Paintless dent repair- need adviced

[MichaelBikel]

There are about five small dents dispersed around the body of my car. With no knowledge of bodywork, I began searching for less involved & inexpensive repair methods. It may be important to note that of the two dents on the roof, the lateral most does not permit access from underneath. The dent on the tailgate is small and more "creased" than round, which I am told may hinder one of the three repair methods that I have found via youtube & google.

1) Heat dented area with heat gun then freeze with canned air (sprayed upside down). I'm told this doesn't always work, and doesn't work on "creased" dents.

2) PDR tool that requires glue or suction cups to pull dent out, then a few hand tools with mallet to smooth out

3) A plethora of leverage tools to bend or pop dent out from underside (only works on dents in which you can access from underside). Follow up with hand tools for smoothing.

Does anyone have experience with these options? Obviously it would make the most sense to try the canned air, then move onto something more advanced when that fails. I'm sure someone will mention that in order to assess this situation properly pictures will be necessary, so I will work on getting a few posted when I get the time. Thank you for any advice in advance!

-M

 

[Daveo]

Call a dent guy, thank yourself later. Sincerely, a dent guy.

 

[manwithtools]

Call a dent guy, thank yourself later. Sincerely, a dent guy.

I could not agree more, this is not DIY territory. I'm as good as anyone when it comes to DIY, but after watching this being done I came to the conclusion that $200 to fix four/five dents in a black truck was a BARGAIN! The results were nothing short of amazing. Unless you have 5 years to dedicate to learning this skill and several hundred dollars of tools, you are barking up the wrong tree.

 

[manwithtools]

See this post:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=110984

 

[Motown]

Unless your experianced, I would go near your car with a heat gun. Also freeze air & dry ice ruins paint. Go to a professinal, its worth having it done right.

 

[MichaelBikel]

I had a feeling that the answers I would receive, would be the exact thing I was hoping to avoid. Thank you all for the sound advice.

-M

 

[like2wheel]

If its original paint, I've had really good luck using a glue popper.

 

[HMCFab9]

I had a feeling that the answers I would receive, would be the exact thing I was hoping to avoid. Thank you all for the sound advice.

-M

Probably not what you wanted to hear...but...unless you have done this type of repair and have considerable experience doing it....it is definitely not a diy kind of thing.

It takes a fair amount of talent & experience to do pdr work.
What it comes down to, is you might try it yourself, but chances are you will need to take it to a body shop to have it done anyway & it always costs more to fix someone's screwups than to just have an expert do it right the first time.

Now if you just want to try doing it & aren't real concerned about it coming out perfect, go for it.
Good luck either way

 

[SteveH-CO]

I came to the conclusion that $200 to fix four/five dents in a black truck was a BARGAIN!

That would be a bargain, but $300/dent - or a 'few dents starting at $350 and quickly going up' is the rate around here.

I used the glue kit on various dents on my '89 Land Cruiser, with pretty good results. I wasn't looking for perfection - just looking for 'better', since the truck has a number of small hail dents.

Steve

 

[manwithtools]

I wasn't expecting perfection, but I got it. It was a guy who did small jobs on the side for cash, it took him every bit of 45 minutes and he never stopped talking to me the entire time.

He learned the trade doing rental cars at the airport, said it was an outstanding training experience. He had no interest in doing the hail repair tours, enjoyed the more challenging jobs. He now has a great reputation in our area. I bet I've sent him 40 customers.

The most impressive fix was between the drivers door handle and the window on my 2013 Tundra. Take a look at the shape and accessibility of that area. I am at a loss to explain how good it came out. I've got a good eye (curse in other words) and I've looked at it from every angle for two years and it is not there anymore. It was 1/8" deep and four inches long. Unbelievable on a black vehicle.

 

[vavet]

We had a guy with a Dent Wizard franchise when I worked the parts counter at a Bmw dealer a few years ago. He’d visit a couple times a week. I suggested he drop the franchise and strike out on his own and name his company “Ding Bat.”

He didn’t like my idea.

 

[MichaelBikel]

Very interesting stories guys, thank you for sharing. I'd like to continue the discussion, as I have never required detailing or repair of this nature before. After assessing the damage a bit more closely, I have a more complete list.

Hood- nickel sized ding x1
Roof- nickel sized ding x3 (front)
Passenger QP- dime sized ding x1 ("rail section")
Hatch- creased ding 1-1/2" long 1/8" wide, paint rub off 1/4" dia x2
Driver rear door- 4x2" area of unknown substance will NOT come off

I called the dealer and they said they can't quote me a price even if I come in, it sounded as if they expect me to drop it off and worry about the bill when its done. They did however leave me with the number for Dent Wizard, but I would have to assume that they will not be willing to address the paint issues. Can anyone advise me on this matter? I am really just looking to get this done right the FIRST TIME, and if I had to choose I would say the crease on the hatch and the substance behind the driver side door are the two major concerns.

 

[PugetDude]

Had a guy do a half-dozen door dings and a small dent in the parking lot across from the Mesa AZ Costco a few years ago. With the right tools and a striped light he made a difficult job look easy. Got all the door dings 100% and about 95% on the dent. Drilled four small holes in the edge of the door for access (1/2" diameter, popped in colored grommets to seal them up. Cost me about a hundred bucks, definitely money well spent. Truck looked as good as the day I bought it when he was through.

 

[like2wheel]

They did however leave me with the number for Dent Wizard, but I would have to assujme that they will not be willing to address the paint issues.

I stopped in a Dent Wizard a couple weeks ago, turns out they ONLY do paint work. They call in an outside guy to do their PDR.

 

[Motown]

Have you tried maybe a clay bar on the area that has the paint issue? I've used 2 different PDR guy's in my area. The second one was able to get a couple of dents out of the header of the roof on my vehicle, above the windshield. The guy did an incredible job.