captainrad wrote:
i have this problem even with the new sdk.. im just going to reinstall portal altogether..

If you're talking about the bullet hole like indents, I think that's just how the texture is set up. The reason why yours look different from the actual game is because you're using a very harsh bright color. The colors in Portal are softer, not the color but the density of the light.

Softer lights (less contrast) and more of them scattered across the map, should help get rid of the indent.