PAINTLESS DENT REPAIR BASICS

There are many tools available from numerous suppliers to perform Paintless Dent Removal. The visual process necessary to accomplish it is the same for all PDR technicians. In years past, most PDR techs used a "two bulb" system, while others use only one. In recent years most technicians use LED lights that have been specifically manufactured for Paintless Dent Repair. A few technicians may seldom use lights, but choose to work with reflection boards. Nonetheless the technician is using the reflected light as a point of reference.

The hood or roof with no dent shows the reflected bulb as a straight line. The hood with a dent shows the beam of light skewed to the shape of the dent. The process is simple enough, which is to bring the reflected light with the shape of a dent back to the natural shape of the light, of a reflected light as a straight line across a hood with no dents or imperfections. Note the tap down, or "pecker" and the panel remover tool in the picture. It is common for a PDR technician to keep a tap down, knockdown hammer, or blending hammer with them at all times while working dents from vehicles. There are a number of available blending hammers (many available will be presented later) which most technicians will find it necessary try out before making one a personal staple.

Choosing your first light is an important decision. If you are limited by your budget and do not want to immediately purchase specialty lights for hail you may purchase a small portable light for mobility, then it is best to purchase an everyday multipurpose light that is durable, yet allows you to be the most productive for most any kind of dent removal situation you encounter. A 36 inch LED, curved light or a fluorescent with fade background and a mobile stand, can provide a light that will work reasonably well. Typically, one fluorescent soft bulb light with a stand will run $350-500, while a three strip LED with stand would run $700 to $1000. New lights come out every year with new features and improvements, but the basic concepts stay the same. If you want to spend less to begin practicing and performing PDR then use a portable light with suction cup or even a line board. However, I find that some newly trained technicians, who pay five to fifteen thousand dollars for training, might start out with a light that is inadequate and really limits their ability to perform the required tasks as quickly and easily as techs who have better lighting systems.

New portable LED lights, some small, big, curved, straight thin and fat show deeper grainier shadows of the light allowing the technician to see the highs and lows of an entire dent. This provides for a more precise, as well as easier to learn dent removal process, especially for a beginning PDR technician.

The first step in learning to do paintless dent repair work is to know where the location of the tip of the tool underneath the panel at all times, as well to understand the reflection of the light to precisely remove a dent with glue or blending.

The most common learning method is to place a car or truck hood on a hood stand to allow the apprentice technician to practice observing his PDR tool each time it pushes against the metal hood from the underside of the hood. (Placing a golf ball or two in a sock and slamming it on the hood is a good way to place a practice dent on vehicle hood or door.)

Hoods can then be placed on a hood rack and tied down with bungee cords or a rope ratchet, as shown in Figure A. (Most body shops will give or loan you a slightly damaged hood to use for practice upon request.) There are several different options when setting up a hood stand or hood rack. Many hood stands now offer a variety of additional options other than the ones shown. Aluminum hood stands from companies like Dar-A-Con Industries (www.dar-a-con.com) are much lighter and, therefore, more portable while additional options and features such as rollers, tool trays, and carrying cases are available with racks from ProPDRsolutions (propdrsolutions.com/ hoodstands), Dentcrafttools (www/dentcrafttools.com/hood-stand-pdr.html) or Ultra Dent Tools (Ultradenttools.com). A hood rack is essential for a new technician, especially if you will be immediately involved with hail damage removal or have damage where the size, shape and location of the dent require the hood to be removed for it to be properly repaired.

Please note that when removing a hood, it is good to have two people present, if this is not possible you should properly pad the outer fenders to avoid scratching a painted surface or window.

If you do not want to purchase a hood rack immediately, but would like to practice at home, it is very easy to construct one using 2x4 constructions. It is important that the four corners of your rack be about 3'5".

Depending upon the size of the practice hood, you will want to measure the width and length of the hood rack to fit your specification. Typically, they will be from 3 to 3 1/2 ft. with one to two boards per side. Remember to leave at least a six-inch gap from the top of your 3'5" posts and the connecting boards. Connect with either nails or screws.

The Visual Process

The process of removing a dent varies from company to company and from individual to individual. This visual process is used for all hand tools, wire tools, extended rods and glue pulling (using tabs of different sizes and shapes) techniques.

Blending a panel (literally taking out a light dent or crease) without using any other tools is sometimes a possibility on dents in difficult to access areas along rails or contours of panels. Many new technicians may use their blending hammer as a knockdown hammer as well. The visual process allows the technician to manipulate the metal in a way to eliminate the dent so that it cannot be seen. Most technicians develop their own unique methods of massaging a dent in a vehicle. A typical approach to dent removal is to start from the middle with the tool behind or underneath the panel where the dent is located and gently massage in a clockwise or counter clockwise manner, using concentric circles from center to outside, as in the "bull's eye" type shape below.

A majority of technicians eventually take a much more random approach to a dent concentrating on highs and lows, with less regard for the circular motion. The primary reason to use such a technique is that beginning technicians do not see the bottom of a dent with their tool as clearly, and need a process to insure a more concise dent repair. It is important to note that the deeper the dent, the more often it must be pushed up and tapped back down. Keep in mind that the crowns of deeper or larger dents must be weakened by tapping down with a knockdown to allow the dent to come out with ease. Ideally, as in the magnified example of a very deep dent, a technician would follow the paths of the blue dots, then the red dots and then the orange dots when pushing, pressing, and massaging a very deep dent. The technician's pressure on the metal slightly weakens the metal, but does not stretch it as the dent is...