Even the smallest dent can mar a car's beauty.
Dents are one of the greatest irritations to those who love their cars and trucks. The dents need to be removed to restore the car's finish and value. Repairing these dents is also necessary to protect against continued paint/finish loss and the resulting rust damage. With body shops growing increasingly more expensive, it is wise to consider doing these repairs yourself. The materials can be purchased at most auto parts stores, and a careful study of the repair process can equip you to do a reasonably good job, by carefully following the different steps.
Instructions
1. Inspect the dent carefully to determine if the dent is simple to fix. Do not attempt to repair the dent if it is in a natural crease or ridge of a quarter panel, door or fender. If the dent is in a broad, relatively flat area of a top, door, hood or trunk, and you can get access to the underside of the dent, it is probably one you can fix.
2. Try the easy repair method first, use the suction tool in the dent repair kit, according to manufacturer's instructions. Employ the following steps if the dent can not be repaired with the kit and suction tool.
3. Make sure you can access both sides of the metal where the dent is located. Drill a 1/8-inch hole in the middle of the dent. If you do not want to drill a hole into the metal, use a hot-glue gun to glue a hard plastic adapter, included in the kit, to the middle of the dent.
4. Insert the pulling tool into the hole drilled in Step 3, or attach the pulling tool to the glued on adapter. Pull gently but firmly on the pulling tool or adapter.
5. Hold the dolly firmly under the metal at the front edge of the dent. Tap gently and straight down on the metal with the hammer. Do not strike the metal with the head of the hammer at an angle; you will only create more, smaller dents.
6. Watch to make sure the metal is smoothing as you tap and move the dolly across the dent and toward the back of it. Work your way to the back of the dent before stopping, tapping ever lighter as you near the back of the dent. Use on-dolly strikes and off-dolly strikes of the hammer to guide the straightening process.
7. Sand the finish down to bare metal, starting with a medium grit sanding disc on the sand orbiter, working your way to a fine grit. Wipe and clean the surface. If you drilled a hole, fill it in with body filler. Allow the filler to dry completely before sanding it.
8. Prime the area with four to six thin coats, then paint with sufficient coats, blending it into the existing paint around the dent. Use a polish and cloth to bring back the mirror-like finish once the paint has cured for a couple of weeks.
Tags: pulling tool, back dent, metal with, middle dent, suction tool
