How Long Does It Take to Learn PDR?

How Long Does Paintless Dent Removal / Repair (PDR) Take To Learn?

The answer is.. your whole career. I'm not kidding either. Now I know that sounds contradicting since I train paintless dent removal on a professional level. Training someone how to learn pdr takes weeks to understand the technique but on the other hand, learning how to master pdr takes years.

I personally train most techs four weeks because there is a great deal to understand and this helps absorb good habits. It is almost certain you will NOT grasp pdr in a 1 week pdr training course (5 days). Now I'm not saying it's impossible but your learning curve doesn't begin to really develop until AFTER the first week alone.

However, patience is the key. If you don't have patience, you should not put yourself through a ton of frustration. You may not have heard this enough or not at all but learning pdr is very challenging to say the least. As much as pdr appears easy.. it's not. I've been told time and time again from my trainees, that learning pdr was the hardest thing they had experienced in life. Patience is always the factor when it comes to learning how to read the line/fog board reflection, tool pin pointing and eye-hand coordination.

Now going back to the question. You never stop learning as long as you are ALWAYS willing to learn. Huh, you ask? Let me explain. Vehicles change, sheet metal changes, tools change and life in general changes. During those changes, so should you by combining experience, technique and pushing yourself to just try. This is what we exactly preach throughout the pdr training course. It's important a well rounded pdr tech learns to change and adapt as time goes on.

Here at Dent Time we make a conscious effort to give our pdr trainees the most challenging experience possible. This helps develop the learning curve beyond the average training school. It is our policy we train our students individually to ensure a complete and well rounded pdr course.

For more info, please visit DentTime.com or DentRepairSanDiego.com

Not Your Average Dent - Advanced Paintless Dent Repair

This video was created for demonstration purposes on just how big of a dent we can remove. Obviously PDR has come a long way. But we must keep in mind, cars that were made 15-20 years ago were like tanks! The gage of the sheet metal was thicker and dents these big were mainly caused from minor car accidents. Not just a slight bump or someone falling against the panel. These days, the sheet metal on a car are super thin and protected by basically a roll cage and impact beams from inside.

Now still, the thinner the sheet metal, that hard to work with. Picture holding a beer can and squishing it half way with your hand. Now see how easy or challenging it would be to un-wrinkle and smooth out the dent. It won't be easy. Just like the video you see now is not easy.

PDR is an art. It takes time, patience and experience to consistently perform quality repairs at this level. You might even be surprised that even taking out a nickel to quarter size dings take incredible skill as well. Some are deep, some are in bad locations and some are on aluminum panels. For the worse, all of the above can happen. Finishing is the essence. In some cases, it can take 6 months to a year to consistently perform PDR at a professional level. Bigger dents can take longer.

Training is obviously important. The longer the better. Building muscle memory, eye-hand coordination and soaking up the techniques are what builds the learning curvature much quicker. I personally train my students 4 weeks in most cases. For some I break it up in two 2 week sessions. Mainly some can not afford to be away from a current job or can not afford the 4 weeks all together. For more info, please visit our training page

For those who are thinking about using PDR to remove your unwanted dings and dents, you must choose a company with experience. Price obviously can be an issue but in the end, the quality of the repair will matter most. So before you decide to go with a company who might save you $10, $20 or even $30, do your homework and see who's good. Besides, you only have one factory finish. If you have any questions, give us a call 800.420.3368 or visit us at denttime.com

Paintless Dent Repair Training / Book - Keep it Clean (Preview)

Here is another preview of what's inside of the Line Board Manual. Keeping your dent clean (part 1 of 3) is always keen to a successful dent removal. If you don't know how to properly identify the highs and lows, you won't be able to get out of a jam. The "keep it clean" techniques demonstrates identification and helps distinguish what is more obvious. On this first part of 3 we talk about preventions.

There are always a high and a low when working a dent. Just some are more obvious than others. We help assist your recognition and determine what is what. Getting rid of what is obvious should be your first clue. It will help your repair become cleaner and manageable.

To learn more about the basic PDR Line Board Manual, click here.