My Paintless Dent Removal Experience-L.A.

[4flyboy]

I've been itching to do this for quite some time. Kevin (a Pelican) over at Automotive Innovations and Restoration whose work and reputation are stellar recommended a fellow named Rick Gebhard.

Rick owns his own company called Dent Tech in Van Nuys California. Kevin said that Rick would come to me and not to trust just anyone with my Carrera.
So in spite of being temporarily out of work I've undertaken a few projects on the old Carrera to keep myself busy!

I called Rick mid week and as luck would have it he was doing a job close by in Santa Monica and invited me to stop by so that he could put eyes on my dents.

The PO and original owner of my '85 911 took great care of the car but two things have bothered me since I bought it 1 1/2 years ago.
The hood had two basketball sized indentations that were caused I believe by the same ball bouncing once dead center near the top of the hood and again near the nose. Neither was particularly horrible but the indentations were there and in the right light VERY obvious.



The other involves a more common problem that I notice quite often on our cars. Little vertical creases in the aluminum deck lid over the engine. They look like careless dents caused by heavy hands closing the lid and appear near the latching area on the rear lip of my hood. Rick feels that they are caused by garbage that gets thrown up by the engine and collect in this area and careless deck lid closing.

Rick checked out both areas. What he told me was a little surprising. First, as I suspected, since the paint wasn't cracked and is original I was a good candidate for this service. Second he informed me that he'd be calling a friend and his original instructor in this process to help. Turns out that my dents were presenting quite a challenge!

Rick and I discussed price and settled on a figure that was less than what Rick initially estimated. I claimed poverty and volunteered to take the car Saturday morning to Ricks home shop. I think he took pity on me and relishes a challenge!

Enter Mark Ferrera retired Marine Corp drill Sargent. I arrived at 10am this morning and instantly recognized that I was dealing with a couple of perfectionists. Rick's other business is detailing and he and Mark attacked opposite ends of my Carrera.



What came next surprised the heck out of me. They both attached reflectors w/long arms attached to suction cups to areas near the dents and started tapping with small hammers and plastic "chisels". I figured that they would commence to banging out underneath the dents. I mentioned that I'd considered doing some banging of my own. I'll not soon forget the looks of horror on both mens faces. Mark commented that had I done this that they'd probably been unable to repair the damage.





It turns out that there is quite an art to this process. Over the next 2 - 3 hours both men tapped on "crowns" and stress points in the skin of my hood and engine lid. They massaged, pried, tapped and levered until there was practically
nothing left of my dents! All along cracking wise with each other and yours truly. This was particularly important as one of the biggest stressed areas was me.



If you are anything like I am having a couple of guys poking prying and tapping on your baby can be stressful.



Rick's in red and Mark the Marine in gray. Rick trains in martial Arts and Mark was a Marine sharpshooter instructor for the instructors! Needless to say I didn't piss either one of them off.

I'll do this again in a minute if I have another problem. It is cost effective though not cheap. I realized that you pay for the experience these guys bring. Both have constant repeat business and you'll have to call ahead for an appointment should you need their services.

My car has 24 year old two stage metallic paint that has spent allot of years in the sun. Bodywork and paint matching would not be an option for me. The impossible paint match would have made me more crazy than the dents.

If you decide to go this route get a recommendation from someone you trust. Both Mark and Rick lament that the business is so full of hacks now that it's giving the industry a bad name.

I'm going to plug Rick for paintless dent work and let him bring in Mark if needed!

RICK GEBHARD
DENT TECH

818-331-6070

rickyJ91352@yahoo.com

He's in Southern California. I love this process get a recommendation near you!

Thanks guys.

Scott

P.S. When I save up some more sheckles and get myself re-employed I'm going back to Rick for an interior/exterior detail. I'll report back. If his detailing is anything like his dent removal he'll have a loyal customer.

[glewis80SC]

Scott,
Great write up, i've been looking to get this done too, I will be giving them a call.

