We’re pretty sure many of you will agree with this-
Keeping your car ‘good as new’ for longer periods is like a luxury. Despite some of the major technical instances, getting a dent out of a car is one of those annoyances you can’t overlook.
It’s almost certain that the cost will make you forget the small accidents like getting bumped into a tree, out-of-the-blue football throws, and more. The body shop just feels too expensive at times.
That’s why we want to share some tricks so that you know how to get a dent out of a car.
We will be sharing some easy tips and tricks that will help you out with your DIY endeavors. There are two main advantages you can enjoy.
One, you get to save up some money. Two, you get to learn the exterior maintenance of a car, without losing a single penny.
We do hope you will stick with us until the very end. Otherwise, we can’t guarantee you anything proper.
So, let’s get started!
Types of Car Dents: The Basics
Before DIY dent removal, you need to understand the type of dent in a car. There’s no telling how accidents happen.
Unwanted incidents give rise to unwanted results. Still, some patterns have certain identifiable characteristics.
So, let’s talk about some of them.
Type 1: Rounded dents
Rounded dents are the most common types of annoyances you can find. These sorts of dents typically have a rounded or oval-like outlook.
Sometimes, such dents have a pointy dot in the middle. But sometimes, there isn’t a pointy middle. It’s just a large blob inside out.
If there are no paint chippings, then these dents can be fixed without much effort.
Type 2: Creased dents
If you were to use a sharp object and run it on the edge of the car, it would create a crease-like dent, hence the name.
Such dents are both hard and expensive to recover from. There’s substantial paint chipping, which adds to the cost of the dent recovery overall.
Type 3: Sharpened dents
The body lines of a car, commonly known as swage, are the main victims of such annoyances.
Generally, the body lines of the car have a slight incline. These inclines are very exposed. Even a simple collision can cause a serious dent.
Type 4: Hail dents
Hail dents occur on the roof and roof and hoods.
It can group up in an area. In general, you could get it fixed without any major paint job.
These shallow dents aren’t common. You could use a mini dent puller to get rid of such dents.
Type 5: Multiple surface dent
These types of dents can occur on certain points or surfaces.
The severity of these dents depends on a couple of key factors, size being one of the major ones. Still, there aren’t any severe cases that cannot be fixed with a DIY method.
How to Get a Dent Out of a Car: Tips and Tricks
To conduct a car dent repair on your own, there are certain things you could do. But, there’s a way of doing it.
It’s now time for us to share the tricks that we’ve hidden up our sleeves. Pay attention, because they can save a lot of your hard-earned cash.
Process 1: Use a cup plunger
A cup plunger isn’t just for cleaning the sink. It can also come in handy when you have to remove a dent from a car door. Here are the steps you should follow:
- Splash some hot water on the plunger
- Splash some water on the dent as well
- Start pushing or pulling
- The push-pull action brings the dent out and smoothens the surface
Process 2: Remove dent with hot water
It’s one of the easier ways to get the dents removed and get the body in its original position.
Here are the steps:
- Get a pot of hot water. Use safety gloves if necessary
- Pour hot water on the dent
- Give the dent a push from the inside to bring the body back to its original state
- Now quickly pour cold water on top of the repaired part
- Let it rest for 4-5 minutes
Process 3: Use Dry Ice
You couldn’t exactly buy dry ice a few years back. But now, it’s easy to get a pack of dry ice in your local store.
So how does it work? Pay attention to the steps that follow:
- Take some dry ice in your hand. Use protective gloves for such an operation
- Rub the dry ice on the dent
- At one point, the dent should pop out
- Now let it rest for a few moments
Using dry ice instead of a car dent plunger can be efficient in small cases. But for large dents, the use of dry ice is not recommended.
Process 4: Vacuum Cleaner Method
This method is a bit complex. But it works! Here’s how it’s done:
- First, take a medium-sized bucket and make a small hole (just enough for the vacuum hose to slide in).
- Place the bucket over the dent
- Get the vacuum cleaner hose inside the bucket
- Start the cleaner, and wait until you hear a faint pop
- The pop is an indication that the dent has been repaired
Although many people may be skeptical of this method being applied in reality, this method works. Try it out for yourselves.
Process 5: Hot Glue and Screws
This method can come in handy if you’re dealing with bigger dents.
- Place two screws on each side of a cylindrical dowel (use wooden dowels for this purpose).
- Put some glue on one end of the dowel
- Attach the dowel to the dent
- Leave it for a couple of hours to dry (2-3 hours should be enough)
- Pull the dowel until the dent comes out
- Now use some rubbing alcohol on the sticky end of the dowel to get it off
It’s a very useful method if you’re dealing with large and shallow dents. Still, the total effect will depend on your patience of course!
Dent Repair: Special Tools
If you want to spend nothing on fender dent repair, then you could use some of the techniques we showed you.
But what if you don’t want to get your hands dirty in the process?
In that case, making a small investment in buying specialized tools can be the way to go. These tools aren’t overly expensive, but they can be very useful for small to medium-dent repairs.
You could go with suction cup dent removers and some of the other similar options. These are simple tools that can be very handy for quick repair jobs.
But if you have to fix a major bumper dent, you may want to consider going with a more reliable repair solution.
Some Common Questions and Answers
How much does a dent in a car cost to fix?
How do you get a dent out of a car with hot water?
How do I fix a dent in my bumper?
How do you get dents out of metal?
Final Thoughts
If you want the proper answer to the question of how to get a dent out of a car without losing a dollar, then our guide should offer plenty of guidance.
The methods we discussed here are effective. Still, there is a possibility of failure if you don’t follow the steps properly. So, be mindful of what you’re doing. You wouldn’t want to ruin your precious car!
We will leave the rest up to you. We do hope you will be able to save a few bucks!
