Fixing bump in car bodywork

[leen...]

Hi all,

I have a dent (100mm) in the bonnet of my mini. The paint is not split or anything so was wondering how easy it would be to push it back out. There is a strengthening bar the other side of the bump but conveniently has a hole in it right where the bump is.

Looking at a few YouTube videos it seems that heating the area with what looks like a paint stripper gun and then pushing from behind with a rubber ended bar seems to largely do the trick. It doesn't need to be perfect just not as noticeable as it is.

From the video it looks easy but was wondering if anyone has tried this and has any too tips? Also the videos don't say how much to heat it - any ideas?

Thanks in advance

Lee.

[The Natural Philosopher]

You may not need heat - it may just pop out. The challenge is to apply enough force over a fairly wide area to achieve that without creating a new dent.

Panel beaters have fairly specialised tools. It may be worth seeing if there is a recommended mobile dent remover in your area

[alan_m]

It also depends on the dent - if it has soft rounded edges then it may pop out. If it has a sharp crease on the edge it may not.

One method I've had some success with is the pull out method. You stick a plastic pad to the middle of the dent using a hot glue gun and then use a slide hammer connected to the pad to gently pull it out.

Something like :-

The glue is just the generic type you get in sticks form for hot melt glue guns. The cleaning solution is IPA which if bought in a aerosol can a spray on the plastic pad will ease the release the hot glue from the car panel.

[alan_m]

If you already have a hot glue gun and some IPA

[John Rumm]

I have seen some where they heat it with a hot air gun, then spray it with freezer spray - the sudden shrinkage often pops the dent out.

[Brian Gaff]

Enough to not melt or bubble the paint. I wonder if some smart person might have a suction device that did this? Is it joined to this strut, as if it is, then it could also be slightly bent and I'd not fancy your chances getting a flat result. Brian

[Dave W]

My first thought was to use a sink-plunger. == Dave W

[Brian]

Try one of the companies who advertise to do it, I used one and was surprised how cheap it was £50 from memory for one in the door - I assume a shopping trolley or similar.

The chap projected a pattern of lines and used a tool like a bent metal rod to push it out. He gained access by removing the rubber seal. The lines indicated when the dent was ‘out’.

The end result looks perfect.

I doubt it took 30mins.

It was done on my drive.

I don’t recall the company but I suspect they all use similar methods.

[Thomas Prufer]

I have successfully done that: used a sink plunger to pull a dent. It needs a good wetting to stick, and not just a pull but a huge heave -- and my dent popped out. YMMV.

Thomas Prufer

[Jim gm4dhj ...]

better just keeping your dents...I do

[Jim gm4dhj ...]

cars are a thing of the past anyway and so last century

[Rod Speed]

Me too, who cares.

[jim.gm4dhj]

indeed...I buy cars with dents cheap

[SteveW]

A friend suffered a blow-out and spun backwards into the central reservation of the motorway. Her boyfriend and I cut the nearside rear corner out and replaced it with a section from a scrap car. For a couple of years, she drove around with one corner of the car a different colour and rough filler over the joints. She said that other drivers seemed to think that she clearly didn't care about damage to her car and gave her a wide berth.

[Clive Arthur]

Good instructions here...

[Rod Speed]

I buy cars new and don't care about the value because I keep using them for a very long time.