[jurhip]

Good stuff. I have a small parking lot dent on my p-side door. Only thing really wrong with the car.

BTW - those your new 9's on the rear? Look good.

[4flyboy]

Yup! New 9's Knock offs but I love 'em. One of my "projects" will be to figure out how to polish them to match the real 7's in front.

Thanks,

Scott

P.S. Glad you liked the write up. Door dings should be a cake walk for these guys. I think? Let us know.

[Buckterrier]

Had several dents remeoved that way this past summer, really amazing stuff, yes it is an art form.

[Zeke]

Wow. I'm surprised they didn't run you off so they could work (a) w/o showing their technique, and (b) so they could concentrate. I'd like to learn 1/4 of what they know. Right now I'm about 2%, but I do a little on my car when I get brave.

[4flyboy]

Hi ya Milt,

I made a big show out of not having someone to pick me up!

It was black magic to me and I wanted to see what it was all about plus I've gotten alot more than I've contributed here.

I can't say that it's not black magic but I understand it a little better. Mostly I didn't want to feel like I was tossing hard earned money away. I didn't. These guys earned every penny.

S.

[450knotOffice]

Hey there Scott! Great writeup. A couple of years ago I had a large compression (for lack of a better word) in my right front fender that was not noticeable unless you saw it in the right light - and once I noticed it for the first time, I could not take my eyes off of it whenever I drove. It was right there! I called my trusted mechanic and they recommended an excellent paintless dent removal company (well...more like a couple of guys actually). I called them and one of the guys came out the next day. He took a look at it and determined that he'd be able to make it look as if it never existed. He spent about maybe 45 minutes on it while I stood there and watched and chatted him up. He used the same methodology you described, Scott, and it was amazing to watch. It was absolutely an art. In fact, I asked him why he didn't mind me standing there watching him and he said that while it may look like a simple process, in fact it's almost an art form that requires a LOT of practice and patience to learn. He said (as you mentioned, Scott) that there are quite a few hacks out there who have no real idea of what they are doing, but that the real pros out there have plenty of work due to word-of-mouth referrals by happy customers. In fact, I was happy as can be when he was done because there was literally no trace of any dent ever having been there - it was absolutely smooth and followed the curved contour of the upper fender absolutely perfectly. No ripples, no waves, no sign at all that there had ever been a dent. I was (and still am) amazed.

Good for you Scott. Btw, are you back for good?

[Capt. Crunch]

Scott-

I don’t usually like to chime in on stuff like this because of the positive experience that the original post describes but I am familiar with RICK GEBHARD or "Rick". This guy had a body shop a street over from Automotive Innovations (Kevin's Shop) a couple of years ago, so I'm certain he knows him well. That shop closed in a very nasty fashion and left some people in chaos. That’s about as far as I will go to help some of you escape what could be a future problems.

It’s common on this board that some pelicans have a wonderful experience with someone and on the same coin another complains how he got screwed by the same person. Kinda odd you got on the topic of "hacks"..

Backyard/home body repairs are going to be risky. If you don’t have enough money to get a paint/repair job with brick and mortar shop that can warranty the work, your asking for problems. Think about how you bought your 911, didn't you get the best 911 you could get for the money you could spend? Some of us know how the job is done and how to farmer things out.

Good Luck & Beware.

[glennspiegler]

I had my 911 done a few weeks ago. Amazing results. An error I made was thinking they could do a better job if I took inside panels off. Was going in to fix door locks which started the idea. They actually went through the drain holes on the door bottom and the through the top of the window
outside felt trim. My felt was so old it fell apart and then I had another project. I got the dumb award scratching my glass putting it in, but was able to buff the scratch out with cerium oxide.

[M5guy]

Some years ago someone ran a shopping cart into my M5 door. I took it to a traditional body shop and it was a lot of money to fix. I had my doubts about Paintless Dent Removal (PDR) at the time, but I thought maybe this was a good time to experiment given that the PDR estimate at another shop was $100.

