This Dent Kicked My Butt | Paintless Dent Removal | PDR Training

This door dent seriously kicked my butt. I massively underestimated the extent of this damage. By the time I was finished repairing, my arms hurt, my eyes were sore, and I was topping my own cup of tea with my tears. Lol
Ok so it wasn't that bad however I did underestimate the extent of this damage, which definitely tested my patience as a Paintless Dent Removal Technician.
I've been fixing dents for many years and now my passion is in teaching others how.
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#tomlustedpdr
#dentremoval
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00:00 Introduction
00:55 Checking for access
02:20 Reading the dent
03:55 Releasing tension
08:20 Glue Pulling
10:00 Bar Work
12:55 Knocking down the crowns
13:20 Its getting dark now
17:05 Assessing the damage
22:20 Finishing stages

[@supermarketsweeps]

Nice one Tom that top dent was tight , if you did the same dent again would you do it different ?

[@LearnPDROnline]

That my friend is one of the best questions we can ask ourselves after each repair! I would've spent more time releasing tension in the upper sections this may have made it less of a fight restoring the bodyline and also spent more time looking for access points for the upper section. Difficult to know for sure but possibly slide hammering the initial glue pull rather than pulling with k bar, I think it pulled the dent down where as perhaps I could have pulled it slightly more upwards or positioned the k bar on the glass and pulled up rather than down... However I'm in rush to do the same dent again lol

[@1st_track_dents]

Amazing work Tom, It's so difficult this time of year when you are working outside as you really feel that added pressure of having to get it done before the light fades. 👍

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks Jake, yes it does and as you know it always takes a bit longer when your trying to film it too :) hope you're well mate

[@slavic5974]

Good job! One of the few who explains in detail the entire dent repair process, thanks

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thank you, much appreciated!

[@andyrazzell1080]

Absolutely 1st class repair Tom Very informative video 👍

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks Andy appreciate it mate and you've got the full extended tutorial available in our group too!

[@craftdinna9191]

Well done for explaining all your struggles. That's the part that I learned the most from.

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thank you and I appreciate that feedback too, often photos and videos can make it all look too easy and sometimes it's a challenge!

[@wyattoneable]

Wow. I know nothing of PDR repair but I could tell this one was going to be a challenge. I appreciate your patience, both on the repair and the extra time it took to bring us along. I am a DIY guy who just purchased a PDR kit and hope to make some simple repairs on my own vehicles, thank you.

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks Wyatt, yes I did find this dent a bit more of a challenge than i originally thought. PDR definitely takes patience but I love it! Before you start working on your own vehicle keep watching the videos and by al means reach out to me directly via our learn PDR online training site for more tips, tricks and techniques!

[@wyattoneable]

@@LearnPDROnline I appreciate that! Happy holidays!

[@jimruthem6587]

Micro lows and micro highs explained with removal tips .... Thanks!

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks for your comment, glad you enjoyed the video

[@dentremover01]

Wow well done Tom that looked horrid to fix. I noticed the first glue tab placement that’s quite interesting but I got your thinking! Also it’s very awkward to fix a rear door when the widow is half way up/down that would drive me insane enough to strip it!! You certainly got the door looking great again and that your neighbour was very happy with the repair. Im looking forward to our Up and coming joint repair video soon 😂 🙌🏼

[@LearnPDROnline]

Cheers Martin, yeah as we were discussing this week, how and where you start a dent can decide how many hours you'll be on it. In many ways it did not make sense to start there but it was not about pulling the low out it was purely to do with helping me direct the upper crown tension down in towards the bodyline. I know there's a few ways to start this one but would love to know what you may have done here?

[@loveiskey7833]

Awesome trade to learn in this day and age put smiles back on people faces when they drive their vehicles

[@LearnPDROnline]

Yes definitely, there is a lot of job satisfaction :)

[@VictorVillacis-fn4do]

Mama mía, con esa dificultad que presentó esa abolladura, yo hasta me estaba poniendo nervioso. Al ver y oír tus tutoriales consejos y ejemplo me convenzo que el PDR no es para cualquiera. Más capricho me da el ser un experto y ojalá mejor que tú.

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks Victor, this dent definitely challenged me more than I anticipated but perseverance is key!

[@billramsey800]

What a crazy dent, great work Tom 👍

[@LearnPDROnline]

Yep, I honestly didn't think it was that bad at first but I'm sure it started fighting back at some point ha ha

[@aussie8114]

Very well done 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@ChristopherBenes-by9vt]

Just beginning to do pdr and looking to get some insight. Thank you for providing these videos

[@LearnPDROnline]

You are welcome! I'm glad they are helping. We have loads here on this channel to check out and we also have more information on getting started on our main site - www.learnpdronline.com 👍

[@collisiontech_nick399]

Getting that last little bit of work Is always the hardest part!

