Vancouver Dent Pro - Positive Experience (With Pics)
 

Seems like there are some negative experiences with our cars and local businesses. I'd like to share a positive one that I had today that really pulled a needle off my chest. (Yes I know it's a door ding but it's so f*cking annoying to see that shit everyday)

I bought my S2000 with this super annoying door dent I always stared at. Every photo I took I had to photoshop out that stupid dent. I got fed up and decided to fix the dent.

I sent Pak @ Vancouver Dent Pro a text message with photos of my dent for an estimate and he gave me a price to fix my dent at my home since my S2000 was not insured.

Fun fact: He was the painter for RWB Royal Ocean so he knows his stuff.

Onto the photos:
This annoying little shit is right on the fold of the body.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5734/3...7292757f_b.jpg

He brought his own lighting to work in the tiny and dim garage of mine.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5505/3...da041c9e_b.jpg

First step was to hammer out the dent (duh) but that's only the first 45 mins out of the 1.5 hours on this stupid dent on the body line.

From this:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5702/3...421e9bdd_b.jpg

To this:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5793/3...7d9628b7_b.jpg

So now that the dent is pushed out, the body line has been affected by the dent. This is where I was super impressed. He began to rebuild the body line.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5548/3...41eaa2e9_b.jpg

And it's flawless!! The dent seemed as if it was never there.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5345/3...218beb6c_b.jpg

I highly recommend him to anyone who has that annoying dent they've always wanted to get rid of. Vancouver Dent Pro

didn't need to reach behind the panel? i have an annoying dent that can't be reach from behind that all the dent people told me is impossible to make perfect unless i get real body work done

So, uh, what did set you back?

He reached in from the wheel well. It was challenging because it was so far away from the opening. Best to text him a photo for a free estimate. He can remove parts to gain access accordingly as well.

I was quoted $187 retail for the size of my dent. He came to my home so I didnt have to buy a day permit ($36), and stayed a total of 2 hours. Also considering shop rates are $90-$110/hour it was worth getting rid of that eyesore of a dent.

^ that is actually very reasonable. Damn.... might consider this...

Good job Pak. Pak is always super easy to deal with and genuinely a nice person. Props for putting a positive review up on here

Prices also depend on what you want. If you don't want to remove interior trim panels and they have to get behind say... your quarter panel to massage it out, then they will drill a hole in the rear of your door pillar to get their tool in there if they can't reach it from removing tail light

Did he charge you to remove your wheel liner and/or rim to access it? Just curious

Also, usually the initial dent is the one that costs the most. Each additional on is on a cheaper rate(for example, the first dent will be $150 and each additional one could be $50-80)

has anyone tried the dry ice method of removing dents?

i bumped into a trailer hitch on a down hill last night and now i have a dent and a couple of scruffs. both are on the edge of the hood.

timely thread is timely.

I would highly recommend that people ask to watch a good dent removal specialist do their thing, it's an art and pretty neat to see a nasty dent slowly disappear.

Yeah Pak is one of those genuine guys in the business. Always puts up a good conversation. I only had to share my honest opinion for the top notch work he provided.

When I sent him the photo we talked about which way to access it. He would suggest a remove & reinstall if that is necessary before he begins the job. Prices certainly change if there is more work involved.

However, my fender liner is trimmed for my rolled fenders. Did not need to remove anything. Just that the dent was really far from the wheel well, imagine playing pool with a ladder and your whole body on the table almost lol

I know Pak for years, he used to own a body shop hence he knew how to access body panel, not like others will drill a hole and use plug; that's a potential water leak problem which I've seen before

Thanks for the positive review. I have a very odd (long) dent on the passenger side of my Xterra (made from driving through some very thick brush), which I didn't think would be possible to pull. I'll send Pak a picture and get his thoughts.

+++++++1 for Pak. Very honest & straight forward guy. Only PDR guy I will go to :fullofwin:

Had multiple dings all over the quarter panels that needed to be taken care of. Inquired about my ITR through his website, in a couple hours got a response then couple days later, the dings are taken care of.


Couple shots of some of the dings, (was hard to pick up other dings through phone)

http://i67.tinypic.com/ml74pc.jpg
http://i63.tinypic.com/wapoae.jpg


2 hours later... :ahwow:

http://i63.tinypic.com/2qvct2o.jpg
http://i66.tinypic.com/33z4sau.jpg

Hi, I finally had to time to show up! I'm so happy to be able to work on some of your cars. It's the most rewarding to work for people who actually love their cars. Thanks so much Steve for starting this thread! I'm no expert on driving or the mechanical side but I would say I'm an total nerd about PDR> metallurgy > paint&wetsand > with some body experience. I'd love to be able to get into discussions regarding those topics and dispel myths especially about PDR. My main interest in this forum is public education not sales. Is there anywhere appropriate you could recommend I should start?

Where do u learn how to do PDR if you wanted to DIY it on like an old corolla?

Hey Pak, I think you can consider approaching a known YouTube channel to have a feature on PDR. Perhaps approach Roads Untravelled?

I'm not self taught per say, I feared that it could be a big waste of time - I believe reinventing the wheel is a waste of time until your master level. I traveled abroad to learn from the best actually, initial training in Sacramento and advanced training in Lithuania. After the short training it takes hundreds of hours of practice to be able to apply what you've learned. It's kinda like the old martial arts movies LOL.

It's a real big time and money investment. It can be more time less money or more money less time.

If you want to try, I'd try on a practice panel first because it is really easy to break the paint without prior experience.

If you really want to try on your own car, you can buy a PDR glue kit off amazon and you can actually improve really soft dents with it. Maybe you can expect a 50% recovery? The more difficult dents the glue method is very difficult with glue PDR even for professionals. BUT, make sure your paint is in good shape before you try because if is a bad repaint or there is bodyfiller the paint can come off.

I've seen another company in the states hold workshops for public education, if there is enough interest I could set something up.

Thanks, I definitely check that out.

Had a few dents repaired on my S2K. Pak does amazing work, he made several dents look like they never happened in under 2 hours at a very reasonable price! It was a great experience getting to talk to him and watch the process of PDR. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to anyone.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/e4...=w1704-h830-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/te...=w960-h1280-no

^ It looks like there is a massive dent under the drivers mirror but im assuming that is a drain of some sort on the garage and not actually a dent.

My last truck, the side of it met a 10 foot tall snow/ice bank last winter and put two 6" wide by 3" deep dents in it, body shop quoted me $4000 for a new bed side, fix the door, plus paint, plus paint blending etc etc, It was repaired to literal perfection with PDR. Took him two 8 hour days, but $600 vs $4000... Yeah. This is the after:

https://i.imgur.com/BDfJhO5.jpg