Comments on How to Fix a Dent on a Car

Depending on where the dent is, I think the best way is to weld new metal over the area, and use as little body filler as possible. I have had no luck with suction cups, and pounding from the inside usually creates a pile of high and low spots and a mess to fix with Bondo. If it's a crease, and does not affect the body line, grind the paint completely off of the area, and MIG weld a patch of sheet metal in smaller than the area to be fixed. Take up most of the space with metal, grind smooth, and use as little body filler as possible. MIG welds are easy to use, and most rental places have them available. After filling with Bondo, sand with 220. Fill in imperfections with spot putty, then sand with 400. Spray with sandable primer and check for any more imperfections. Spot putty, 400, sandable primer, until it looks and feels smooth. 600 grit paper and primer before paint. 800 grit over the paint, and 2-3 thin coats of clear coat.

Depending on where the dent is, I think the best way is to weld new metal over the area, and use as little body filler as possible. I have had no luck with suction cups, and pounding from the inside usually creates a pile of high and low spots and a mess to fix with Bondo. If it's a crease, and does not affect the body line, grind the paint completely off of the area, and MIG weld a patch of sheet metal in smaller than the area to be fixed. Take up most of the space with metal, grind smooth, and use as little body filler as possible. MIG welds are easy to use, and most rental places have them available. After filling with Bondo, sand with 220. Fill in imperfections with spot putty, then sand with 400. Spray with sandable primer and check for any more imperfections. Spot putty, 400, sandable primer, until it looks and feels smooth. 600 grit paper and primer before paint. 800 grit over the paint, and 2-3 thin coats of clear coat.

First, get as much of the dent out as possible; you only want to apply a smear of Bog. Once the dent is out, sand the area with a 36 grid, round sanding disc on your drill; pick up at a shop for about $10, including disc rubber padding for drill. Apply Fibre fill or Metal fill a bit higher than the body line. Allow to dry and then sand with the 36 grid on your drill. Try to sand it nice and flat and a little bit under the body line. Now apply some 2 Pac Bog (Body Filler), let dry, and hand sand with a block with a 80 grid first, then finish off with 120 grid. After this, spray some Spray putty/Primer you can buy in a spray can. Let dry and sand with 600 wet/dry then finish with 800; using water. You're ready to paint your top coat color!

Some dents can be pulled out by using a suction cup with a handle. Try this before drilling holes.

Drilling a hole in the middle of a dent will actually destroy the sheetmetal. This method is old and applied to older thicker sheetmetal. Todays metals require a much different approach to repair. Corrosion will set in and galvanic corrosion will begin if vehicle's e-coat is removed. Today's method utilizes a pin-spot welder to remove big dents, and if it is small and the surface paint is untouched, then dent-less paint removal is the way to go.

Only use heat as a last resort! Heat makes the metal work harden. If for some reason you don't get it all the way out, then your stuck! You will not be able to remove the rest of the dent. The only tip I can give is to use your head. If it's a big dent, take it to a shop. Or, follow these rules: Body lines and flanges first. Reestablish your body lines and flanges if the dent is near a fender well. Start from the outside and work your way in with a hammer and dolly. Dollies come in many various shapes and sizes. Use one that most closely contours the body panel. Todays sheet metal is thin and does not require a lot of force from the hammer.

Wet-sand with 1500 grit sandpaper until it's smooth. Then wet-sand with 2000 grit. Use a rubbing compound to polish. Then use hand glaze to rub out the swirls left by the compund. Then wax it.

I would not recommend trying to fix a dent in a car without some more information. Only use a dent puller as a last resort. Most small dents should be fixed with a hammer and dolly. Don't try to fix a bad repair by hitting it more or harder!! Hitting the metal streches and hardens the metal Bondo is not a bad thing if used properly, just don't over use it. Practice on a car you don't car about before you start working on your prized possesion!!

Dents should be repaired from the outer edges in to the center or deepest part of the dent. Hammer in a circular pattern, fixing the edges and working your way in towards the deepest part. Continue and finish with no more then 1/4" of body filler.

You do not need to drill a hole into a dent. Grind around the dent, then fill the dent with body filler.

Mixing and applying body filler to a small dent \tTo fix a dent in your car is pretty simple. You don?t need to take your car to a body shop if it?s not that bad. First thing you want to do is have all of the right materials like 40 and 80 grit sand paper you can get that at a local hard ware store. Also you will need body filler and hardener, a mixing board, a body filler spreader, sanding block, and don?t forget safety glasses. \tFirst you will have to sand the dent and around the dent. The reason for this is to give the body filler something to stick to. Grab your body filler spreader and scoop out some body filler and put it on your mixing board. You will need about enough to cover you dent. Don?t mix too much body filler because if you don?t use it; it will harden up and will be no good. Take some hardener and put it in the body filler. Mix the body filler until the blue hardener is all the way mixed in. \tApply the body filler to the dent you must do this fast so that the body filler doesn?t dry up on you. Do not try to apply it flush with the metal because you want to be able to sand it down flat with the metal. Once the body filler is applied wait for it to dry. It may take a while or only a minute depending on how much hardener you used. \tWhile the body filler is drying you can start to clean up a little. You can put the lid on the body filler and the cap on the hardener. You can take lacquer thinner and clean off the body filler spreader. Do the same with the mixing board but use a putty knife too. \tOnce the body filler is dry put a piece of 40 grit sand paper on a sanding block only if the area is flat if not use your hand. Sand the area with 40 grit sandpaper until it is flush with the metal. The next step is to use 80 grit and sand the area again to make it smoother. Then after you?re done sanding it with 80 grit sand paper. Take a step back and look what you did. If you are not satisfied with your first time using body filler. Try it again and hopefully it will turn out better. \tOverall any average person can fix a dent in there own car or truck all you have to know is how to do it. Every body thinks that you have to take your car to a body shop when you have a dent. It is cheaper and not as long of a wait if you do it in your own driveway. I hope whom ever is reading this will go out and try to fix there own dent of there car or truck. By :brandon care

For a small dent, you can heat it up and put ice on it after it is heated. Sometimes it pops out the dent. (Dry ice works best if you can get it. BE CAREFUL!!! It burns skin.) This doesn't work well on big dents.

First, grind down the dent. After that's done, add body filler. Let it dry. Then, sand it down. Use primer, then paint.

Drilling a hole in the middle of a dent will actually destroy the sheetmetal. This method is old and applied to older thicker sheetmetal. Todays metals require a much different approach to repair. Corrosion will set in and galvanic corrosion will begin if vehicle's e-coat is removed. Today's method utilizes a pin-spot welder to remove big dents, and if it is small and the surface paint is untouched, then dent-less paint removal is the way to go.

Always start the repairing of a dent by starting with the body lines and flanges. The reason for this is you could start any old place on the dent, but you could really screw up the body lines and or the mounting flanges if your working on a fender. Second, always start from the outside of the dent and work toward the inside, using moderate hammering with the proper dolly behind the dent. Do this to gently massage the dent out. This technique is called, stress relieving. You could start just pounding away at the dent but you will only make it worse. That's mistake number 1! People say, "Oh, I'll just give it a quick hit and it will just pop out." All this does is push the center of the dent out, leaving you a nice rippled area around the dent that will be very hard to get out (because now everything is locked in place). If you're going to attempt to repair a dent on your own, go to the local book store and read up on the proper way to pull a dent.