’ve heard they charge way too much for what it is…

Paint matches every time their done though

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

[Setec Astronomy]

I’ve never had it done, but from what I’ve heard they charge way too much for what it is…

Ha ha, Eldo, you reminded me of an old joke.

Foreman has one of his production machines down, so he calls the repairman. Repairman comes in, looks at the machine, strokes his chin, takes out his hammer, bangs on the side of the machine, and it starts up, everything working as normal. Foreman is ecstatic to have the machine running, repairman hands him a bill for $500. The foreman is outraged, he sputters at the repairman, "would you care to itemize that bill?" Repairman takes it back, writes: Banging on side of machine: $1; Knowing where to bang: $499.

PS I realize that to get that joke you have to imagine an old-time world where there were factories with production machines and foremen, here in the US.

[Karl_in_Chicago]

Ha ha, Eldo, you reminded me of an old joke.

Foreman has one of his production machines down, so he calls the repairman. Repairman comes in, looks at the machine, strokes his chin, takes out his hammer, bangs on the side of the machine, and it starts up, everything working as normal. Foreman is ecstatic to have the machine running, repairman hands him a bill for $500. The foreman is outraged, he sputters at the repairman, "would you care to itemize that bill?" Repairman takes it back, writes: Banging on side of machine: $1; Knowing where to bang: $499.

PS I realize that to get that joke you have to imagine an old-time world where there were factories with production machines and foremen, here in the US.

In a previous life I was a junior programmer. I was frequently in between the bureaucracy of my own IT dept and the well-intentioned but frequently ill-informed enhancement requests from the business unit. Our canned response to any request was an estimated time that was well in excess of what it probably required (think starship engineer's estimates to temper the captain's expectations). One day I'm in a meeting and the lead business guy (who knew *just* enough about programming to be dangerous) AND my boss are present. Biz guy gets frustrated with an estimate and looks at me and asks "Come on Karl, isn't this just adding an "IF" statement?". Before I could respond my boss speaks up and says "That's right Frank. It isn't the coding of the "IF" statement, though, it's knowing where to put it."
A little knowledge can go a long way . . . and cause a lot of damage getting there.

[oneheadlite]

PS I realize that to get that joke you have to imagine an old-time world where there were factories with production machines and foremen, here in the US.

And the concept of giving a machine the ol Fonzie treatment. Nowadays it’d be a bill for knowing how many times to turn it off and on again.

[Eldorado2k]

Ha ha, Eldo, you reminded me of an old joke.

I might just start to dabble a bit in PDR as a side hustle. And just to prove a point, all I’ll use is a Hammer.lol.