A Crash Course In Paintless Dent Removal For Classic Cars - Tools And Techniques For Killer Results

[@BodyManRon]

Y’all are so kind!! Can’t thank you guys enough and I hope to show you some more cool stuff soon

[@smith8446]

If someone were to reach out to you to have this done to their classic, how would we get in touch?

[@superduty4556]

PDR guys are generally pretty protective of their craft and gatekeep quite a bit, always wanting to sell you courses.

[@yy4uman]

It's like black magic! Dude plays the tribal drums and HEALS the fender.

[@mikebryant614]

So damn fine to see someone actually doing "dent repair "., half the Body Shops in my area think "body work " is simply taking whatever is broke or bent off and putting a new one on.,they aint actually gonna "fix" a damn thing. Good bodyworkers are getting rarer and rarer but they are worth their weight in gold and a pure joy to watch work. Amazing results in this video !

[@jamescameron6819]

That's most body shops now. Costs them no time and they can charge more

[@ryurc3033]

I've heard more horror stories from body shops in the last 10 years than in the 20 before. Nobody does rust repair, "just put aftermarket doors on it". Yeah use doors that don't fit because the door skin was put on crooked, and weigh 20 lbs less. But in the same sentence if I want 800$ to replace rockers, people loose Thier minds. The body shop wants 1200$ to replace rockers,and they just glue them on with panel bond.......ugh.

[@samhicks97]

Bodywork is such an underappreciated art form, and Ron makes it so easy for me to understand the concept of or I think I do...of "removing the crown" when I' m not even a body guy.

[@minnesotatomcat]

This is such a fun process to watch. There’s a couple guys that do videos of paintless dent repair that are super talented at it, you almost can’t believe the before and after on some of them.

[@kramnull8962]

Well we tried this as kids and got our asses beat for making too much noise. Just gotta blame the squirrels.

[@lilmike2710]

I do this sort of thing. Self taught. There are so many nuances and subtleties that there's really no way to adequately explain all that can go into "dent removal" and metal repairs. The quickest and easiest explanation I've ever came up with is that you basically want to do just the opposite of the action that caused the dent. You'd be pleasantly surprised at how some damage can be reversed. Crinkles and pinches are the hardest but if worked right, can be removed.

[@felisconcolor1112]

I think it was an issue of Car Craft about 20 years ago which spelled it out in the most eloquent manner: the best dent and bodywork guys can do it in a single pull: they can see just what direction the hit had to come from in order to crease the metal that way. So . . . how many of you dent and body guys get called on as expert witnesses for auto crash forensics?

[@lilmike2710]

@@felisconcolor1112 Lol I'd have to pass on that request. I've tied my own shoelaces virtually every day since I was 5 years old, but I wouldn't consider myself any "expert" on tying shoes. 👟 Honestly, that word has been misused here as of late. 😊 As far as dent pulling and metal repairs go, I drive a truck for a living.

[@josephf593]

Love the humility of this gentleman!

[@joeteejoetee]

The sum of small corrective forces from the hundreds of light hammer blows totals to the single impact force that caused the large damage. Bravo and Encore Ron! #Science

[@rickkephartactual7706]

Watching him work those dents is incredible and the dent is slowly disappearing.

[@johnbarker5009]

This is one of your best videos ever, because you're showing things the PDR professionals are pretty jealous about guarding. There's not a lot of reason for it, though. The practice and knowledge of how to move metal and make it go where you want it takes a lot of thinking and a careful hand. Every bozo with a claw hammer or even a ham fisted character with $50 to drop on a PDR kit on Amazon can't do what you demonstrated easily.

[@lordphullautosear]

Ron has an amazing amount of skill and patience. 👍👌

[@SteelSurgeon]

10:06 As a machinist, I find that familiarity with a well broken in tool is a lot of times better than unfamiliarity and a brand new tool.