I dropped it off and walked across the street for a cup of coffee. Before I had my first sip the body shop called and said the job was done. I walked back expecting a crappy job, but it was brilliant. Since then I have taken them the M5 again (tree branch on hood), my 911 (hood), a 996 I had (fender), and two MBs. 100% satisfied customer, and they have saved me thousands of dollars.

BTW, they told me that of all the cars they do, they like MBs the least, as the sheet metal tends to be thicker than all other cars, and it is harder with which to work.

Ub
84 911
64 356 (race)

[4flyboy]

Hey Scott (450knotOffice),

Great to hear from you!

Yup back for good and I'm thinking of taking a job with offices at the Camarillo Airport. Use of a Cardinal (RG) right now and a Baron or C-310 in the offing. Sales can be a wonderful thing.

Cap'n I'm sorry that you had a bad experience thanks for chiming in. That's what the forum is for. My experience was excellent but all quadrants should report in for the good of our group.

Scott are you putting those track wheels to good use?

Scott

[NY65912]

I took my 85 M491 to Hershey a few years ago and happened across a fellow performing some PL dent repair on a new Techart 996. The car had a baseball land on the hood above the hood reinforcement. I watched the gent work for an hour. He got it so it disappeared!

I asked him to take a look at my car. I had a crease on the deck lid dead center and a few fender/door dings.

Well it took him about 40 mins and wow the damage was gone!

It was the best 200 bucks I've ever spent.

I'd get a recommendation first but for minor repairs there is no other way!!

[yelcab1]

I am in the wrong profession. $200 for 40 minutes ... that works out to $300 an hour.

[4flyboy]

Yeah Yelcab,

But imagine the confidence and training necessary to take a hammer and a lever to a classic Porsche 911 with the owner standing there WATCHING!

Plus every tiny mistake or improvement is there for the world to see in just the right light.

Flying an Airbus A320 is easy. Knowing when to put it in the Hudson and not try to stretch it
to Teterborough is hard.

How's that for an analogy Dent Guy vs. Airline Captain! Priceless.

Scott

P.S. And you DON'T have to be an Attourney!

[4flyboy]

Originally Posted by Gusoir65

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WTF? CNN is two clicks away!

S.

[Capt. Crunch]

Originally Posted by 4flyboy

Hey Scott (450knotOffice),


Cap'n I'm sorry that you had a bad experience thanks for chiming in. That's what the forum is for. My experience was excellent but all quadrants should report in for the good of our group.


Scott

I personally did not have a bad experience or any for that matter, just witnessed a bunch. Wanted to make that clear.

[89911]

I found a guy locally that does my cars. He charges me a flat fee of $50/panel. The same as what they charge for dealers. The biggest key is experience. My black BMW is a magnet for dents, and when they happen, they stick out like a sore thumb. While I'm sure your dents were worse then mine, he never took more then 5-10 minutes to remove them completely. I guess thats why his price is good.

[4flyboy]

Originally Posted by 89911

I found a guy locally that does my cars. He charges me a flat fee of $50/panel. The same as what they charge for dealers. The biggest key is experience. My black BMW is a magnet for dents, and when they happen, they stick out like a sore thumb. While I'm sure your dents were worse then mine, he never took more then 5-10 minutes to remove them completely. I guess thats why his price is good.

This is the first time I've found myself wishing I lived in Pittsburgh.

Great price!

S.

[89911]

Originally Posted by 4flyboy

This is the first time I've found myself wishing I lived in Pittsburgh.

Great price!

S.

I just think I found the right guy. He works 90% for dealers lots and they would go broke if they paid him for each dent. You can have one on a door or a couple dozen. The most difficulty is gaining access to the dent. If its easy, like a door panel, no problem. If its in the roof close to the window, more difficult. Sometimes they have to drill small access holes in these cases. As you can tell, I've had my share of dents and can't stand them. I keep his card in my car!