[@LearnPDROnline]

Yes 100% agree! most people can get a dent to 80% but the real skill and understanding is what finishes that last 20% learn, practise, learn, practise 🫡

[@michaelneale7813]

Amazing job always relaxing to watch

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks Michael, I'm glad it was relaxing to watch, there were times during this repair that I was definitely not relaxed 😂

[@victorbarranca2910]

outstanding job, thanks for sharing.

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks for your support Victor!

[@garymatthews8296]

you are VERY PREPARED .....I LEARN ALOT FROM YOU THANKS FOR UR INFO

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thank you so much, I'm glad i can help you learn more about PDR!

[@andyrazzell1080]

Cheers Tom Some great advice in this video and I like how you show tools used it really helps Great result !!

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks Andy, I'm glad it helps and useful for me to know what works for you so I can continue with more videos showing the tools

[@marinvremes5702]

I had a similar dent on a 2022 fiesta across the bottom bogy line ( bit "lucky" under the dent was a cross bar and a sound pad). It took me 15 hours to complete it. Fortunately I had the advantage to work in the workshop 🙃 🙂 😅. Wanderful jobs you do. I highly value your work. PS . Sometimes we can only do close to perfection jobs, and I've told this to all my customers before starting. I always charge for my work because I consider this " If the customer knows already about the proxy result, then he/ she is all aware and they had the chance to say no before me starting the repair" Congratulations on the result of this job. I've seen panel/paint jobs with more imperfections. After all, this is surgery, and it always be signs of a damage.

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks Marin, 15 hours... That's some good determination and patience you have there and yes as you say sometimes we can only get close to perfection but managing our customers expectations is key. Keep up the great work! Thanks for sharing

[@mattstewart9631]

Question: how much did /would you charge onnabdemt like this

[@vgotishan3234]

Very informative video. Great job!

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thank you, Im glad you enjoyed it!

[@browill9]

Awesome job. Thanks for sharing. GBU

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thank you!

[@MediaEasier]

master craftsman

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thank you!

[@jakubleszczylowski5468]

great job

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks Jakub 👍🏻

[@MrCbell57]

Wow. I thought the simple looking dents were going to be easy. Good job explaining everything that went into this pull-even the part about a 3 day journey that it took. I don’t think I could ever earn an income doing this (based on time being used up) and as a collision repair guy this dent would have been fixed painted and delivered in 2-4 hours. For $1500. About a third spent on materials. Perhaps there are other dents that go faster and are easier to manage. I’d be interested in talking with you as I’d like to perhaps utilize PDR along with basic body work to see if it speeds up the process or at least saves product. But - Great information and I’m really liking the No puffy clouds-beautiful sunset type videos that make PDR look like magic. You are awesome. Keep ‘em coming. Add the word “Nightmare Dent” ! I’ve often heard that PFR cost to have done is just as high as real body work type jobs. I Guess because of all the time it takes. Either that or many PDR guys are charging way too much to wiggle their wands around for an hour. :) regardless I’m ready to take in such a challenge.

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks Rick, this particular dent took me a lot longer than I originally thought and was more complex due to the dent not only distorting the bodyline in hard but also it kicked out a lot of metal below into a concave section of the panel and then to add to this it had a tight tension point above the dent that was located behind an internal bracing so very limited access. Most dents I repair with PDR are completed within about an hour and pound for pound with little or no materials cost are more cost effective and profitable than the traditional bodyshop alternative, I ran out of daylight on this one as I started late in the day which is the only reason it ran over the 1 day. I'm sure there are plenty of PDR techs that could have repaired this quicker than I did however the video tutorials I do for our online membership always add some time to the repairs just setting up the camera and talking through the processes step by step. I am intrigued though, having worked with bodyshops for many years after completing my panel beating qualification, I do not see how it would be possible to be ''fixed painted and delivered in 2-4 hours'' as you suggest. In my experience just the panel repair, filler work with drying times would take that long let alone the prep and painting of the complete panel and blending into the adjacent panels which would definitely be required for colour matching this 3 stage pearlescent red. In all of the bodyshops I know this would be in for a few days not a few hours. From my understanding of repairing this properly i.e. R&I, Repairing of the panel, Filler, Prep, Prime, Paint, Lacquer, Bake, Polish, of 3 panels then Refit, Clean and Redeliver in just a 2-4 hours,... wow... I am always open to learning though and in my 20 years in the body repair game I've never seen or heard of anything even close to that so would love to find out what it is you do differently at your shop? I would like to chat with you more about getting started with PDR my email is [e-mail] shoot me a message anytime and we can discuss how PDR could help you develop your skills further :)

[@fernan2s136]

Great video. ❤

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks for watching 👍🏻

[@berlinjackson1847]

Great video

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thank you, Im glad you enjoyed it 👍

[@markjohnson1727]

Brilliant job👍👍

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks mark, much appreciated!

