ot: DIY paintless dent repair

[eddief]

got first ding ever on 2016 Sportwagen. just a small imperfection in a flat door panel. really shallow, no paint damage, about the size of a nickel. have you tried to fix these imperfections yourself? do those $50 puller kits with glue tabs and pullers work?

[zmudshark]

I've been tempted to try them, because I have multiple dings on my 14YO Element. For a single ding, I would just use a pro. I've used a guy in PHX and it wasn't much more than $50. It came out perfect.

[robt57]

Badge of honor, try not to look at it if it bothers you.

Or pay a seasoned expert with the tools to fix it from the inside. aka dent wizzard ilk, but get the guy been doing it for 15+ years...

[Bruce K]

My son got one of those kits and has had great success pulling several small dings.

Pretty much invisible

BK

[eddief]

the badge of honor was already given for 3.5 years avoiding dents. got one of those 15 year guys lined up. wonder if he will do it from the outside or the inside?

Badge of honor, try not to look at it if it bothers you.

Or pay a seasoned expert with the tools to fix it from the inside. aka dent wizzard ilk, but get the guy been doing it for 15+ years...

[duff_duffy]

I went to my local dealer for something small recently - dent with minor paint damage on new car. I Thought would cost 1000+ to fix. Dealer said they had a guy that they use for small stuff, hour later and under $100 my car looked new. Might be worth just stopping by local car dealer and ask. This was a legit Honda dealer, someone else suggested I check there, thought price would have been outrageous but was proven wrong.

[gbcoupe]

I went to my local dealer for something small recently - dent with minor paint damage on new car. I Thought would cost 1000+ to fix. Dealer said they had a guy that they use for small stuff, hour later and under $100 my car looked new. Might be worth just stopping by local car dealer and ask. This was a legit Honda dealer, someone else suggested I check there, thought price would have been outrageous but was proven wrong.

Looked into this for my Columbine before I sold it. Car places wouldn't touch it.

I'll have to look into the glue pulls. I have a Mercian with a small ding on the TT, that is otherwise perfect (well, other than the original buyer didn't spend $20 for seat tube bottle bosses). ;)

[vespasianus]

I went to my local dealer for something small recently - dent with minor paint damage on new car. I Thought would cost 1000+ to fix. Dealer said they had a guy that they use for small stuff, hour later and under $100 my car looked new. Might be worth just stopping by local car dealer and ask. This was a legit Honda dealer, someone else suggested I check there, thought price would have been outrageous but was proven wrong.


This. You local dealer and body shop of places can recommend someone good. Most body shops don't want to deal with stuff like that and have people to take care of dings.

[mcfarton]

Some of those paintless dent guys are great. Some of them drill holes in your door jams to create access points. Instead of removing interior panels to crest access. They put universal plastic plugs in the holes. They leave the edges of the hole bare metal. It is kinda half a$$ if you ask me. As with anything in life you often get what you pay for.


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[JAGI410]

I bought one of those amazon kits with the glue gun and puller. It did great on my Subaru and Miata. On my 84 Chevy van, it removed a little paint. So just need to be a little careful. Mine came with yellow and black glue sticks. I think the black ones are stronger. It didn't come with instructions.

[Dead Man]

i used the suction cup of a dildo to pull a dent out of my Allroad.. totally worked. ymmv.

[eddief]

what section?

i used the suction cup of a dildo to pull a dent out of my Allroad.. totally worked. ymmv.

[Dead Man]

Some of those paintless dent guys are great. Some of them drill holes in your door jams to create access points. Instead of removing interior panels to crest access. They put universal plastic plugs in the holes. They leave the edges of the hole bare metal. It is kinda half a$$ if you ask me. As with anything in life you often get what you pay for.


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i cut a hole through the bed of my gf's pickup truck to replace her fuel pump.. cut a nice perfectly square piece out with an angle grinder, replaced the pump in like 4.2 minutes, and then deburred the hole and the piece, used some scrap sheet metal to "back" the hole, then replaced the cut piece and riveted everything back in place. solid as a rock, took me maybe 2 hours total taking my sweet time, and saved her many hundreds. she was quite happy

we all appreciate an elegant solution, but sometimes just "fixed" is fixed enough.

[Dead Man]

what section?

driver rear quarter panel, just forward of the brake lights. i MIGHT even have pics or a vid of the ordeal.. ill look

[Dead Man]

ohhh snap... "what section" in the auto parts supply store <knee snap>

i didnt get it, but then i got it. :-)

[unterhausen]

on a door panel is best case. I have had good luck getting rid of dents on door panels. Too bad I don't have pictures of the worst one, car got hit while parked. It looked horrible beforehand, almost invisible after.

[Dave]

I used the glue and pull type once and created two additional dents at the suction cup locations.

I had paintless dent repairs done at a dealership because they put the dents in my vehicle and it came out great.