[@jbqc1548]

My late brother was a talented pdr guy. He chased hail storms for years before finally settling in the Knoxville area with a large dealership. It can be a profitable business with little overhead for someone willing to put in the work once you have the tools. Thanks Uncle T for sharing pdr with folks who may not realize there are options besides an all out repaint when it comes to making our rides look better.

[@Iamthathillbilly]

PDR is something that always amazed me, its defintiely a work of art

[@chrisparsons7043]

That was very impressive, I've never actually seen this being done in real time.

[@_CAT-lg4sr]

"Surf's up dude!" I love it. Anyone who works with a medium or material long enough, develops the skills and finesse to understand how the material reacts to all the various forces put into or onto it. Ron understands all these nuances of finessing bodywork which we are lucky enough to witness here. Thank you for our first PDR lesson Ron! When I was trying to find a leak in the roof of my house, my brother said "You have to think like water!" "If you were water, how would you get in?" Once he put it in those terms, I was able to find that the water was going under some flashing, running along the underside of some hidden duct work for about 10 feet and then down inside a wall in another room with the water pooling on the floor. A bit of mastic under the flashing and the mystery leak was cured.

[@BodyManRon]

Thanks so much for the kind words! I hope to do more work for everyone to see soon.

[@bannedbycommieyoutube5time920]

Your skills definitely aren’t angry and childish with that Charger quarter panel. You may not be a “body man”, but that fix shows your patience and determination.

[@CAROLDDISCOVER-2025]

I second that nomination

[@MrTheHillfolk]

I've been watching lakeside autobody , as I'm doing a Smyth Ute kit with a VW Jetta. The fiberglass quality was pretty bad ,the cab surround looked like it was laid down on its left side and the shape doesn't match the right side. I won't get into the window opening being 3/4" off to one side. So I know enough to get in trouble with bodywork. Some contour gauges have been handy to use, as I can gauge the right side and flip to the left. I even taped on graph paper and plotted out the distortion. As usual ,it's like 85% decent now, but I have to get it really nice as it's about impossible to work on when it's assembled but you see it. I guess if you're getting paid for it ,4-5hrs of block sanding might not be too bad but this is tedious and repetitive.

[@CAROLDDISCOVER-2025]

@@MrTheHillfolk well it don't sound like a perfect marriage. But then over half of them end in divorce. Something new something old. Reminds me of the Volkswagen bug Baja kits. They also had a Rolls-Royce Hood conversion. Also the 1940 looking Ford conversion. And cutting them up into flatbeds. So thanks for letting us know because I did not know there was this huge conversion out there. I believe you said for Volkswagen rabbits. That's pretty interesting 🤔🤔🤔.

[@flinch622]

Metal will talk to you in a way. But only a tool in your hand and just going at it is what teaches. My first go round with stamped sheet metal was a heavy duty exhaust fan that had the collector ring smashed decades ago. All I had was a 12oz ball peen and a 3 pound shop hammer to fix it: made it concentric again and got the curve back in the entry radius - worked like new, and almost looked it.

[@cliffyelland2096]

.

[@86OEd]

I've watched these guys repair hail damage, amazing!

[@johngaughan1712]

PDR is a great skill/art. Like a Jeweler. Even heard they do speed competitions.

[@BodyManRon]

Look up the “mobile tech expo” to see more about dent repair competitions and the latest and greatest tools and innovations surrounding PDR.

[@SaxaphoneMan42]

This is amazing to see that body line return in real time, super impressive stuff.

[@waynebuzzell2483]

Ron definitely has some great talent. It seems with the right tools, finesse, and time you could get pretty good at this. Definitely need practice though. Nice work Ron. Thanks for showing us Tony.

[@BodyManRon]

Appreciate the kind words! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@TastySurrealBowl]

The patience required to resculpt the contours of steel body panels (matching existing lines) is seriously zen. And stiffer/older steel? That’s achieving the “enlightenment” level of patience. Truly an impressive art. So much precision and patience. Kudos to really good PDR artists.

[@rescuedandrestoredgarage]

Incredible job, man, that PDR work is fascinating to me. Such a wonderful talent, man.

