Paintless repair tools

[A.K. Boomer]

I do a little paintless repair once in awhile on vehicles with mild to moderate hail damage and all my tools I basically built myself as I went along and now I know why,
every time I go to check what the tools cost im blown away by the price, why are these damn things so expensive -- they are nothing more than a rod with a tweak on one end and then a bend on the other for a handle and many times a price tag of $50 bucks

These are not "brand name" tools either, Im sure there china or something like that...



Anyways - got caught in a hail storm a couple nights ago --- about washed my car away too, floor mats went on my aluminum roof, blanket over the rear deck but could not protect the hood --- thought about just propping it up but high winds might have caught it and bent it back into the windshield...

[PixMan]

I've seen those tools, and have to agree that they can be costly. Are they in fact made in China? If that's true, someone here is making a killing with markup.

I am thanking you for the idea of putting the car's floor mats on the horizontal flat surfaces! That never occurred to me, and it's BRILLIANT! I've got some plush ones that would be perfect, plus a couple of older ones that I'm going to just lay in the trunk to have enough to cover nearly all the flat areas.

We don't get much of the big, damaging hail here, but when we do I'll now be prepared better than ever.

[A.K. Boomer]

Pixman -- just be careful when doing it all,

I went out to open the trunk and started getting beaned in the noggin,

somewhere in the time frame of trying to get everything positioned on the car I lost my keys,,, they might have got beaned right out of my hand in all the chaos...
Did not realize it till I was back inside and I looked outside and started to see a small river forming just outside my drivers door, also was getting very cold , so I went to move the car forward and run the heater and walla - no keys...

so I go outside to try and look and half the cars already got water moving around it --- unlucky for me it's the half where the keys must have been dropped ---------- Ok - fine ---------- plan B ----- go for the hide a key,,,

damn - it's almost under water and it's ice water --- so I try to stand in it anyways and get to the key ------- no way, get back in car and now my feet are in excruciating pain,,, now im really soaked and freezing --- then it really starts to pour ----- then I look out my drivers window and it's not just a river - it's a white water river complete with rapids that I could have floated my kayak down and it's under my car and the main part is about 3 feel away...

So - literally "dead in the water" and no heat, and then start feeling the vehicle settle in (was parked on dirt underneath some tree's) and the right rear is sinking pretty good, then the small boulders start going under the car and hitting the uni-body --- that was a fun feeling too,
Just about to make a run for it and it finally starts to settle down, basically from start to finish was a couple hours of fun and games...

Went back the next day with a detector to look for keys but city already moved the downstream sediment back where it came from and everything was all mixed up... another "just my luck" thing --- only time I recall city workers working that quick

moral of story ---- if you go out with your keys in a major hail storm make sure you have them tethered to your ball sac,,, and try not to seek shelter under tree's that are at the bottom of an unforeseeable gully wash, and you might want to put a hide a key on all for corners of car,
Better yet - just own a beater and don't worry about the hail in the first place - that's really what got me in trouble.... otherwise it would have all been enjoyable.

[daveo]

I do Paintless repairs for a living. As anything tool related.... You get what you pay for!

[A.K. Boomer]

So Daveo, Im not seeing huge price variations -- Im just seeing expensive across the board ---

what brand do you have?

[daveo]

Dentcraft and PDR Finesse mainly, the pdr finesse tools are all stainless. A bit more expensive.... Sometimes my tools are exposed to rain, so I have been buying more and more from pdr Finesse

[A.K. Boomer]

Id love a set of dentcrafts but still 650 bucks for just 15 pieces -- ouch

my most valuable tool for wide open access is a small spoon with the handle bent at 90 degree's to the head... it's got a progressive dome to it and works great on small and medium hail damage...

[Black_Moons]

Ugh I know! slide hammer is on my list of projects.
I see them at the discount tool store for $50 and im like... What? I can get a belt sander for that... two angle grinders.. a bench grinder.. 5 pairs of vice grip knockoffs or 2 huge sledge hammers.. etc etc etc.. for $50.. yet they want $50 for a threaded rod, a weight and a couple end peices? lol. Good luck with that.

[bruto]

My vision is still a bit dodgy, and when I opened the thread I thought it was for "pointless repairs," and I thought, Aha! There's another one out there!