1. Assessing the damage

In this video we take a close look at the damage and assess the various ways you could approach the repair, there are usually a few different options for most dents and a logical repair process to follow. In this example, I start with the softer larger damage for a couple of reasons before moving on to the more complex distorted metal at the top of the dent. The first reason is to do with the ‘flow of the metal’, in other words, you are trying to reverse what happened in the impact so the impact was the centre point of the kick but the overall size of the dent is considerably larger than the surface of my foot that came in contact with the door. Therefore the metal was ‘pushed’ out to the sides. This flow of metal needs to be reversed so we are trying to move the metal from the outside back into the centre. NB: For small sharp damage you would normally start from the centre but large soft damage for me it's always from the outside working in. As a general rule of thumb, I start from the soft end of large damage on the theory that by the time I get to the sharper end I have already released some of the tension during the first stages. The second reason is to remove false distortions in the metal, for example, there is a section of the door skin that appears raised like a high or crown but it is actually only tension created by the low. So once the large low is removed that crown is no longer there and we didn't have to spend any time working the crown. By reducing the big ‘easy’ damage first we get a much better and clearer understanding of what we are left within the more complex section of the repair. So what we are doing in our ‘initial assessment’ is methodically thinking about the removal process and by running through the various repair options available you get an idea as to what problems you may incur with each method. It's good to practise to think through and try to envision or predict how the dent will respond and as your skills progress this becomes second nature and you can usually know pretty quick where to start and by which repair method.

2. Where and how to start

3. Re-Assess and Next Step

4. Releasing Tension

Next step of this repair we are working on releasing some tension, I continue to try to pull out some more of the low section below the main crown, I have some success with this but did not draw out as much of it as I hoped, this means there is too much tension in the crown and it's holding the low spot in, so I need to release some of the tension to allow the metal to flow again. As a general rule if you are tapping down a high and it doesn't budge or puts small dents in from the knockdown, it's not ready to move ie there is too much tension in the high and some of the low needs to be lifted and then vice versa, if when pushing the low with a bar it starts to put small highs in before the metal moves or glue pulling the dent does not bring up the low, the tension or high spot needs to be worked on before it can be lifted. So the dent will usually tell you if you should be working the low or the high. I also address the ‘shoulders’ of the dent this term describes the high areas that surround the low spot, in this video example the shoulders exist due to the level of impact that distorted the panel but often you can create shoulders whilst pushing out low spots. For example, if you are working on a small stretched dent with a rounded tip you will likely lift the surrounding area of the dent whilst bringing the low up. This needs to be addressed as you go, so you switch to tapping back the shoulders and then return to lifting the low, a sharp tip tool reduces the risk of creating these shoulders but of course, with a sharp tip you need accuracy to ensure you are in the centre of the low.

5. Rear Door Remove & Install

This video shows how to remove the inner door panel trim, aka door card. It's always a good idea to look at the edges of any door card, for design purposes they do not make screws particularly obvious especially on modern cars so look all around the trim, look for courtesy lights, badges, speaker grilles, caps etc as often screws and fixings will be hidden behind these. Sometimes you can speak to the manufacturer's parts department and they will email you a diagram of the door card and fixings to give you an idea or alternatively there is every chance you will find a ‘how-to’ video on Youtube. These older cars are usually a lot easier and certainly have fewer complications, modern cars have additional sensors, speakers, lights, electric window switches etc so you do need to take great care when removing them. Each manufacturer uses different fixings too so having a ‘basic R&I tool kit’ will help, something with a variety of drivers such as crossheads, flatheads, torque drivers and also a socket set along with trim clip tools and picks. Where possible I try not to remove door cards, for me, it's usually a last resort. It's so easy to break the plastic clips or have difficulties lining it back up again but if you are doing large repairs sometimes it is unavoidable. This is also where price also needs to be considered against risk.

6. Opening up the dent

Before I start to work on the remaining dent damage from the inside with my tools I need to open up the dent some more, I need to be able to get to the centre line of the low crease and often with deep or stretched damage it's hard to pick it out on the line board so opening up the dent does two things, it loosens or softens the metal around the crease and then also just slightly lifts the centre by drawing the metal either side outwards. Now it's ‘open’ I can continue to work on bringing up the centre. I started with my ‘go-to’ door bar, my ‘hockey stick’ tool but I found this required a lot of force to push the dent and I did not have enough control of my tool under the pressure required so switching to my screw tip bar gave me more stability, this bar is thicker so bends less under tension and due to the double bend allowed me to create the leverage I need to bring the metal up without putting unnecessary strain on my arms and shoulders. It's a long slow process removing large damage, its good to be able to take on these types of repairs but it's important to make sure you price your repairs accordingly and allow enough time to not rush and to not be under pressure. Large damage is tough and demanding both physically and mentally. During the process I bring up the lowest point and leave it high, this allows me to then use my knockdown to begin distributing the metal back into the lows and the whole time I am aware of surrounding tension, crowns and shoulders and removing as I go.

