Dent Schoolhouse

The School Of Hard Knocks

When it comes to getting an education with Paintless Dent Repair you need a mentor, not a dent schoolhouse. As a senior Vale Master Craftsman who has been in this industry for over twenty-five years, it is very rare to see someone leave a school ready for the PDR industry. In most cases, they have picked up habits that may have helped in school, but not in the real world.

Fixing Dents Isn’t the Half Of It

Although repairing dents, especially complex dents, is not an easy task, it's only a small portion of what a technician does on a daily basis. It is safe to say that fixing dents is less than 5% of what it takes to be a successful dent repair technician.

A Website Example

A great example would be this website. As a small business owner, I had to learn how to code. Thousands of hours, day and night, to make it look right. Not only that, but it was equally difficult to rank number one, so you could even see this. It's a great analogy because you can be a good technician, but if you don’t have the other 95%, you're going to have difficulty making it in this industry. I fix dents on cars, yes. I also have an undergraduate and a master's degree. You must be good at learning. You will find that most PDR techs are very well educated businessmen.

Do Not Be Discouraged

This is not to discourage you. On the contrary, I want you to make it. The first step is to understand that no school is going to give you need. If you want to be a Paintless Dent Repair technician you need to tie yourself as an apprentice for at least one year. More than likely, you will not get paid during this period, since you bring no value and you will be receiving training.

Find A Great Technician And Get An Apprenticeship

Tie yourself to a good technician, even if they reject you at first. Show up and help, even if its taking out the trash at first. Learn removal and reinstallation of parts. Help out, and they will reciprocate. This is how I have trained dozens of technicians. Also, as a side note. If another tech helps you out, be loyal. This is a very small community of technicians and one bad word could ruin your chances at a hail storm.