[@Lee-sti8wrx]

Great job, and it is so good to see someone take so much pride in their work. I have hail damage on my 2017 wrx, which I am going to try myself, and your videos are awesome. They do give me hope that I can remove the dents myself. I do have an understanding of metal as I'm a former sheet metal worker and now a fitter. I am a where off how hard it can be but have hope. You seem like a good bloke. Good on you man, you give me hope there are still good trades out there.

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks Lee, Im glad you enjoy my videos and yes do try to learn as much as possible before you take on too much too soon. PDR is a great industry to be a part of and even after all these years I still find it enjoyable too.

[@Lee-sti8wrx]

@Learn PDR Online awesome man and thank heaps for the reply. Not often people get back, which shows again your pride and how much of a good tradie you are. I think I will be fine, I have enough equipment to do what I need and wish I could take some photos of the damage to get some advice off you but have no idea how I could do that. Anyway man, keep up the awesome vids with the great advice. Will keep watching your videos mate, and keep learning. I've subscribed so they should keep me up-to-date with what you're up to.

[@marcinpalczewski3881]

Nice film, you learn how and what are you doing. Bravo

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks Marcin 👍🏻

[@jeremy7lopez]

Subscribed. Its clear you are a cool ass dude. I appreciate your clarity humility and skill immensely. Cheers from the USA mate.

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks Jeremy, I really appreciate that. There are over 150 videos here to catch up on too! 😀

[@joelkoonce8559]

Top job, Mate.

[@LearnPDROnline]

Cheers Joel, thanks for watching

[@joshurioste]

Hey Tom! Why weren't you able to glass it? I know it was a challenging dent given the body line and double bracing in the back, but after you removed the bulk of the damage, and went to the finishing stage, I noticed a few pits(micro lows) that were left behind. -Is this a line board vs fog issue? -Were the micro-lows too locked up to pinpoint and pick out? -Would an extremely sharp door tool have made a difference in this situation? Ie.) Anson Doorlords or Dent Reapers - For those in the U.S. -If I were a PDR tech charging retail prices, most customers would be beyond satisfied with this type of repair but in other places, the demand would be 95-100% repair or nothing specifically on high-end vehicles. Great job on the repair by the way and sorry that it took longer than expected given the location/type of dent and working in limited daylight hours, but it comes with the territory :) I'm asking these questions because I'm a novice at dent repair and am fixing a dent on a bonnet using fog reflection. I'm down to the last 95% but there is a pit(micro-low) and no matter how hard I crank on it it doesn't want to push up. It's like the metal is locked. Thanks Tom!

[@LearnPDROnline]

Great question, it's not that I couldn't it's that I made a decision that it was 'good enough' based on my time vs cost. Knowing what your client wants in terms of spend vs finished result is often an important consideration. Every repair has a few variables, with this particular one it was for one of my neighbours and he was trading the car in to the dealer. Two weeks before it was due in he came out of the shops to find this dent in his door. He didn't want to spend too much on the repair but also didn't want to lose too much on the trade in either. If it had of been his pride and joy that he was keeping long term I could potentially have spent more time and charged more money to 'glass' it. As it turns out he considered the repair 100% perfect even though I did not. I could see there were a few minor lows in the top section and also a very slight ripple in the main skin but he was over the moon with the results! To answer your other questions there was very limited access in the upper section my reaper bar could not get me to the back of the skin between the bracing. If you have micro lows that you can not lift it usually means you need to 'open the dent' more. This can seem counter intuitive but opening up the area softens the surrounding metal allowing the remaining pit of the low to be lifted and then you can recorrect the surrounding metal once its lifted

[@joshurioste]

@@LearnPDROnline Well explained, Thank You Tom, and keep up the great work! :)

[@mercuryin1]

Amazing Tom, can I ask you something ? What glue would you recommend ? I have just received a few tools from pdrprotools in the UK such as the Glexo cold blue and with just 1 big metal tab and hot glue and plastic tabs with different sizes for the smaller dents. The cold blue works great heating the panel first but as I don´t have at this time smaller metal tab sizes I have tried with the plastic ones but for some reason the glue sticks very well to the panels but doesn't stick to the tab at all, is there any advice you could give me as I am not sure what I am doing wrong ? I am using the wrong glue? The glue I bought from them is the show white glue

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thank you Joseba, just to clarify, are you using cold glue on the metal tab only and not trying to also use the cold glue with the plastic tabs? Assuming you are using hot glue with the plastic tabs and its sticking to the panel not the tab, its likely the tabs, first thing to try is to make sure they are clean and dry (you can use isopropyl alcohol for this) if that doesn't solve the problem then it depends on the tabs you have, are they smooth or do they have small ridges? PDR pro tools do a lot of good quality PDR tools, me personally I use high strength glue from BLE tools with either Black Plaque smooth tabs or Keco smooth tabs.

