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Paintless ding removal

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pkmh

pkmh

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Hello Forum,

While attending a car show, I brought up the subject of ding removal with another Healey owner.

I have one subtle ding that exists on my rear fender as well as a couple of small "waves" on my aluminum shroud. He had similar issues on his as well. He suggested I give this one fellow he trusted a call who removed his ding issues and apparently did an excellent job on his Healey (his car looked great!).

So far, it is my understanding visits are made to the car at home and is advisable to have affected areas that may have obstructions in the way removed before they come out so as to allow access from underneath and save time.

I have read this topic elsewhere on the forum and noticed how dry ice is sometimes used.

I have no problems trusting this one fellow to remove the dings issues I have but thought I should ask advice or useful knowledge on what would be good to know before calling this fellow. I've been told I can watch this process being done as well.

Any advice would be great and thanks in advance!!!!

Paul
67BJ8
 
My profession is PDR, Paintless Dent Removal. 19 years.

Dry ice, suction cups, magnets, lasers, it'll just pop out...heard them all. Even, oh it'll just buff out, lol.

An experence, qualified pdr guy knows how to get to behind the dent and use an assortment of rods to message the metal back to pre-dent condition.
Aluminum is more difficult to work on then is sheet metal. Add to the mix a dent in a curved panel is more difficult too for the curve make the metal more rigid. The more rigid the area, example a curve or body-line, the more knowlegeable the pdr guy needs to be to not crack the paint, for the metal is not flexing as much, hence the paint doesn't flex either.

I prefer the owner to not take any of the car apart, for in doing so, it may make it harder for me to find leverage. The pdr guy will figure that out when he looks at where the dent is.

Advice would be to sum up how good the pdr guy is. How long has he been doing it. Does he have a website with before/after photos. Ask him about his experience working on Aluminum. Check out Yelp for PDR service. What do people who have used him say. Look at some of his before/after photos there.

Not all PDR guys are top notch, so question them about what they expect as their finished job, so you're both on the same page.
An experienced PDR guy, will not show any push marks, cracked paint, ripples or waves when he's done. The owner should say, wow that's amazing.

If your friend has used him, he's happy with his work, then I'd give him a call.

Owners ask if they can watch me work, and I'm happy to show them the process and explain what I'm doing along the way.

Good luck,
Roger, 64BJ8
 
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There's a local guy here in Parrish, and he's an artist with pdr. I've had him out to do a few BMWs while they were in my care. Just amazing work__he took out a crease on the curved side of the hood (looked like a shovel handle fell across the crown) made it completely undetectable. At least to the layman, such as myself and the car's owner!

Unfortunately, I don't have a before pic, but there was a nice 3" long crease, maybe a 1/4" deep, between the top crease and the gill opening. Gone now!

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This guy actually follows hail storms, so he travels a lot__to the midwest mostly. His claim is that the hail guys get a lot of practice, and have to learn their craft pretty fast. In a nutshell, if the customer isn't happy with their car, the insurance company withholds the money, so it pays to please...
 
Did this a couple weeks ago. Before I started, I asked the owner if he was aware that the paint cracked at the crown of the dent and paint loss at the body line. He said, I know, I'll touch that up later. Alrighty then, let the magic begin. After photo is without his touch up paint.
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We had a bad hail storm here last year just as many were driving home after work. Many cars were written off. I don't know if PDR could have saved some. You still see cars around looking like they have been attacked by a madman with a ball-peen hammer. A work colleague sheltered his Toyota Landcruiser under an overpass but still got hit because wind was driving the cricket ball sized hail horizontally! His vehicle was damaged but not enough to write off. Fortunately, no Healeys were damaged that I know of.
 
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Ausmhly (Roger) did my Porsche a number of years ago. It was fascinating to watch. He takes his time and does a fantastic job.
Roger, I thought you said the metal in Healeys was too thick to do your magic.
TH
 
tahoe healey said:
Ausmhly (Roger) did my Porsche a number of years ago. It was fascinating to watch. He takes his time and does a fantastic job.
Roger, I thought you said the metal in Healeys was too thick to do your magic.
TH
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How is that Porsche. Thanks TH
Might have said it's thicker, therefore more difficult. Just like aluminum is more difficult than steel. So, those older cars, thick aluminum, ah good times.
 
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tahoe healey said:
Healeys certainly have better access to the back side than new cars.
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However, limited leverage, thicker metal, makes the repair more difficult. Most PDR guys turn down older cars because of the thick metal. I look at it as a challenge.
 
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AUSMHLY said:
Did this a couple weeks ago. Before I started, I asked the owner if he was aware that the paint cracked at the crown of the dent and paint loss at the body line. He said, I know, I'll touch that up later. Alrighty then, let the magic begin. After photo is without his touch up paint.
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Wow!
 
Randy Forbes said:
There's a local guy here in Parrish, and he's an artist with pdr. I've had him out to do a few BMWs while they were in my care. Just amazing work__he took out a crease on the curved side of the hood (looked like a shovel handle fell across the crown) made it completely undetectable. At least to the layman, such as myself and the car's owner!

Unfortunately, I don't have a before pic, but there was a nice 3" long crease, maybe a 1/4" deep, between the top crease and the gill opening. Gone now!

This guy actually follows hail storms, so he travels a lot__to the midwest mostly. His claim is that the hail guys get a lot of practice, and have to learn their craft pretty fast. In a nutshell, if the customer isn't happy with their car, the insurance company withholds the money, so it pays to please...
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Hail chasers are at the mercy of the insurance company. Insurance says how much per car, so speed which encompasses getting to the dent, and how stretched the hailstones dented the skin plays a big part in how perfect each of the hundreds of dents come out. I've done hail cars. Some cars took me a day and a half to complete. Over 100-300 dents per panel... hood, roof and trunk. 20-50 per fender and quarter panel.

OK, back to creases. Creases come in many forms. Short, long, straight, curved, S-shaped etc. Through flat panels, curved or my favorite, a body line.
Here's a couple examples of creases, one through a bodyline, one about 2/3 of the door.
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Impressive work...of course if I were trying to vet some local PDR guy based on pictures, I would want to be sure I'm not looking at his photoshop skills.
 
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nevets said:
Impressive work...of course if I were trying to vet some local PDR guy based on pictures, I would want to be sure I'm not looking a his photoshop skills.
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Or, he found some dentless cars, photographed them, then applied dents, and photographed again.
 
Man, sooooo busted. Yup, took a photo of the door before the dent, kicked a dent or crease in, then photoshopped it to make it look even worse. Surprised no one mentioned that I also leave my business card too. Got dents?

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Man, sooooo busted. Yup, took a photo of the door before the dent, kicked a dent or crease in, then photoshopped it to make it look even worse. Surprised no one mentioned that I also leave my business card too,

This is also a favorite trick of landscapers too, biding on concrete or block work for yards. :highly_amused:
 
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