PDR Light – A Must For Any Dent Removal Inspection!
Today, we are fixing a crease dent on the right side fender of a Dodge Ram pickup truck and discuss the importance of using a PDR light for not only repairs, but also for preparing estimates and carrying out inspections.
A PDR light allows us to see the actual scale of the damage – something a normal cannot provide. As you can see, under the store lights, not a lot can be distinguished in terms of the dent and the damage on the fender. It is relatively invisible unless the dent is pointed out. However, when the PDR lights are focused on the area, the damage becomes instantly visible. The entire length of the crease dent can be seen clearly.
Getting a dent like this out requires us to gain access through the headlight so we had to remove it before getting to work. Plus we noticed another small dent just above the headlight so taking it off would allow us to repair both dents easily. Something else that helps us see dents clearly is the ceiling in our shop. There are lines across the ceiling and the reflection of those lines gets distorted on the top-facing panels that we have to fix.
The owner of the car is one of our repeat customers and he has approached us on quite a few occasions, even with a different car. So, he’s just one of the many happy customers we have at Sioux Falls Dent Repair. We will be working on the fender and some other minor dents in the door before we get the truck back to him.
For solutions to any paintless dent repair questions:
In today’s video, we look at some of the tools that we use here at Sioux Falls Dent Repair to keep panels partially opened while we work on the damage.
We used the first tool on the Mazda we repaired a few days ago and kept the door opened so that we could get the dent out without having to remove the door itself. It is called the Anson PDR Door Jammer and is designed by Derek Yost. The Door Jammer is lightweight, made from aluminum, and is great for holding panels open.
The next tool we have is a Hood Prop-N-Lock from B and D Tools but can be used on doors and other panels quite easily. One of the best things about this tool is that it can be extended for a more versatile repair experience. The Hood Prop-N-Lock is especially great for lift gate assemblies without having to remove them completely.
Finally, we have the Tailgator from B and D Tools once again. This is one of the best tool to partially open a tailgate and keep it open firmly so that we can gain access and get the damage out successfully.
All the tools we’ve just seen are available onAnsonPDR.com as well as BandDTools.net.
If you have any queries and questions, leave them down in the comments section or text or call us at605-250-1023.
In today’s video we are going to go through a couple of the leveraging tools that we use at Sioux Falls Dent Repair to push out dents and repair some of the damage using PDR. The idea for this video came from one of the earlier videos we made about the hood props and how they help hold panels open so that we can work better.
We use hangars that hook onto the panel we’re working on and we can then use that for leverage and get our tools to do the work. The original “S” hooks work great but they are not as durable as the latest ones available now. We have one of the first Edgy Tools hangers that works amazingly to get out dents and damage with ease. It simply hooks onto the underside of the panel and we can put a tool into the space in the hanger to give us a lot more leverage to push out a dent. The upgraded version of the hanger comes with an extra hole for smaller tools for a more precise finish to any job.
The next tool we use is called the 3-Way Step Hanger. This tool takes away the need for hooking up two smaller hangers as it comes with three different points of leverage. It also makes working on multiple dents easier as you don’t have to remove the tool to get to the next point of leverage. Another hanger from EdgyTools that we use quite often is the Ninja Flat Bar Hanger. This tool is perfect for using a dent dial and is probably the best and most durable dent dial leverage tool in the market.
The Magnum XL hanger is another tool that comes in handy when we need to get rid of larger dents and need to use bigger tools. The hole on the Magnum XL is, as you can see, bigger than the regular which might not allow bigger tools to pass through.
All the tools listed here are extremely durable and probably impossible to break or even bend when using them for dent repair work. They are quite versatile and can be used on practically any panel on a car.
If you enjoyed the video, like it and share with your friends and family. You can also leave your questions and queries in the comment section below or contact us directly through text or call us at 605-250-1023.
The back side of our TDN Tool cart is filled with more paintless dent repair tools. These are tools we might use slightly less but are still needed very often. Starting from the left hand side we have an entire tool tray full of Dent Craft whale tails. These tools work specifically between bracing. This tray features multiple different lengths and widths of whale tail style tools.
On To More Tools
Moving to the next tray this one has our go to door tools on it. These are made up of PDR Finesse tools with their ratchet style handles. Featuring a shorter door tool, a longer version (not shown) and a flag style tool seen with tessa tape on the tip. We also have a PDR Finesse double bend tool with an interchangeable tip. The tip on this tool is available from Dead on Dent Tools and it features a red cherry cap available from Dent Craft.
But Wait There Is More
Finishing up on this tray is the Ultra Dent Tools and their Pick tools. These are sharper tools that have and work especially great on Aluminum panels.
See this new tool addition to our paintless dent removal arsenal. This new dent removal tool is actually something we use in conjunction with our regular paintless Dent Removal tools to created added leverage. This tool will allow us to make stronger pushes with using less force. This saves the technician from added strain when doing paintless dent repair. We are also working on a big door dent in this Ford Ranger Pickup. This damage is on the drivers side door near the door handle of this vehicle and in a double body line. We also can repair dents in old vehicles like this Mercury Cougar hood! This Cougar hood doesn’t even have paint on it and will need to be repainted when we are done but the customer wanted to not have any body fillers in his hood. So he choose us to straighten the metal for him!
We had a chance to chat with Gene Fetty with KECO Body Repair Products and learn about one of their newest products at the 2019 Mobile Tech Expo in Las Vegas!
This is called The Ergo Power Grip. This tool simply attaches to your adjustable handle tools and allows you to multiply your pushing power.
You can use it with a twisting motion, often used when repairing door dents and dings. The handle is completely adjustable allowing you to use it in many configurations.
You can also use to push from the sides of vehicles, this would be very common in panels such as the quarter panels or fenders in certain angles. You can even use it to multiply your pushing power through a wiring harness hole like shown in the video with Crystal at Push Metal Gear.
Also when repairing flat panels, say a hood for instance you can instantly multiply your pushing force. This puts less stress on your body and allows you to make even more precise pushes more comfortably.