[@mediumjumbo7484]

This is good stuff. Like a mini workshop on pdr. My favorite pdr tool is an oak dowel 😁

[@CAROLDDISCOVER-2025]

If it works it ain't stupid. There is a fantastic quote! Also all Uncle Tony has to do is apply his ability to see where he's at to where he's going and his normal mechanical skills patience to body work and he has it whipped. As another commenter said the charger is an excellent example.

[@robertcampbell9205]

Really good video. A lot of us are looking for degrees of better vs perfection with our project vehicles. Keep these coming. 👍

[@Mark-qw8lc]

Ron is an artist.

[@mexicanspec]

I am impressed Tony can sit on his knees like that.

[@brianfairchild7819]

i would have needed help getting up after that, and im younger than him

[@mexicanspec]

@@brianfairchild7819 Me too, but only by a few years.

[@MikeBrown-ii3pt]

Patina is something that's found on bronze statues and other art. Vehicles have battle scars and Bottle Rocket wears hers with pride!

[@juiceloanjimmy5427]

I just call it rust .

[@jamesblair9614]

a great subject for a video Tony. I guess good access to get in behind the dent can be a problem, those front corners on your Charger and the Coronets are often damaged, but it’s such a tight space.

[@rcnelson]

This is metal mysticism. It seems like more art than trade craft. What would be really nice if you're doing a lot of bodywork is to have a lift bringing the fender (or whatever) to at least waist level.

[@BodyManRon]

I agree that it can be challenging to be on the floor, but I’ve always been the type to work with what I’ve got. Plus getting in crazy positions means I’m a little sore in a lot of places instead of very sore in a few 😂

[@BigT27295]

This might be one of the most cool and amazing things i have ever seen. Hats off man...

[@stevejarred6484]

"Surf's up, Dude...!" 😆🤣

[@nickbonvino]

What a craft!! Very cool to watch!

[@renchjeep]

Pretty amazing process. It's like an art form, especially when dealing with the old thicker steel AND the thinner steel of more modern cars. Really a "feel" thing, and totally impressive. I would love to learn PDR, but I lack the patience. More of a slam it with a hammer type guy, LOL.

[@ryurc3033]

Nice work guys. Thanks Tony, always taking care of us, giving us new ideas

[@sunnyray7819]

PDR fascinates me. I can see why you had him at Mid South Mopars. You gotta have him go through the fleet. Lol.. We need him at U.T.G.. Just fire one of the lesser workers. Hehe.

[@BodyManRon]

😂

[@embreesmith7613]

Thanks Antone. 🙂

[@davidchristensen2970]

That is some fascinating work, serious craftsmanship.

[@morelanmn]

Very interesting. I always thought hammers only had one speed. Thanks

[@stevenbongiorno9277]

I’ve had that done on my old S-10 front fender, and he did an amazing job. PDR is something that anyone should look into. My wife’s car has a dent in the front fender, and a body shop wants almost 5 grand to fix it. I’m definitely gonna look into PDR again!

[@ratt727]

This is science, great session today!

[@douglasshriver52]

science and art skills . very nice

[@oops1952]

This man is an artist !!!

[@frankc1430]

PDR guys are wonderful! I have a car that had hail damage to the roof and the body shop I brought the car to called in some guys from a PDR outfit to fix all the dents in the roof. When they told me that I was expecting to see a wavy roof. When I got the car back you could not see any signs of those dents. I looked closely in the sun and looked for waves and I could not find any waves. Those guys are awesome.

[@garyburgess3829]

I had one of these pdr guys come look at a dent on my 37 chev right above the back glass. He told me the metal was so thick he wasn't sure if he could get it out. He finally got it and ask if he could take a picture of he so he could remember it. He said that most car he worked on was the newer cars that always had really thin metal. He saved me a lot of money.

