Paintless Dent Removal (PDR) Results

[doitmyself]

Below are before and after pictures of a parking lot ding I received this past spring. My PDR guy was in Texas doing hail damage repair through mid-July and I waited a few weeks after his return (Covid precaution) to get this done today. $300 vs. about $600+ for a body shop repair. A couple hours for PDR and probably close to a week for a body shop. PDR retains OEM paint. The PDR pros outweigh the cons by a wide margin.

My repair required advanced skills. You have to search out the best people in your area. My guy has 27 years experience. PM me if you need a mid-Michigan PDR guy.

Enjoy:

It was cool seeing my lowly Patriot sitting next to a bright red Porsche when I picked it up. The irony of it, LOL.

 

[SZR48207]

Yup PDR done right is literally amazing. It takes a LOT of experience to be able to even out a panel.

 

[Danno]

Those dents look to be a 10/10 on difficulty.
Sweet job by your PDR guy.

 

[Trav]

Below are before and after pictures of a parking lot ding I received this past spring. My PDR guy was in Texas doing hail damage repair through mid-July and I waited a few weeks after his return (Covid precaution) to get this done today. $300 vs. about $600+ for a body shop repair. A couple hours for PDR and probably close to a week for a body shop. PDR retains OEM paint. The PDR pros outweigh the cons by a wide margin.

I really recommend PDR when feasible. My repair required advanced skills. You have to search out the best people in your area. My guy has 27 years experience. PM me if you need a mid-Michigan PDR guy.

Enjoy:
View attachment 26744View attachment 26745

It was cool seeing my lowly Patriot sitting next to a bright red Porsche when I picked it up. The irony of it, LOL.

He did a beautiful job.

 

[ripcord]

Astonishing, really.

 

[Jack Watts]

Oof...

when I first saw this I thought this was a DIY job, and I felt like a total loser. Yeah, that is an amazing job. If you're in a major metro area on the west coast, you aren't getting a body shop to do that for less than $1,500. I understand why people are flying that dude out to work on cars!

 

[KGMtech]

Very impressive results. Does the PDR process cause any damage to the paint on the backside of the worked area? just asking for others that live in the salt belt....

 

[doublebase]

Amazing job by your guy, he’s talented.

I have a fiend who owns a PDR shop, he’s like an artist. It’s funny, but these guys pray for hail storms...there’s actually teams of these people that follow the hail events around the country. They’ll call up...hey, how bad was that hail storm? Then they’ll rent hotel rooms and stay until all the hail damaged cars are repaired...then they’re off to the next state. I found that pretty interesting.

 

[Hall]

On a seam too ! My wife's car has a dent on the passenger door that's right on the seam/ridge and I figured that would be a big issue. Maybe it still will be.... I just took pictures of it this morning and will send them off to 1-2 reputable PDR guys. In a local car group on FB, their names come up every time as doing excellent work.

 

[CKN]

Some PDR guys will not work on a panel with a metal crease in it. I have had a job refused for such a reason. I guess it could depend on what they feel their skill level is.

 

[doitmyself]

@KGMtech - The tools they use on the inside are very smooth and to my knowledge do no harm to the finish. My car is Krowned, so it doesn't matter. He did have to drill one hole in the door edge to insert a tool. It is plugged with the same style plugs Krown uses.

I sent pictures to 2 other local PDR guys and they said this was body shop job.

Watch some YouTube videos and there are guys that fix much worse than mine. It's unbelievable. Common techniques include glue "nodules" used on the outside with a tool to pull dents out. The glue releases with no paint damage. They use various rod type tools to insert from side openings (sometimes drilled) to push the dents out from the inside. They also use hammers and special flat punches on the outside, tapping around the area to shrink and massage the metal into place.

Again, if interested, I urge you to view YouTube to see some spectacular feats of skill and expertise. True craftsmen they are.
Here's one of hundreds: I don't think this one uses the glue technique.

 

[dblshock]

last step on my old Lexus was PDR about 6 very small dings..for $100 it's now near flawless, just gleams..love PDR, had to travel 50mi.

 

[Ws6]

A good PDR tech is a real artist. Here is my cx5. Pre/post

 

[The Critic]

That is a very impressive job.

 

[Gimpy1]

Very impressive results. Does the PDR process cause any damage to the paint on the backside of the worked area? just asking for others that live in the salt belt....

No thats the whole purpose of PDR, there are hacks out there that will drill holes for acces because they lack the skill set. As for damaging the electrocoat (E coating) its pretty tough, assuming you are using the right tools.

 

[ctechbob]

Yep, PDR is up there with magic. They never have to worry about someone watching them and stealing their secrets, because 99.99999% of people couldn't pull it off if they watched them all their lives. Just like my buddy that I used to work for that tints windows. I watched him tint thousands of cars and know full well I'd never be able to pick up those tools and come close to his results.

 

[dblshock]

That basic tool where a nub is glued onto the dent then a slide hammer attaches could pay for itself quickly...but that would resolve only the most simple dents but I get alot of those around the garage and my GF is the worst.

 

[ctechbob]

That basic tool where a nub is glued onto the dent then a slide hammer attaches could pay for itself quickly...but that would resolve only the most simple dents but I get alot of those around the garage and my GF is the worst.

I'll put my wife up against your girlfriend any day of the week. When we got her 2000 Accord a few years back, it was flawless. Two years later it looked like it had caught a hailstorm on the sides. I'll never know-how in the world she manages to get so many door dings as she does. I think she leaves a sign on it telling people to do it.

I'd have gone broke paying for PDR on that poor car.

Sadly, we still haven't replaced it after her accident, so my poor 2003 is being put through that wringer now.

 

[joekingcorvette]

The PDR man did a great job on your car. It's amazing how skilled they are. I have the tools to do it myself and I can get ok results on small dings. I have the glue on tabs as well as the rods that are used. The glue on tabs work very well for small dings and are fairly easy to use. I bought both kits on Amazon. I could never fix the repair the original poster had repaired. That is a very professional job and I would attempt it.

 

[ls1mike]

Posted this in the other thread. A good PDR guy is priceless. I have the Amazon kit and have been successful at getting out door dings smaller than a quarter, but I would never attempt what you see below. This was my Caprice. Hit and Run.

Before:

After