PDR(Paintless Dent Repair) as a side business

[HMFIC]

Lmao, it will take you a few years to even be good enough to start talking to shops, assuming you pick up the skill and aren't a hack at it. Hmm, I think I'll learn open heart surgery over the weekend. I ran a body shop and I'm an auto adjuster. No way you'll be ready in a few months.

rofl!

 

[T34r1tUp]

Got a name, phone number or address for him by chance?

Then I just need to find a mobile detailer who buffs a car the way I want....I took a black Corvette to a guy once and he absolutely screwed it all up. He used a rotary buffer and left hologram marks in it everywhere. You could actually see the path he used to buff it....I ended up spending a few hours fixing it all....

i do paint and detail work. i enjoy buffing cars but there is alot of work involved.

you cant just take a buffer and start going at it. those hologram marks are called "swirl marks". most of the time they come from the panel not being clean enough or using the wrong pads.

before buffing anything you have to clay the entire car to remove all the industrial fallout. they are like tiny particles that become embeded in the paint and if you just starting rubbing it around your going to make tons of swirl marks. most of your quick detailers are oblivious to this and have no idea what swirl marks are.

you cant blame them though most people want professional work but dont want to pay for it.if you want someone to buff it right you have to pay for it.

 

[nofearfactor]

You cant just take a buffer and start going at it. those hologram marks are called "swirl marks". most of the time they come from the panel not being clean enough or using the wrong pads.

before buffing anything you have to clay the entire car to remove all the industrial fallout. they are like tiny particles that become embeded in the paint and if you just starting rubbing it around your going to make tons of swirl marks.

I just took 2 of my cars recently to my brothers paint/body shop to detail and they both got cleaned, clay barred, and polished with Zaino products- thats just the product he uses, not trying to endorse a brand. It was a total workout for me not having done much hardcore detailing since I was younger working in the shop when it was my dads many years ago, but damn the Camaro's silver and the Cobra's black really came back to life and it was totally worth it even though Im still kind of sore. Old age on my part. (And I found that I have 3 small dents on my Camaro I need taken care of as a matter of fact).


Good luck with your business. Ive been self employed my entire adult life and am now a co-owner in several small businesses. You might have the best ideas to start a small business with but they only succeed when you are either super talented or highly educated at what you do, work harder at it than your competitors, and maybe even get lucky enough to be able to fill a hole in a niche market that might be targeting.

 

[dwkennedy]

Maybe you could find a guy to apprentice under for a while?

There's surely a huge difference between a few months of 20 hrs. a week under the wing of a skilled operator, vs. a few months doing a car here and there.

It does sound like an interesting side gig, from what I've seen it's minimal tools and mostly skill. Part of that skill is achieving high productivity while keeping the quality good. I would be afraid I could work 12 hour days, 7 days a week and still starve to death

 

[OKCShooter]

Lmao, it will take you a few years to even be good enough to start talking to shops, assuming you pick up the skill and aren't a hack at it. Hmm, I think I'll learn open heart surgery over the weekend. I ran a body shop and I'm an auto adjuster. No way you'll be ready in a few months.

Can't say I've seen equivalency between a few months of PDR practice and a weekend Open Heart Surgery fellowship before...

I'll have to let any Surgeons I talk to know how much more difficult popping out a dent is.

 

[HMFIC]

Can't say I've seen equivalency between a few months of PDR practice and a weekend Open Heart Surgery fellowship before...

I'll have to let any Surgeons I talk to know how much more difficult popping out a dent is.

+1

 

[71buickfreak]

I know several PDR guys, they spend years mastering their craft. It is not easy, not in the slightest. Most classes are 6-8 week courses, though some places offer 2-week courses. You need to apprentice under a skilled PDR specialist, otherwise it will take you longer than you think to get it down. Bumping out the dents is only part of the process, you have to be able to work the paint itself to recreate the factory orange peel, etc.

As for the guy that said most PDR jibs are not 100% PDR, thats BS. While there are cars that need paint along with PDR, insurance companies often prescribe 100% PDR for even massive hail jobs. I work with several body shops and they all have a dedicated PDR crew for hail and those cars rarely get paint because their PDR guys are masters of the bump.

 

[Dustin98SS1]

Can't say I've seen equivalency between a few months of PDR practice and a weekend Open Heart Surgery fellowship before...

I'll have to let any Surgeons I talk to know how much more difficult popping out a dent is.

You missed the point. Turn on your humor.

 

[FullAuto]

As for the guy that said most PDR jibs are not 100% PDR, thats BS. While there are cars that need paint along with PDR, insurance companies often prescribe 100% PDR for even massive hail jobs.

As someone who writes insurance estimates for a living and has done several hundred hail estimates this year alone, I'll have to disagree with this statement. May's hail storm had a very small minoriity of 100% PDR repairs. The two May 2010 storms were the same thing.

 

[JxxxOxxxE]

i do paint and detail work. i enjoy buffing cars but there is alot of work involved.

you cant just take a buffer and start going at it. those hologram marks are called "swirl marks". most of the time they come from the panel not being clean enough or using the wrong pads.

before buffing anything you have to clay the entire car to remove all the industrial fallout. they are like tiny particles that become embeded in the paint and if you just starting rubbing it around your going to make tons of swirl marks. most of your quick detailers are oblivious to this and have no idea what swirl marks are.

you cant blame them though most people want professional work but dont want to pay for it.if you want someone to buff it right you have to pay for it.

Im right there with ya....I couldnt believe it when i got it back...it was awful....so I got out the clay bar, 2 different polishes, Porter Cable buffer, and Zaino and spent probably 5 hours fixing his screw up....

Ever let people feel the paint difference before and after a clay bar through a plastic shopping bag? They're always amazed...lol

So since that guy screwing that Corvette up, thats why I'm adamant about finding someone that knows what they are doing to do my truck...I'd rather not mess with it, although I've got all the tools...maybe I just need to find a laborer....