Why DIY: Car Dents Big and Small
You Dent Expect It!
Regardless of how cautiously we drive our cars or how much time we spend to find out adequate parking space, unfortunately, accidents still take place.
While dealing with these dents, for most car owners, the foremost concern is to be able to restore it to its previous condition.
However you got your dent or ding, the next thing on your mind is, undoubtedly, how to get it out. Sure, you can take it to a body shop or friendly neighborhood mechanic for repair, but their price quotes can be unbelievable, especially if they want to remove the paint first or use body filler.
$200 for that tiny dent?! I don't think so.
Instead, save yourself some of that hard-earned money and do it yourself. There are plenty of ways to get a small dent or ding out of a vehicle at home without ruining your paint, and you don't need to be a gearhead to do it.
But before you do, you need to stock up on some knowledge to really get the result that you want!
Dent or Bent?
You might need to sort to repainting or even panel replacement to fix the huge, more profound and extensive dents on your car. It is important that you understand the cause of the dent to figure out the appropriate remedy.
Here are the most common types of car dents
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Dings: These are minor dents on the surface caused by a rock or another exterior force/object hitting the surface but having lower indentation (equal to or less than half-inch in diameter).
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Sharp Dents: Sharp dents are the trickiest of all dent types. These are usually the result of any small metal object slamming fast across your car’s exterior surface. The small metal object will leave a sharp mark on the surface, but the damage might be more significant below the panels.
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Round Dents: Round dents are another common category of car dents with its significant appearance. These are round-shaped hollow dents that leave a sunken and shallow mark on the surface. Sometime funnel-shaped, these might be resulting from a swift hit from a ball coming with kids playing near your car parked spot, hailstones or other round objects.
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Creased Dents: Remember the irritating screeching noise coming when an object gets dragged on another sharp surface. The creased dents are a result of somewhat similar instances. Usually found on the side panels, these are caused when an object initially causes a massive impact on the metal surface and is then dragged along the panel.
Don't Leave A Dent In Your Life!
Fixing a Dent on your own can be surprisingly easy. There are a number of ways that you can do it depending on the dent, and with a little research, you can make your car look good as new with some elbow grease.
Here are the most common DIY fixes to dents:
- Remove a dent with a hair dryer.
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Use a plunger, or better yet a Dent Remover Tool.
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Fix a dented bumper with boiling water. This method works for dents on plastic bumpers as well as on parts of your car made of plastic. Use a vacuum cleaner and a bucket.
- Use a vacuum cleaner and a bucket.
Car Dents and Where to Find Them
Have you ever walked out to your car to discover dents and wondered where they came from?
Some are memorable, such as when a kid used his Dad’s Toyota as a BB gun target, and others more common. We thought it would be fun to outline where car dents come from.
Parking Lot Mayhem
In parking lots, cars are simply packed too close together. Slots are never wide enough for giant sized SUVs. As a result, when the doors open, they impact your car.
Sports Games
Especially with baseball season and foul balls that not only put a big dent in the car but also destroy windshields. Please ensure, when going to games, you avoid parking in foul ball territory. At soccer games, don’t park behind the goals.
Automatic Car Washes
If a car before you goes in with a lot of dirt and debris on the car, it is possible for the bristles to lock in the little rocks. Then, when it is your turn in the wash, the rocks get propelled into your car.
Now that you know where Car Dents are likely to come from, you can be more vigilant and try to keep your car in tip-top shape!