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My wifes car suffered some hail stone damage. I ordered a dent remover from ebay that should work. The problem that I am having is the hot glue they included will not stick solid enough to remove the dent. The glue fails and the pulling suction cup breaks free before the dent is removed.
I need a glue that will hold but can be removed without removing the paint from the car.
If the car isn't super clean from using something that strips off any/all wax, nothing will work.
Normally, the car doesn't want to be dented.
It will help the process along if you can get to the back side of the dent and tap on it with a rubber or soft plastic hammer.
Just go easy with it by doing many soft taps rather than a few hard ones.
Also, the metal in the dent is probably stretched a little.
All the gentle tapping will shrink it back.
Look on youtube or somewhere how the car restoration guys deal with 'oil can dents'.
You'll see them using shrinking techniques.
It's not hard, you just have to be patient on doing it without popping off the paint.
i bought one of those kits and it works kind of. It will take a big dent and make it into a smaller dent but wont totally take them out because like was said the metal stretches when its dented.
the free dent repair guys all use dry ice on the smaller dents.
Alien Tape
I have heard about using dry ice and going in a circular motion around the dent, IIRC going from outside inward and best in the Summer when the metal is warm.
Wait till the heat of the summer, heck maybe drive down to Florida in July for Vacation. Last time my wife had hail damage on her car it was bad, bad enough to file a claim which they cut her a check for. The bodyshop I wanted to use was backed up so we waited about 2 months. By then the good old Louisiana Summer had come in full force and the sunlight and heat popped them all out except for on dent in the front drivers side windshield pillar which we had a dentless place fix.
I have heard of using a heat gun then putting a small piece of dry ice in the dent. Might work.
I had a black Ford Ranger that got hit pretty bad by hail while I was on Westpac one time. Insurance said something like $3,000 to fix. After a few years in the sun, everyone of the dents were gone.
Robert
I have fixed literally hundreds of hail damaged vehicles and taught several hundred students how to fix them. Yes, small dents on a roof, hood, or deck MAY pop out over time from heat. It is rare but does happen. I have had dozens of people tell me about the dry ice trick, but I have never spoken with anyone who actually saw it work or read anything about it working. An old wives tale for me.
If the hail is big and hard enough to stretch the metal, you will never get it to automatically go back to former shape. It is impossible without shrinking the metal back to its original shape and surface area. We use to use a very soft flame on a torch to go around dents and lift the dent up and file it to set the metal. There is almost always a low spot that stays low and you have to fill it.
The best bet is to go to a paintless dent repair (PDR) shop. They get to the underside with special tools by drilling holes, removing panels to get tools under the dent. I always said if dry ice really worked, every shop in America would be doing it and no one would have to repair a car.
Will defer to Huskerguy's expertise, so this is another of the 2nd hand stories.
Was told that some body shops down south would park the car in the hot (90F-98F) sun in the heat of the day for a few hours. Then after the metal heated up, they would pour iced water on each dent. They said it worked well on roofs, hoods, and trunks. Not so well on side dents because the angled sun didn't heat the sides as much.
When I was 17, my grandpa gave me his 61 Falcon to play mechanic on. Grandma, who could give the Little Old Lady from Pasadena race tips, had one just like it. One day they came and stole the rear bumper of Grandpa's car because Grandma bent her into an L shape at the outside bolt to the frame. This was back when bumpers were all metal. I used a 8oz ballpeen hammer, a propane torch, and a wet rag to straighten and reshape that bumper back to it's proper profile. The only way you could tell it had been damaged was that the chrome was cracked where it had bent. https://www.desertclassics.com/DC10/Ford61fL2s.html This shows the opposite end of a bumper just like hers.Quote:
Originally Posted by wv109323
That bumper is a lot thicker than the sheetmetal of any modern car. You can probably use a heat gun, and either water ice, or dry ice, as the paintless dent removal guys do. You may still have to repaint. If you get in a hurry, you WILL have to repaint. Take it easy, and use a light hammer. You do not want to stretch the metal the wrong way.
Body shop is covered by my insurance, their problem.
Many years ago, when I worked for toyota, a white car came in that had dimples all over it.
It came from the lower 48.
Asked the owner what happened to it.
Got caught in a big hale storm.
I told her it looks like a big golf ball.
We had a good laugh about it.
Tis the season for hail claims...
I worked for a few years as an auto claims adjuster and have handled thousands of hail claims. I've even had my own vehicle damaged by a freak hail storm in Prescott, AZ that collapsed the roof of the Ruger factory. My car was parked in the parking lot.
The PDR (Paintless Dent Repair) guys are artists. They have specialty tools that massage the metal back into place. It is fascinating watching them. Today's vehicles have metal that is much thinner than vehicles from the past, so tricks that used to work 40 years ago might not work today.
My car was damaged by quarter-sized hail about two weeks before I was supposed to relocate up to Idaho, so I waited on the repair. I got up here and took it to a local shop and they didn't have anyone in the region that did PDR work. My estimate was $3200 using PDR in Arizona and ended up costing $7500 in Idaho doing traditional paint work.
+1 Try this then Harbor Freight has a dent suction thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by rancher1913
I used dry ice once on a small dent and it worked but I have not had nearly Huskerguy's experience so I'll defer to him in thisQuote:
Originally Posted by Huskerguy
Dry ice , Freon type spray. If small enough you can buy a spray can of freeze spray. I’m sure you tube has videos of it in action.Quote:
Originally Posted by rancher1913
Mike