[@malcombailey8590]

Never seen it done like that. Thanks for sharing

[@johndenton5555]

Uncle Tony, Tell your buddy to ignore the tool critics. The guys at a bike shop I worked for were always after me to replace my favorite body hammer...well, 1/2 of a body hammer, it had a rough life even before I broke it and ground off the break to reshape it into something that I could flatten the tiny dings with. That isn't why I kept using it, I kept using it because I 'knew' it's weight in my muscle memory. I knew just how hard to hit with it, or to hit the hammer itself working metal. Still have it somewhere in storage.😁 👍🇺🇸😎

[@stevenmaresca9637]

These guy's are mechanics best friend when whoopsis happen's in the shop!!!

[@nickdangelo7202]

I can watch content like this all day long .it's so much better than " we're gonna lose the shop" shit 😄

[@jasont2074]

Thanks for sharing guys, really learned a lot watching this

[@Bikerbob59]

Amazing. Didn't think it would look so good.

[@AtZero138]

Always looked satisfying.. the finish work.. plus having all them .. whirly doo, frickleRods, push a dent "things". Cool

[@bobthompson4133]

Paint and body men are artists

[@nickbonvino]

Keep on rockin Tony

[@boblister6174]

Old body guy I knew as a teen used sand a painters torch and ice on round dents without affecting paint on falter surfaces such as hoods etc. Blew my mind back then but the he also hand formed anything he needed for the work (rockers fender patches etc.) not alot of people left that will take the time to do it or just simple aren't payed enough for the job everyone wants a deal.

[@motomichael4775]

VERY kewl! "Oh man, surfs up dude; c'mon!" 😆😆

[@JasonsGarargeinc]

i did some pdr work back in the day ! so much fun !

[@craigchiddo2794]

Vws were heavy duty 98 to 2004 the Chinese replacement panels were half the thickness of the oem

[@frankcastle4383]

Very familiar with the pdr method:) cool stuff! Pushing and shrinking the metal') my buddy was really good at it, he told me look at the dent as a drop of water that hit still water. The center of the dent is in but the outer ring is actually up:)

[@loganpe427]

I _"dent"_ know that could be such a satisfying process too watch!

[@stevenbongiorno9277]

Great show!

[@Harley.Davidson]

Compound curves & sharp body lines are the most difficult to repair. Slow & easy so as to not stretch the metal any more than it already is. Shading with a strong light will highlight the surface just like with CAD software. Dark spots are low & bright spots are are more pronounced. Body hammers and dollies will also shrink OR stretch the metal. 😎

[@ripplerbr]

Excellent Video! Thank you. I must learn this skill. Thanks for sharing.

[@dastrayer63]

Awesome video. I now remember why I subscribed and hit the bell.

[@paulsjdavis]

I used to make stamping dies for th auto industries. I know that Cadillac was using high strength stock for outer body panels in the mid 90's.

[@brucejones2354]

In the early 2000 s, when Chrysler was introducing the new body style minivans, they didn't want to ship them to the dealerships until the " Big Rollout ". Just before they were ready to ship them a BIG Hailstorm hit the area where the vans were being held. This beat the sh!t out of them. I was delivering some automobiles to the Saint Louis auto auction, and there were thousands of these vans being repaired there. They had " dent wizards " from all over the nation removing the dents fron these vans. The auction had 27 lanes with 1 or 2 people in front removing the interiors, inside were the people removing the dents and outside were people replacing the interiors. Every time someone would walk by, the people removing the dents would stop working so you couldn't see how it was done. I talked to one gentleman who had come down from Alaska with his crew. He told me it was very much worth it.

[@frankcastle4383]

Good knowledge man thanks for sharing pdr guy:)

[@michaelstrafello7346]

55 is is looking good keep up the good work

[@WEtow]

Could you feed us some info on cross plane v8s? Like old nascar motors. And the differences on those engines vs street or strip engines

[@throttlewatch4614]

If I tried that it would look like a Hollywood stunt car afterwards

[@markdowns1]

Priceless!

[@mccjoe01]

What a coincidence! I do paintless dent instalation!

[@davidnonnenmocher5122]

Back to serious videos!!