[@carlitos2ba]

Sorry, I meant great job

[@jf5154]

Can I ask what you charged to do that repair and how long did it take? Thanks for the content love your work

[@LearnPDROnline]

I underestimated this one, I was on it for pretty much the whole day and it was a repair for my neighbour so the cost was kept to a few hundred pound. if ever in doubt for pricing PDR though there are two main matrix to check - 'Dent Mate Pro' and 'Mobile Tech R X'

[@jameslarocque5774]

Just curious if you could give a cost estimate on this dent, you could charge a couple thousand and still be cheaper than what my shop would charge to fix the same damage. Nice work! Very talented man!

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks James much appreciated, generally when it comes to pricing its best to use a system like Mobile Tech RX or Dent Mate as a guide, I don't generally put repair prices on KZbin videos as they are watched around the world and often cause heated debates in the comments amongst technicians. With this particular repair I actually carried it our for my neighbour as he was looking to trade in his car and being new to the area I did him a very good price as he also helped me move in lol, so this was well under a standard repair cost I only charged a few hundred but in the right market you are correct there is huge potential when compared to the bodyshop alternative, especially as this was a three stage pearl paint.

[@MTLJack]

how much did you charge for a dent like this? i always find dents on the body line door the hardest.

[@LearnPDROnline]

Yes bodylines are always tough and this damage spread across the entire panel. This particular repair was carried out for one of my neighbours so was just a few hundred pounds.

[@aarontyrrell2931]

Prob had some diagonal pressure traps also

[@aarontyrrell2931]

45 degree pressure traps

[@LearnPDROnline]

Good spot! the main impact point is at the top with the bodyline and sharp crown, but there was tension across the entire door skin below the main area running diagonally left and right too

[@ajmac996]

Well Tom how long would you have spent on this dent

[@LearnPDROnline]

I did a full video tutorial for this one so that process always adds a lot onto the repair time (which is why I actually ran out of daylight hours ha ha) in total I was probably working this dent for at least 6 hours

[@groundleaf865]

Just open the door panel and you have all the access to push out the metal.

[@LearnPDROnline]

I'm interested to know how would you then fix the metal that has already been pushed out? and also how you would tackle the sections of the panel that are stretched? The top section of the door was braced so would you plan on pushing on the internal bracing to push the metal out?

[@gypsiecuh7750]

How much would a job like this run cost wose

[@LearnPDROnline]

Hi Gypsie, the cost for dent removal depends on the individual PDR business or technician and also varies depending on location on vehicle, complexity of damage and also there's a huge variant on locations around the world. As a training site we do not put our customers prices up on our KZbin videos, Thanks

[@ant76og22]

Great repair, how long in total did it take you?

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks buddy, its always hard to tell when I'm doing a video tutorial as I stop and start a lot explaining the process making notes but at least 6 hours total repair time... I think

[@carlitos2ba]

I would´ve probably sent this costumer straight to the body shop. I mean no disrespect to your decission on fixing it, and it has provided a great training video, but in the same time spent doing it you could do 2 or 3 easier jobs and pocket the same or more money. Isn´t it what this whole craft is about? At least at the price ranges for PDR here in Argentina. Otherwise, gea job! You´re good, very good.

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks for your comment, for me its not only about the money, its also about offering a superior repair to the bodyshop alternative, reducing down time, reducing materials used and also cost. Yes you could do 2-3 'easier' jobs in its place but if you only ever take on small easy repairs you will never learn how to fix more complex damage and develop as a PDR tech. That being said I did underestimate this repair and it took me longer than I thought it would when I first quoted the job. I also said yes because it was for one of my neighbours that lives opposite me and I also wanted to do a detailed tutorial for my paid training platform at Learn PDR Online. I am glad you enjoyed the KZbin Video 👍

[@aarontyrrell2931]

Dent just looks nasty. That crown angle is less than 90 degrees so super stiff!!

[@LearnPDROnline]

Yes it was nasty! It definitely tested me and took a while to complete!

[@ridgehall1612]

Maybe I don’t want to do pdr haha

[@LearnPDROnline]

Ha ha Yes we certainly have some days like that but its these dents that make us better!

[@davidradovsky7405]

Nice one that took a ton of skill.

[@LearnPDROnline]

Thanks David, it definitely tested my patience ha ha

[@AlfredoHernandez-fh5fk]

Wow that dent really got you to pull all your tricks right how long did it take you to finished brilliant job master hope one day I’ll be like you ✊🏽👊🏾

[@LearnPDROnline]

Hey Alfredo, thanks it was a tough one, strange damage with a lot going on distorted bodyline and concave door shape. Due to creating a full video tutorial on this one I'm not sure on total repair time however I would say at least 6 hours of working time