You can save yourself a lot of money by repairing those dents at home, and it’s not as difficult as you may think. Just follow these simple steps and you’ll have your car looking good as new in no time!
Dents with creases:
If the dent is accompanied by a crease, you will likely have to visit an auto body mechanic, unless you possess the skills to fix it yourself. With a crease, you will have to fill in what doesn’t come out with auto body filler. It’s also more than likely that you’ll lose some paint in the process, so be prepared to touch up the area with matching paint.
Dents in car doors:
These dents are usually in awkward places. In order to access them, you will most likely have to remove the inside door panel. However, once you do that, you may run into another problem. The window and window frame take up a lot of space in that area, which makes it difficult to maneuver and fix the dent from the other side. If the dent is close to the window frame, it might be impossible to fix due to the lack of space.
Roof dents:
As long as they have avoided the skeletal structure, can be easily taken care of. What I mean by this is that your roof is built on a rigid platform for rollover safety, but it contains a lot of empty spaces. Next time you’re in your car, put your hand on the headlining and move it around; you’ll be able to feel the differences in the structure underneath.
Trunk and hood dents:
Dents on both the trunk and hood of a car can usually be repaired without too much difficulty – just like dents on the roof. However, it’s important to keep in mind that both the trunk and hood have a metal framework underneath the exterior panels. If you open up either one, you’ll be able to see this support structure quite clearly. If your dent has avoided this frame, then it can probably be pushed out from the inside relatively easily. But, like with door dents, trunk and hood dents may also be able to be pulled out from the outside. I’ll show you how to do this soon.
Panel dents:
Although getting dents out of cars is relatively easy, if they’re on a corner, you may end up with a crease. I explain ways to avoid this further down.
Repair Common Round Car Dents With Simple DIY Tools
- If you’re looking for a quick fix, one option is to use a plunger. Make sure to measure the size of the dent before selecting a plunger so that it’s the right size. It’s best to use grease or soapy water on the plunger before placing it over the dent and pressing down. Slowly pull the plunger out and check to see if the dent is gone.
- If the aforementioned doesn’t work, then proceed to try and extract your dent with a large rubber mallet. Be super careful with the mallet however – start by tapping gently. If you use too much force in your blows, you’ll end up making the dent protrude in the other direction.
- If you don’t have a rubber mallet, the next best thing you can try is using a piece of wood that’s about the same size as the dent. But before you do anything, make sure to wrap the end of the wood in cloth to avoid any potential injuries. Once that’s taken care of, you can use a regular hammer to tap on the end of the wood until the dent pops out.
One thing you should never do is use a hammer directly on the dent. You’ll just end up with a bunch of small dents within the original dent. Trust me, that looks a lot worse than the original dent.