Removing a dent

[Drache]

As some know my Dart was "vandalized" by someone who put a good dent into the side of my car. Problem was it was right over a major crease line in the body panel. To give an example in the picture below you can see the crease line and I've circled where the major dents are. There was also a small dent right on the crease line.

In this picture you can clearly see the large top dent:

I had heard of a method of removing a dent using two items most people have around the house:

Yup a hair dryer and a canned of compressed air, like those you buy to spray the dust out of computers.

All you do is take the hair dryer and WARM up the dent until the body panel is warm to the touch. Then take the compressed air and turn the can upside down. This allows you to spray the liquid CO2 that normally is at the bottom of the can. Spray this liquid CO2 onto the warm body panel until a layer of ice develops and then just let it sit and defrost. Might take a couple applications. It doesn't always work. Personally for me the dent is not easily 1/4 if not more of the size and there is NO dent at all in that crease line.

I'm pretty sure that if I took off the inside panel and did the same trick with someone very lightly pushing out on the inside of the dent, it would be totally gone.

 

[BrianT]

I've been doing Paintless Dent Repair for a living for twenty years now and I've heard every snake oil method of getting dents out. The only way a dent that size is coming out is by applying pressure to the back of the dent.

Take the rear panel off and put your hand in there. You'll be able to feel the dent. Push with the palm of your hand and see if you can get it to move. Sometimes you'll get lucky and it will pop back out. Other times it only comes out 75%.

Find a good PDR tech in your area and they should be able to finish the job. While they are in there, they can push out the smaller dents. Call your local dealership and ask who they use to do PDR on their used cars, every dealer has a guy. Good luck!

 

[Drache]

Sometimes you'll get lucky and it will pop back out. Other times it only comes out 75%.

Well it's already down to 25% of what it used to be so that is the next step.

 

[krazykuda]

You can't re-move a dent until you've already moved it first.


You can't re-do anything that you haven't already done before....

 

[toolmanmike]

I've been doing Paintless Dent Repair for a living for twenty years now and I've heard every snake oil method of getting dents out. The only way a dent that size is coming out is by applying pressure to the back of the dent.

Take the rear panel off and put your hand in there. You'll be able to feel the dent. Push with the palm of your hand and see if you can get it to move. Sometimes you'll get lucky and it will pop back out. Other times it only comes out 75%.

Find a good PDR tech in your area and they should be able to finish the job. While they are in there, they can push out the smaller dents. Call your local dealership and ask who they use to do PDR on their used cars, every dealer has a guy. Good luck!

X2 Although the older sheet metal is thicker than the newer stuff, a good PDR tech should be able to remove the dent. They are tops in my book. We had a hail storm go through last month and my wife's Lucerne got hammered. The total bill was about $8000 and everything but a few moldings and the aluminum hood was PDR'd. It looks like new. tmm