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Hi, Im new to the forum here.
Hope i can shed some light.
I Have been a PDR technician for the past 6 years and own a PDR company now. PDR is the best option for fixing hail damage. The main reason is, the factory paint will generally be better then any body shop paint job. If a car is taken to a body shop for a hail repair, you will most likely not know if they actually replaced the panel or just slathered bondo on it and sanded. As all this work is covered by new paint. And just bc you take your car/truck to a body shop, doesnt mean it wont get PDR. We PDR techs work with body shops.
The aluminum is a non factor. We PDR techs hate working on it only bc its a lot harder physically to push the metal. Steel is easier and takes less strength to push on.
Cars have had aluminum hoods on them since the 80s and maybe before then. There are no “special” tools needed to fix aluminum panels. Thats all hog wash.
The only thing more difficult to fix on these new aluminum trucks are the roofs. And its because of the very wide ribs up there. The extra wide ribs block our PDR light from shinning on the dents. Its a real PITA.
There are limits to PDR. If the dents are too big or too sharp, then it will not be possible to fix it correctly. The reason is, when the dent is made by the hail it stretches and pulls the metal. If its stretched on impact too far, there will be no where for the excess metal to go when pushing it up. This creates what we in the industry call an “oil can”. Not good. Then a body shop is absolutely needed.
I own a PDR company and travel the country fixing hail damaged cars. We are in the Colorado springs area and have seen the damage from last weeks storm. It is not pretty.
Bottom line. If the dents are half dollar size or smaller, PDR is the absolute best option. Faster turn around, no body shop dust in your ride, keep factory paint, and the best part is its normally a less expensive option. Also, The body shop is going to want the entire insurance check plus deductible money from your pocket.
I have never charged a customer a deductible. 😁
Hi, Im new to the forum here.
Hope i can shed some light.
I Have been a PDR technician for the past 6 years and own a PDR company now. PDR is the best option for fixing hail damage. The main reason is, the factory paint will generally be better then any body shop paint job. If a car is taken to a body shop for a hail repair, you will most likely not know if they actually replaced the panel or just slathered bondo on it and sanded. As all this work is covered by new paint. And just bc you take your car/truck to a body shop, doesnt mean it wont get PDR. We PDR techs work with body shops.
The aluminum is a non factor. We PDR techs hate working on it only bc its a lot harder physically to push the metal. Steel is easier and takes less strength to push on.
Cars have had aluminum hoods on them since the 80s and maybe before then. There are no “special” tools needed to fix aluminum panels. Thats all hog wash.
The only thing more difficult to fix on these new aluminum trucks are the roofs. And its because of the very wide ribs up there. The extra wide ribs block our PDR light from shinning on the dents. Its a real PITA.
There are limits to PDR. If the dents are too big or too sharp, then it will not be possible to fix it correctly. The reason is, when the dent is made by the hail it stretches and pulls the metal. If its stretched on impact too far, there will be no where for the excess metal to go when pushing it up. This creates what we in the industry call an “oil can”. Not good. Then a body shop is absolutely needed.
I own a PDR company and travel the country fixing hail damaged cars. We are in the Colorado springs area and have seen the damage from last weeks storm. It is not pretty.
Bottom line. If the dents are half dollar size or smaller, PDR is the absolute best option. Faster turn around, no body shop dust in your ride, keep factory paint, and the best part is its normally a less expensive option. Also, The body shop is going to want the entire insurance check plus deductible money from your pocket.
I have never charged a customer a deductible. 😁
Hope this helps a little.
very helpful. I am the guy with the pics earlier in this thread who lost his F350 trying to hide his car from a hailstorm under a giant Oak only to lose it to lightning. If I had known then about PDR and your business I may ( maybe LOL) reacted differently as the storm approached. btw when not traveling, where is your home base area?
below is my new F350( Stone Grey)— exactly the same as the last truck. Except this go around I had an additional $3k PCO which helped. But a long 12 weeks. btw Nicknamed “Phoenix”
Are you traveling to the Denver area? If you are any interest in giving me a quote?
Thanks
Mike.
We are not planning on traveling to Denver at this time. We are currently setup in South Colorado Springs just north of Fountain. I wish we were up there to help you out, but logistics with an RV that we live in on the road are difficult in CO. We were lucky enough to find a friend of a friend here in Col Springs who has property and hook ups for our RV. Camp grounds are booked solid til Oct. So we are kind of stuck here.lol.
If your willing to travel to Col Springs we can fix your truck and probably put some cash back in your pocket.
PM me for more info. I dont want anyone to get upset and think im on here to advertise for my business.
very helpful. I am the guy with the pics earlier in this thread who lost his F350 trying to hide his car from a hailstorm under a giant Oak only to lose it to lightning. If I had known then about PDR and your business I may ( maybe LOL) reacted differently as the storm approached. btw when not traveling, where is your home base area?
below is my new F350( Stone Grey)— exactly the same as the last truck. Except this go around I had an additional $3k PCO which helped. But a long 12 weeks. btw Nicknamed “Phoenix”
Our home area is just outside of ST. Louis Missouri.
We are not planning on traveling to Denver at this time. We are currently setup in South Colorado Springs just north of Fountain. I wish we were up there to help you out, but logistics with an RV that we live in on the road are difficult in CO. We were lucky enough to find a friend of a friend here in Col Springs who has property and hook ups for our RV. Camp grounds are booked solid til Oct. So we are kind of stuck here.lol.
Yeah Denver is absolutely miserable - the JeffCo fairgrounds usually has spots but it's bloody expensive and only good for 2 weeks.
Our home base is Denver and we haven't been back in two years. Too much of a hassle.
The low spots/dents appear under the light a dark spots bc theres a shadow in the low where light can not get into.
Originally Posted by Mixerman90
Lol. Probably true if the season lasts long. So, how exactly does Paintless Dent Repair work?
we use a PDR light and angle it just right over the dent/dents and the light acts as a magnifier. Where the low spot of the dent is, theres a small shadow cast from the light. This tells us exactly where the bottom of the dent is. Then we use steel rods of various different shapes and lengths to push from the back side of the metal starting from the center bottom of the dent first. Some refer to it as massaging the metal back up. If the back side of the metal is not accessable like with “rails”(between the top of the doors and the roof) we have a glue tab system that pulls the dents up(“glue pulling”). Generally glue pulling results in a high spot that is then tapped down with a plastic tip tap and lightweight pdr hammer.
Its a time consuming process that takes patiens and a lot of practice.
The low spots/dents appear under the light a dark spots bc theres a shadow in the low where light can not get into.
we use a PDR light and angle it just right over the dent/dents and the light acts as a magnifier. Where the low spot of the dent is, theres a small shadow cast from the light. This tells us exactly where the bottom of the dent is. Then we use steel rods of various different shapes and lengths to push from the back side of the metal starting from the center bottom of the dent first. Some refer to it as massaging the metal back up. If the back side of the metal is not accessable like with “rails”(between the top of the doors and the roof) we have a glue tab system that pulls the dents up(“glue pulling”). Generally glue pulling results in a high spot that is then tapped down with a plastic tip tap and lightweight pdr hammer.
Its a time consuming process that takes patiens and a lot of practice.
When my last truck was new, I took it to SD and promptly received about 10 million hail dents.
The PDR shop took every single one out. And as a former body man, I am picky, very picky.
The only complaint I had was the two holes that had to be drilled to access the hood corners. But it's still better than a repaint.
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