7. Upper Door Section Pt 1

With the dent opened up, it's clearer to see my low spots and the centre of the crease ie the lowest section. I begin by attempting another few pulls with my crease tabs, when these tabs pull they really can save time on pushing but I didn't get too much of it up with these on this occasion so switched back to tooling from the inside. Still using my screw tip bar and pointed nylon tip I continue to push up the lows. The metal is quite stretched and the worst points sit right across the natural upper curve line of the door panel so I have to work with the shape of the original door, so whilst pushing and tapping be aware of any natural body curves or lines. The last thing you want to do is spend hours tapping down a high ridge and then realise its a design bodyline! 🙂 Zooming in close we can see the fine detail and precision needed getting the tip to the right spot, and then spot the highs created during the pushing process and begin tapping them down, constantly readjusting the line board to show us hidden highs and lows.

8. Upper Door Section Pt 2

The upper door section was the most distorted and complex part of this repair so demands a lot of attention as well as patience, gently bringing up the lows and knocking down the highs, adjust and repeat, adjust and repeat. The door starts to take shape but there is still some tension in the crown area I spend a lot of time tapping out the tension in this part of the repair, I am not too concerned with potentially putting in lows from the hammer blows as I know the upper section is accessible I am more focused on releasing that tension, it's often hard to spot, it looks flat with the naked eye but you can often run your hand over the area and feel if it is still high or move the line board further back to get a more focused overview. Back to my hockey stick bar now for some more tooling from the inside, picking out the lows with the bladed tip and knocking back highs with my root sharper tap downs.

9. Upper Door Section Pt 3

The upper door section was the most distorted and complex part of this repair so demands a lot of attention as well as patience, gently bringing up the lows and knocking down the highs, adjust and repeat, adjust and repeat. The door starts to take shape but there is still some tension in the crown area I spend a lot of time tapping out the tension in this part of the repair, I am not too concerned with potentially putting in lows from the hammer blows as I know the upper section is accessible I am more focused on releasing that tension, it's often hard to spot, it looks flat with the naked eye but you can often run your hand over the area and feel if it is still high or move the line board further back to get a more focused overview. Back to my hockey stick bar now for some more tooling from the inside, picking out the lows with the bladed tip and knocking back highs with my root sharper tap downs. Still using my screw tip bar and pointed nylon tip I continue to push up the lows. The metal is quite stretched and the worst points sit right across the natural upper curve line of the door panel so I have to work with the shape of the original door, so whilst pushing and tapping be aware of any natural body curves or lines. The last thing you want to do is spend hours tapping down a high ridge and then realise its a design bodyline! 🙂 As we progress with the upper door section I switch to my screw tip bar, I apply a lot of tape to the tip to give me the soft damper feel of a soft tool, but with the strength and leverage of my screw tip bar. This allows me to use less force in my pushing which then allows for more accuracy and reduces the chances of slipping but also helps not to tire myself out unnecessarily as these big repairs can take their toll on your body and if you, like me, don't always make time for the gym it's easy to pick up injuries. Halfway through this video, you can see how high I have brought up the repair, I do this intentionally (mostly) because as a personal preference I find it easier to knock down the highs from the outside view than always lift the lows blind from the inside view. You'll also see me using my hammer in a slightly unconventional way. I like this cheap and cheerful hammer, you have the two screw in ends which I have as hard rubber and metal but then I also use it on its side in between the two tips as this gives a slightly lighter tap and then I use it completely upside down and hold the hammer face and use the handle as my tapper. This soft rubber grip gives an even lighter tap as the weight of the hammer is in my hand.

10. Resetting The Eyes & Using Impact Bars

When you start learning PDR you will notice that your eyes probably get sore or tired, after a while as you get quicker at your repairs and your eyes learn to adjust. This blurry red-eyed feeling does go away but once you get stuck into larger repairs like this you may notice your eyes can begin to get strained again, it's so important to take little breaks if you are feeling like this, do not burn yourself out. I also find some relief as I remove a quick easy parking dent in this same panel, just breaking the focus on one area to another can help too. These little parking dents are what I consider the bread and butter dents of our industry. This little dent takes less than 1 minute to fully remove, of course you usually have your travel time and set up a time to account for too but I would rather do 10 of these little door dings a day than large impact damage like this door, but as with most things in PDR that is just my personal preference, however, it is definitely a good idea to challenge yourself and learn to tackle larger complex repairs like these as it will level up your understanding of PDR, increase your stamina and give you confidence moving forward. We then introduce the whale tail to the repair, using the side impact bar to our advantage allows for a solid leverage point close to the repair, the sharp tips of these tools are great for pinpoint accuracy picks in low spots.

