PDR College is a professional-development library for paintless dent repair technicians. Keith Cosentino and Shane Jacks connect repair thinking with the estimating, sales, marketing, and operating systems that make the skill sustainable.
Online lessons can shorten the thinking curve, but they cannot replace mileage on metal. Use the library to learn better questions, then test the ideas through controlled hands-on practice and honest review.
Choose your PDR training path
I am exploring PDR
Start by learning what the work demands: reading a light or fog board, locating the tool tip, gaining safe access, moving metal gradually, controlling highs, and judging a clean finish. The online PDR training guide explains what media can teach and when supervised physical training is the better next step.
I am a working technician
Use the topic paths below to isolate one repair or business constraint at a time. Choose a lesson, apply it to controlled work, document the result, and decide what to repeat or change.
I repair consistently and want harder work
The advanced PDR training guide covers diagnosis, sequencing, tension, crowns, blending, glue-pulling integration, and repair limits. Experienced technicians can also join the Advanced Skills Seminar waitlist for future in-person event details.
I operate or want to build a PDR company
Follow the PDR business training path for business-model decisions, estimating, pricing, customer communication, lead generation, workflow, and team development.
The PDR College learning map
Repair thinking
Study how experienced technicians assess damage, material, access, tension, crowns, highs, and finish quality before choosing a technique. Advanced work begins with a plan, not a favorite tool.
Explore advanced PDR training
Glue pulling and tools
Learn where glue pulling fits, how surface and environmental conditions affect a pull, and why tab shape, pull direction, crown management, and stop conditions matter.
Explore glue-pulling training
Hail workflow
Hail repair combines production skill with intake, estimating, supplements, R&I planning, quality control, scheduling, customer communication, and financial risk.
Explore hail-repair training
The PDR business
Connect technical quality to pricing, sales, retail and wholesale relationships, reputation, capacity, hiring, and the choice between mobile, shop, hail, or hybrid work.
Explore PDR business training
Podcast and video lessons
Browse the PDR College Podcast archive by problem and topic, or use the PDR training video library when a visual demonstration is available.
A practice loop that makes education useful
- Choose one narrow skill or decision to study.
- Listen or watch for the sequence and reasoning, not only the outcome.
- Test the idea on controlled metal within your current skill and safety limits.
- Record the starting condition, plan, tools, result, and remaining defects.
- Ask what changed the metal and what only changed its appearance temporarily.
- Repeat the same problem before adding another variable.
Training content is most useful when it improves the quality of practice. It is not a shortcut around practice.
Online and in-person education serve different jobs
The podcast, articles, and videos can explain theory, demonstrate decisions, expose business models, and help technicians compare approaches. Physical repair skill still depends on tactile feedback, visual accuracy, repetition, material awareness, and safe tool use.
The Advanced Skills Seminar is a separate in-person professional-development event for technicians who already have working fundamentals. It is not positioned as a beginner course and does not currently award PDR College certification.
Frequently asked questions
What does PDR training cover?
Foundational training commonly covers light reading, tool-tip location, access, controlled metal movement, pushing, glue pulling, knocking down highs, crown control, and finish review. Professional development can extend into complex repairs, estimating, pricing, sales, marketing, and company operations.
Can I learn PDR online?
You can learn repair theory, diagnostic language, tool strategy, business systems, and how experienced technicians think through damage. Clean repairs still require repeated hands-on practice and useful feedback.
Is PDR College a beginner school?
No. PDR College is a podcast and professional-development resource. Its recurring Advanced Skills Seminar is intended for working technicians. People starting from zero should compare reputable supervised training options and practice requirements before buying equipment or promising customer repairs.
Who creates PDR College training?
PDR College is hosted by Keith Cosentino and Shane Jacks, career PDR technicians and business operators. Read about PDR College and the editorial standards used for training content.
Continue with one path
Choose the problem closest to your current work: advanced repairs, glue pulling, hail, or business operations. One focused lesson applied well is more useful than a queue of content never tested.