How to Fix a Car Dent
You found an unpleasant dent in your prized vehicle, and you want it to be removed. You can go to your local automobile repair service, but remember that you’ll be spending big bucks. If the dent’s not too big and if you’re an experienced DIY handyman, save your cash and fix the dent yourself.
What You’ll Need:
Rubber mallet or rounded ball-peen hammer
Suction dent remover
Wood block (used for leverage)
Self-tapping screw
Drill bits
Pen
Locking vice grip or wire
Putty
Rubber spatula or scraper
Grinder
Procedure:
See if you can reach the dent from behind. If that’s possible, use your ball-peen hammer or rubber mallet to bang it out. A wooden hammer also works well. If you can’t do this, proceed to the next step.
Here’s what to do if you can’t reach the dent from behind: find the dent’s center, and mark it with a pen. Examine it, then decide if the center mark is enough to provide leverage for you to pull the dent out, without creating ripple marks on the steel. If you find too many contours in the dent, you’ll need to drill a couple of holes, so you can separately pop them out.
Drill a hole through the steel, into the dent. Remove the drill bit afterwards.
Get a self-tapping screw, then screw it in. You can also use a 1/2 inch dent removing screw assembly for this. Screw it deeply, just enough so it’ll have enough hold to pull out the dent.
Attach a locking vice grip or a wire to the self tapping screw, then pull on the dent. To avoid making another dent, brace your foot against the car, using a block of wood or another item. Pull until the dent pops out.
Feel the dent with your hands, and check if there are cracks in the paint, ripples or rust proofing. Sand this dented area using a grinder, down to the metal.
Using a scraper or rubber spatula, fill the holes you made with a putty like Bondo. Sand it down, creating a smooth finish.
Paint and prime the dented area. Polish for a better look.
A dent can ruin a perfectly good vehicle, but even if you’re anxious to have it removed, there’s no need to spend big bucks for it. Follow these steps, and your car will soon look good and be dent-free.