Paintless Dent Repair??

[two_bit_score]

Does anyone have experience doing this?

How did you get interested in doing it?

What kind of results did you have and what supplies did you start off with?

I am thinking about taking this up as a hobby so if you have any advice please share.

 

[MossRoad]

We had a 2000 Impala that got caught in a hail storm. Every piece of sheet metal had dozens of dents except the 2 right-side doors. It did something like $4500 damage on a $4800 car and the insurance wouldn't total it. They sent it to paintless dent repair and I'll be darned if they didn't remove every single dent in the car with the exception of the fiberglass hood, which had to be replaced. A couple weeks later, all the paint on the trunk lid started popping off, so they had to replace and repaint that, so it ended up costing them more than the car was worth.

However, I was still impressed with the roof, all 4 fenders and the 2 driver's side doors. They held up until we sold the car many years later.

With that said, every time there is a hail storm, these paintless dent removal shops pop up for a while, then leave. I think they're mobile or something, or owned by the insurance companies. Don't know what the market for them would be. Good luck with the venture if you proceed. :thumbsup:

 

[Fuddy1952]

I have a 2014 Hyundai I bought new and watched as a seagull dropped an oyster shell onto roof when car was new, left a bad dent. I read where you could use a heat gun which I tried carefully and it worked! I still have car, can't see where it happened.

 

[two_bit_score]

We had a 2000 Impala that got caught in a hail storm. Every piece of sheet metal had dozens of dents except the 2 right-side doors. It did something like $4500 damage on a $4800 car and the insurance wouldn't total it. They sent it to paintless dent repair and I'll be darned if they didn't remove every single dent in the car with the exception of the fiberglass hood, which had to be replaced. A couple weeks later, all the paint on the trunk lid started popping off, so they had to replace and repaint that, so it ended up costing them more than the car was worth.

However, I was still impressed with the roof, all 4 fenders and the 2 driver's side doors. They held up until we sold the car many years later.

With that said, every time there is a hail storm, these paintless dent removal shops pop up for a while, then leave. I think they're mobile or something, or owned by the insurance companies. Don't know what the market for them would be. Good luck with the venture if you proceed. :thumbsup:

It’s just going to be a hobby. I don’t want to have to satisfy anybody but myself.

But those PDR hail guys stay busy. Then you have the regular guys who work mobile and have regular body shops and dealerships they work for. I’ve seen some of them work over the years and the good ones are usually good and stay very busy.

I don’t want to be busy I just want to be able to do that kind of work when I want to. Not as a job, just as a hobby.

 

[two_bit_score]

I have a 2014 Hyundai I bought new and watched as a seagull dropped an oyster shell onto roof when car was new, left a bad dent. I read where you could use a heat gun which I tried carefully and it worked! I still have car, can't see where it happened.

Yeah, heat will pop out a lot of dents on roofs, hoods and deck lids. Lot of old body men would talk about taking a grinder and lightly hitting the hail dents on a roof to raise them up without having to use filler. I never saw anyone do it but heard it enough that it seemed plausible to me.

I don’t want to get into painting and all of that but some of these PDR guys can do a lot picks and glue tabs. It’s just interesting.

 

[s219]

I have seen them work and it was impressive to watch. Saw a guy fix a dent that ran across a body crease, and it was impossible to detect when he was done.

 

[dodge man]

I watched a guy do a brand new car I bought that had a door ding. It’s magic is all I can say.

I had a coworkers husband who did it for a year. He invested quite a bit of time and effort in training and then bought a bunch of tools. It was a tough way to make a living unless you followed the hail storms around and were gone all the time. I got the idea it is not a hobby thing. I’m not saying it’s not possible I just think it a learned skill and a talent you lose if you don’t do it all the time.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I watched a guy do a brand new car I bought that had a door ding. It’s magic is all I can say.

I had a coworkers husband who did it for a year. He invested quite a bit of time and effort in training and then bought a bunch of tools. It was a tough way to make a living unless you followed the hail storms around and were gone all the time. I got the idea it is not a hobby thing. I’m not saying it’s not possible I just think it a learned skill and a talent you lose if you don’t do it all the time.

And then there's Mother Nature. I managed to get a nice ding in Sharn Jean's new SUV, just above the windshield, courtesy of a rock thrown by an oilfield truck. I never told her about it, and she never noticed it, although it was there for some time. Last time I looked, it had popped out, and not even a scratch in the paint to show where it was. I just chalked it up to good old Oklahoma sunshine.

 

[Fuddy1952]

I watched a guy do a brand new car I bought that had a door ding. It’s magic is all I can say.

I had a coworkers husband who did it for a year. He invested quite a bit of time and effort in training and then bought a bunch of tools. It was a tough way to make a living unless you followed the hail storms around and were gone all the time. I got the idea it is not a hobby thing. I’m not saying it’s not possible I just think it a learned skill and a talent you lose if you don’t do it all the time.

A local dealership salesman I know told me the dent guy they use takes the car off on their lot so others can't see him at work. Apparently it is a real art.
I was taking a gamble getting my dent out, I didn't want to burn the paint. I had freeze spray there if it got too hot. It worked well, I was lucky.

 

[two_bit_score]

A local dealership salesman I know told me the dent guy they use takes the car off on their lot so others can't see him at work. Apparently it is a real art.
I was taking a gamble getting my dent out, I didn't want to burn the paint. I had freeze spray there if it got too hot. It worked well, I was lucky.

What were you using to heat it with?