Would this really work to fix dents?

[Wrecked944]

http://www.wisebread.com/remove-car-dents-quickly-and-cheaply

[Rot 911]

I've used dry ice before to remove a dent in a motorcycle gas tank. Doesn't work on all dents, you just have to try it and see.

[Zeke]

I've recently played around with paintless dent removal. In fact, I was going to start a thread about the hood I worked on this last weekend, but I've gotten lazy about posting on the work I do on cars.

The answer is that it depends on the dent. A dent made by a baseball would pop out in a number of ways. I've discussed this with a superior paintless technician and he basically told me that the amount of stretch in the metal would govern the success of the removal at the outset. If there's a deep crease, there's a lot of stretching. Fortunately for the dent guys, the limitation of paint to withstand too much trauma limits the amount of damage they must contend with.

I used metal forming tools to get some pretty nasty, but not wrinkled dents out on Saturday. I had a hard rubber hammer, wooden mallets, lead shot bags and some blocks of wood. In one instance, I worked the metal with the hammers very, very gently. In another, I used the small bag "off dolly" against the bigger bag and the blocks of wood to remove a "wave.".

The object to this was to not disturb the pristine factory paint and schutz under on the underside. I can tell you that I was rather pleased with the results.

I have done a few door ding types of dents as well and that takes a rubbing with pressure method and some patience. Not a business I would choose as a profession. One needs a lot of specialized tools and a lot of creativity to tackle what could probably be termed as "no two dents alike."

Dry ice would be part of the arsenal.

[rick-l]

Originally posted by milt
I've recently played around with paint less dent removal. In fact, I was going to start a thread about the hood I

I have nothing to do and feel like rambling on. I watched a paint less dent removal demo last weekend at a PCA detailing clinic. I asked alot of how to questions.

He did three types of dents,[list=1][*]small dents in a members car door that was not accessible from the rear. I would not have noticed them if the light wasn't exact. $85 dollar dent[*]3 small dents he put in a rental car trunk with a small hammer. $85 dollar dent[*]a larger long dent that was creased (and maybe the metal was stretched) above a stiffener on the trunk lid. $125 dent[/list=1]
#1 he did using a (Wurth?) system with a hot melt glue gun and little plastic rods. Glued the rods onto the dent and used a small tool that pulled on the rod and applied the reactive pressure around the perimeter of the dent. He did this twice until he got the dent slightly above the surface and then tapped it down with a hammer and a pointed, polished delrin rod. He then pulled them and tapped them down twice more. Alcohol dissolved the glue if the rod didn't pop off. Dent truly disappeared.

#2 he pushed up using a lever action from the rear with a pointed metal rod. Raised it above the surface and then tapped it down with a hammer and delrin rod. He then pulled them and tapped them down twice more. Dent also truly disappeared.

#3 he had a short flat tool he stuck under the stiffener and used a rotary motion to raise the depression. He raised it above the surface and then tapped it down with a hammer and delrin rod about 6 times. He wet sanded the dent with 2000 grit and I think the dent was gone but the clear coat had some marks on it.

Some one asked about heat and or dry ice and he said you would have to get really lucky for it to work but the metals memory may be there.

[Wrecked944]

Wow. This is why I love Pelican so much!

I also saw that the website demonstrated a method with a hair dryer. Well, that seems lame to me. But I happen to own a proper Craftsman heat gun with which I can generate some serious heat. So how hot can I set the gun without damaging my paint?

[blucille]

anyone know any decent PDR folks around Northern NJ (Bergen), Rockland or Westchester counties in NY?

I've tried a bunch of folks who contract it out, and none of them wanted to touch any of my projects.

-Lewis

[Wrecked944]

Pelican member HWGeek provided an idea for improving the dent removal process. Instead of using an electronics cleaner, the following product is just as easily available and gets significantly colder...

http://www.computercleanusa.com/products/getprod.asp?product_id=FREEZESPRAY



This stuff gets down to -65F. If you then replace the hair dryer with a proper heat gun, you can get the heat source up to 1000F. So you should be able to get a 1065 degree differential between the dent and the surrounding sheet metal - depending on the temperature limits of the car's paint.

[spyderman]

I actually tried the hair dryer method last night on a Hail dent in the hood of my Xterra. The dent got shallower, but did not go away completely. It was fun to mess around with, but probably not the best method for a serious dent.

[Diablo Dents]

I've tried the dry ice method too. Not happy with the results. Also dry ice is not good for the paint. I've been the "Paintless" dent removal business since 1992. I've tried some urban legend type repairs just to see what works and what doesn't. Be careful what you do to your paint. the glue systems can work sometimes, but they can also pull paint off. True "Paintless" dent removal is an art. It's not necessarily the tools. I can take a dent out with a key or a tooth brush as long as I can get behind the dent. It's all in the technique.

[trconway]

There was a place in Leonia on Main Street. Haven't been there in a while but it was a drive up place in an old gas station.

Tom

[Wrecked944]

Okay, I got some of the freeze spray stuff and tried it on a few little dents in my 944. No luck. However, I was not able to use my heat gun beforehand because I could not find it. So is the heatgun required? Can anyone explain the physics of this trick?

[trconway]

I don't think you want to use a heat gun, too hot. I think a hair dryer should do it. It's the contraction of the heated metal when sprayed by the coolant. I guess the metal want s to go back to it's original shape before being dented.

My $.02.

[randywebb]

"I've gotten lazy about posting on the work I do on cars."

- Say it ain't so!! Can I send you some coffee?

[SCWDP911]

So looks like one for dry ice, one against? I had heard of that before, but had never tried it. Diablo, what tips can you offer as to the line in the sand before damaging paint with the dry ice. If some have had success with it, maybe it is worth trying on a few little door dings?

[TuckerZ]

Paintless dent removal with dry ice is actually possible. I've done it myself on a small dent. The dent just came out after a few attempts. Below is a video to help explain the process.

Good luck,

-Tucker

The dry ice resource.


Video: YouTube - Dry ice to remove dents or dings? Think it works? Watch and find out...

[tharbert]

I'm no expert here at all. I just have a comment about the dry ice you were using. It should have been out gassing much more than it was. You may have had better luck breaking that chunk in two and using the freshly exposed frozen CO2. Once created, water from the atmosphere freezes to the surface of the block. Eventually, it will be like an M&M with the CO2 encased in a layer of frozen H2O. As H2O ice cannot get any colder than 32 degrees F, you weren't getting the full cooling effect of the dry ice. Just a thought...