r/PaintlessDentRepair

Hi all,

This is my first visit to this sub, so go easy on me lol.

I have a 2024 Dodge Ram 2500 that got some hail damage last year. About 100 dents on the hood and another 100 on the roof. Possibly more.

I put in an insurance claim through state farm and of course they sent me to their preferred body shop which doesn't use OEM parts. Just slap an aftermarket hood on there and try to match the paint...and no idea what they'll do for the roof.

This is the nicest vehicle I've ever owned and my first new truck ever. 2500 laramie, cummins, and....air conditioned seats! Naturally, it's my baby and I want what's best for it.

A friend recommended paintless dent repair as he took his BMW that got damage from the same storm to a shop that does high end cars. He only had a couple small dings and my house got the worst.

Is PDR an option for hail damage on that scale?

I'm in Atlanta, GA if anyone has any PDR shop recommendations if it's something that is doable.

Thanks!

I’ve been doing paint and body for about 10 years. I want to start learning PDR with the hope of transitioning into it, but PDR tools aren’t cheap and I’m hesitant to put a bunch of money into tools upfront. I’m tempted to buy the harbor freight set and a cheap light board to just start learning on before I start investing in more professional grade tools, but I also feel like that could be a total waste of money.

I would love some advice on what tools are good enough to make some genuine progress learning on, while not breaking the bank. Sorry if this question is asked 100 times a day on the sub 😂

Im a 4th year autobody apprentice i did a somewhat in depth course on repair methods with the rods and glue pulling but mostly for the autobody side and focused on minimizing damage with those then using conventional methods to finish it. I want to be able to use the rods more but im just not good with them. So I bought myself a good light and some decent generic rods I have a nice stand and unlimited scrap panels to practice on so my questions are:

1. If I can get my hand on the rod behind a panel im good but when I cant I keep losing where it is. Is that something that gets better the more you do it or do I just suck lol?

2. What should i be doing to practice just keep putting dents in it and pushing them out? i have a pretty clean hood to use at the moment

3. Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated thanks

Ford Bronco. Got backed in to in the parking lot, other car hit the spare tire. Spare tire mount got torqued and pushed in at an angle which resulted in this big crease in the swing gate. I honestly don't care how it looks since it's nearly hidden by the spare, but the spare isn't sitting right any more and going over big bumps results in a clunk because it shifts against the lower rubber pad on the swing gate.

I've never done paintless dent repair. I don't know if this is a good candidate for this type of repair and was wondering if I could get some opinions before I just google for a local place and decide if I should trust them or not.

https://preview.redd.it/e9wok4apgy1h1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=27a6288a5dca4622a246ab720071a55fab986d46

https://preview.redd.it/5ifpj3apgy1h1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b24530b3c35cf3d2230186af7048108c2d470303

https://preview.redd.it/tuidt7apgy1h1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37491dae82cfa6538c70eb8bc8b212b0ca9b317e

i am a PDR tech been for about 2 years and a customer asked me to take a look at his 70 chevelle i know to be concerned about body filler and skim coats and not to glue pull because it’s been repainted but is there anything else i should look for or be concerned about? thanks guys