DIY Dent Removal?

[edgemar]

I've got an old BMW covered in dents. Hiring a paintless dent guy would be expensive b/c there is a dent in just about every panel of this car. Is there a DIY kit or technique that anyone can recommend?

Thx!

[Zeke]

It's not as easy as some might think. I have had some success on easy to get to panels like fenders. I tried a hood and I can definitely still see the area worked, The best I could say is that if someone didn't know where the dents were, they wouldn't see them at first glance.

I studied every video I could find. The best advice I found was to get panels from the junkyard and work them. Make your own dents and fix them. You can make many of the tools as well. If you were to buy every tool for every situation, you'd be in it thousands.

[edgemar]

I thought there was some type of tool that you could temporarily epoxy to a round dent and then you could pull it/pop it out with a screw type tool

[allaircooled]

Originally Posted by edgemar

I thought there was some type of tool that you could temporarily epoxy to a round dent and then you could pull it/pop it out with a screw type tool

There is and they sell it on here on Pelican, or at least they did at one time.

[Steve Carlton]

A good friend of mine does it and could give you a package deal for cash. In your area, you could try asking the local guys. I don't think there's any good DIY technique. It's an art.

[edgemar]

If you can post or PM me his info I'll give him a call. Don't most guys charge $100+ a panel? That price is way out of my range.

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

A good friend of mine does it and could give you a package deal for cash. In your area, you could try asking the local guys. I don't think there's any good DIY technique. It's an art.

[Zeke]

A lot of the expense is the travel. Once set up, they might be happy to work by the hour. It might be 100/hr instead of 100/panel. As stated, it's a real art/craft to do this. I'd love to do it myself, but it's also quite strenuous. You've got to be part monkey and contortionist to do it.

If you don't have the budget, you can do some of it yourself.

[svandamme]

Some dents you can pull out of the metal with a hairdryer and compressed gas or air can

I actually tried this, and it worked

Dent Repair with Dry Ice - YouTube

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by svandamme

Some dents you can pull out of the metal with a hairdryer and compressed gas or air can

I actually tried this, and it worked

Dent Repair with Dry Ice - YouTube

I've seen that video before. At the end he basically says it didn't work and, if it had, once it gets hot the dent will probably come back.

[svandamme]

Like i said, some dents.. It worked for me..
Basically if it's a big surface, like a door, and it's smack in the middle.. and the metal is not creased, it can work. Worst case nothing happens, best case it works, if it's in between those 2 , you still get an improvement.

[rcooled]

On larger dents in a flat panel like a door, hood or deck lid, you can use a bathroom plunger to pop them back out. It works pretty well as long as the metal isn't creased. Wet the panel or the rim of the plunger before you start.

[Steve Carlton]

I'll send you a PM. If almost every panel is dented, you could easily be looking at $600-800 +/-. It depends on how many of them there are and how nasty. Some may not be fixable via paintless dent removal. A lot cheaper than bodywork and preserves the original paint.

[apriliaguy]

Here you go. Courtesy of pca. PCA Spotlight- Paintless Dent Repair - YouTube

[tevake]

I wonder if you arraigned for Da Guy to come over to do the job for you. Then put the car up on jack stands and pulled the wheels, then the interior panels to get access to the dents and make it easier for Da Guy, If that would affect the price?

Cheers Richard

[john70t]

Originally Posted by LeeH

I've seen that video before. At the end he basically says it didn't work and, if it had, once it gets hot the dent will probably come back.

There are two parallel surfaces: steel and paint.
1). Paint is a hardened chemical.
It need to be warmed up to return to a flexible, and workable state. Age might affect this.

2). Steel is a metal.
It likes to return to its existing status (memory).
PDR done wrong "oilcans" and thins/softens the edges, weakening the surface and makes pushing the center of the dent back more difficult without backing.

Never tried the technique personally, but dry ice should theoretically shrink the steel molecules when applied backside directly to metal.
Warm the exterior paint to make it flexible.

Once the dent pops out:
HOLD IN PLACE with very slight outward pressure for minutes, while lightly slapping the surrounding panel.
The metal has been newly aligned/reset and needs to be reset.

[mikesride]

I hot glue gunned a piece of felt on the dent, warmed the area around the dent to keep the paint pliable, grabbed the felt with vise grips and gave it a "pop". worked very well....may have been dumb luck!

[cornemuse]

Get one of those vacuum pickup/handle tools, or, if its covered with dents everywhere, you could shoot a sheetmetal screw in the center of dent and grip it with a pair of vice-grips, 'course you have holes to patch then, , ,

[EarlyPorsche]

Originally Posted by cornemuse

...you could shoot a sheetmetal screw in the center of dent and grip it with a pair of vice-grips, 'course you have holes to patch then, , ,

So yeah this guy suggests either having dents or a ton of rusty jagged holes in your body. I don't know which one I would pick.

[edgemar]

I guess it sounds like i really need a dent guy. Anyone know someone that is reasonable in Los Angeles?

Thx!