[@ivanmitchell3876]

🤯, thank you guys.

[@natevanlandingham1945]

"That's from Peg" "Who's Peg"!! 🤣🤣🤣

[@timmiller260]

Vear cool i seen the car fixed afterwards neat stuff

[@toddmccarter45]

I clicked expecting tony to be using a marital aid's suction cup to pull a dent, this has been pretty neat

[@BodyManRon]

🤣🤣🤣

[@uncletonysclaw1049]

Great interview!

[@WhiteTrashMotorsports]

Cool to watch someone show off the skill that puts food on thier table.

[@brianfairchild7819]

unless theyre professsional crossdressing strippers...

[@roadmasterk6019]

Very impressive, this upload...

[@rafaelallenblock]

The panel "stores" some energy from the impact. Imagine how the dent was created then reverse the process, in the opposite direction. It almost "releases" the stored energy as the panel returns to it's original position.

[@allenhealy478]

Great video!

[@kenleppek]

I saw a guy doing that in a 7- eleven parking lot to an employee's car. It looked like he was trying to slim Jim the back door through the trunk with the tools he was using.

[@pierrecarlsson902]

Well, from a pro-POV, there is always these "old-junk trustworthy favorite tools" in every shop... they don't show 'em to the customer, but they're somewhere around.

[@garybarry4446]

Very awesome content

[@codyreynolds6333]

What about a shrunken disc I've tried on a 77 f150 I have no rust anywhere but some bad denting on the bed infront of the passenger wheel and the metal is so stretched it will not go back

[@1marcelfilms]

I need to learn this. I hate seeing the dents in my car but i dont want to pay someone 3x the worth of the car to get it fixed

[@lynnrunningdeerB4]

Practice and patience😁

[@WiSeNhEiMeR-1369]

HOWdy U-T-G, ... Thanks for the HOW-TO Video Instruction COOP the WiSeNhEiMeR from Richmond, INDIANA ...

[@SamuelRSands]

Awesome!

[@joshhoman]

From the 10:00 mark to about the 11:00 mark it sounds like a drummer on drugs but the results are quite good.

[@501isa]

I’m not too good at paint less dent removal but I can do dent less paint removal.

[@todddenio3200]

From what I have seen, a good PDR worker can charge a bit more per hour and still do the job for far less than if conventional autobody methods are used because they can actually remove the dent in less time than it would take to rough out a dent, remove wax and grease, remove paint from the dent, sand the metal so filler will hold tight to it, apply the filler, shape and sand the filler, feather in the edge of the filler and paint. Then prime, paint, and buffing paint as needed to blend the surface texture to match the original texture so the respray is not noticable. Plus new paint often wont be able to be cor matched to the rest of the paint due to slight differences in the tints of original paint vs newly bought paint and of course the amount of fading of existing paint.

[@BodyManRon]

I’m some circumstances PDR will be more expensive than conventional, it comes down to a personal decision by the vehicle owner. Speed or price? Is original or at least existing paint better than getting new? Can you be without your car while it’s in the shop? Etc.. when it comes down to it PDR is a luxury service and value doesn’t really mean low price. So much of how people perceive those two things is relative.

[@todddenio3200]

@@BodyManRon as a former body man, I understand what you are saying and realize I should have chosen my words better and stated that in many cases PDR can be cheaper and faster.

[@BodyManRon]

@@todddenio3200 no worries I just wanted to clarify for the laymen out there take care and I’ll try to do more for the channel when I can

[@garywheeler1812]

Interesting! Very Interesting!

[@jerryzotta4482]

Just curious do the PDR guys buy all these tools or do they make custom tools for different applications.

[@BodyManRon]

Most these days buy to keep from spending precious time making, but a lot of techs when the process was less widespread routinely made their own tools and many of not most still adjust and bend tools all the time to get them “just right”

[@DanEBoyd]

"Surf's up." 🤣🤣🤣

[@Realest1979]

A lot of patience is required to perfect body work.