11. Final Stages And Summary

So as we come into the final stages of this repair we focus on finishing, so plenty of blending and picking out those micro lows and highs. The shape of the door is back and the impact damage has been reversed. This is where the true art of PDR is harnessed and the real reward discovered once you know you have fully repaired the damage and have a very happy customer! I am pleased with how the repair came out overall and also the time in which the repair was completed. I am happy that I started at the right point of the damage with the correct techniques to remove the bulk of the soft ‘easy’ damage to then really start to allow a more focused approach to the complexity of the stretched metal lined with tension. Overall there are not too many tools used in this whole repair but a variety of PDR techniques such as glue pulling, working metal flow, releasing tension, blending and all of the pushing and knocking down to. There can be a big reward for doing large damage. It really builds your confidence and skill level to make you a better tech and if you position yourself correctly in the market for the right clients can also be lucrative. There are still plenty of large damage repairs that I choose not to take on, sometimes I do it for practise, often it's for the challenge and proving to myself that I can do it. But each individual tech can shape and build their business into something that works for them. There are lots of repairs I turn down, some are genuinely beyond me but mostly I enjoy my work I love my business and I craft it to work for me. I take on the repairs that will suit me at that time and it's one of the many reasons I love running my own business, freedom.

Large Dent Damage Repair Part 1

Large Dent Damage Repair Part 2

Large Dent Damage Repair Part 3

Large Dent Damage Repair Part 4

Peugeot Door Repair - Part 1

Peugeot Door Repair Part 2

Peugeot Door Repair Part 3

Peugeot Door Repair Part 4

Merc SLC Cam Auto - Part 1

Merc SLC Cam Auto - Part 2

Merc SLC Cam Auto - Part 3

Cam Auto Pro Run Through

Creating the ultimate customer experience

Paid Ad campaign

A paid advertising campaign can be a great way to launch your new business or find you more customers for your existing business. As the name suggests there is a cost to this however when needed, these can really drive more work to your business and more work means more revenue for your company.

Business Growth

How big do you want your business to be? Do you want to be an owner-operator or do you want to run a big company with multiple employees?

Financial Forecast

In this lesson, we'll talk about financial forecasting - a way to estimate the future financial outcomes of your business.

Insurance Policy

Learn about 'Public Liability' & 'Motor Trade Insurance'.

Hard Launch Your Business

Suzuki Swift Tailgate Part 1

Suzuki Swift Tailgate Part 2

Suzuki Swift Tailgate Part 3

Suzuki Swift Tailgate Part 4

Large Dent Training glue pulling large crease (audi)

Why did she pay three times as much

Back Story

I started working for myself in 2006 but it wasn't until 2008 I began my PDR journey. Over the next 10 years I learned a lot, not just about fixing dents but about business itself.

Naming My New Business

I wanted something that was very clear as to what it is I do and the area that I serve, I also wanted it to be easy to remember and roll off the tongue.

Registering Your Business

When creating a new business you will need to register your company, the legalities vary from country to country.

Logo And Brand

When I created TDL I did give some thought to the colour scheme, my logo and brand colours were blue, blue is a colour often associated with authority and also calm, plus I just like the colour blue!

Creating A Website

You have choices, lots of choices… I wanted to keep costs down to a minimum, test a theory and see what I could achieve by myself with no external help so I chose to do it all myself

Creating An Online Presence

Being visible online has to be one of the most important things when creating a business that will primarily serve the public.

Social Media Platforms

Search engines like Google are big but so are some social media platforms, Youtube is also one of the biggest search engines along with social media sites.

Advertising on Facebook

I started posting on Facebook and I did a couple of ‘paid promotions’. I created an Ad campaign within Facebooks Business Suite.

Advertising on Google

Once you have your website up and running make sure you create a business profile, it's currently changing names as these things online do.

Reviews

5 star reviews are so important so make sure you have a system or process in place to begin building these up.

Invoicing Software

I currently use Xero to create online invoices to send to my customers there are of course other options, Quick Books is also a popular one.

Getting Going

With all of the above stages complete I am set up and ready to go. Now I have started to build up a few trade contacts which gives me that repeat work.

Summary

This is how I got started in a brand new area with a brand new business and I hope the information shared here is useful in terms of guiding you further with your own PDR business.

Complete The Test (Step 7)

Test your knowledge!