From Body Shop Painter to Serious PDR Tech — Chase Dolan’s Journey

On Episode 56 of the All Access Podcast, Gene Fetty sits down with Chase Dolan of Youngstown, Ohio — a veteran autobody painter who has steadily transformed himself into a capable, confident PDR technician.

Chase didn’t wake up wanting to be a dent guy. After nearly three decades in collision repair — most of it in high-production painting — he was excellent at his craft… and also quietly bored. He had mastered his lane. There were no new mountains to climb.

Then a glue pull kit showed up in his shop.

Like many body techs, it sat in the corner collecting dust. But one day, Chase stuck a tab on a small dent, pulled with a mini lifter — and watched metal move in a way he didn’t think was possible.

That single moment changed everything.

For eight months, Chase tried to teach himself through online videos. He learned — but slowly, and with plenty of frustration. The breakthrough came when he invested in in-person training with Jim Mitchell at Real World PDR, followed by a weekend with Dave O from Dent Wizard.

The pattern became clear: coaching compresses time.

But the real growth came from what he did between classes — putting in daily metal time, working after hours, taking on tougher dents, and refusing to quit when things got hard.

That mindset paid off.

Last year, Chase attended Level Up at Dent Repair Now with Gene and Žan Vidic. There, he sharpened his fundamentals around:

• Starting dents correctly

• Managing stretch metal

• Lateral tension techniques

• Finishing with real patience

Not long after, he tackled a brutal bedside crease that he originally planned to paint. Instead, he went back in, applied what he’d learned, used shrink strategically — and delivered a repair that kept the truck paintless. The customer was thrilled.

That experience is exactly why he’s coming back for Level Up 2026.

Chase doesn’t want to be “pretty good.” He wants to be respected as a top-tier technician — the guy people call first.

His advice to anyone trying to learn PDR is simple and direct:

“If you’re serious, stop trying to figure it out alone. Get in the room with great trainers, and then go home and actually use what you learned.”

If you missed the first Level Up (which sold out in days), a second session is tentatively planned for March 5–7 if at least five techs commit.

👉 Learn more here: https://dentrepairnow.com/level-up 

You can follow Chase’s work at dolandentrepair.com or on Facebook at Dolan Dent Repair.

And if you want to hear the full conversation — including stories from MTE, tools, training, and mindset — check out Episode 56 of the All Access Podcast.