How Do You Repair A Dent In A Downspout

How to Repair Car Dents Without Painting

The next time you find yourself staring at a dent on your car or truck, don't panic. Yes, it may be a big dent and look pretty nasty, but you should be able to repair the dent fairly easily, and if you can't (or don't want to), a paintless dent repair specialist will definitely be able to get the job done. You heard right, paintless dent repair. You may be thinking that you need to go out and spend lots of money on replacing the dented area and of course a professional paint job to mask the replaced part. However, you can use one of the following methods to learn how to repair car dents without painting and without spending a lot of your hard-earned money:

Hire a Paintless Dent Repair Specialist

Okay, so there isn't really much to learn as this one is a no-brainer. All you need to do is hire a paintless dent repair specialist to handle your dent repair. This does cost a little bit of money, but nowhere near as much as a replacement and a professional paint job. Once you find a local paintless dent repair technician online or in the phone book (do those still exist?) you will need to take your car in and have them assess the damage. After looking at your car, the paintless dent repair technician will let you know if PDR is right for you.

If you have small, shallow dents, that do not show any signs of creasing or missing paint, you should be a PDR candidate. After that, the technician will use a light board or another lighting device to examine the dent and see where to start. These lights help the technician visualize the dent from the inside so that they can easily repair the dent. They use a variety of unique tools that are specially designed for the paintless dent repair process. These tools are used from the inside of the dent, to push the dent back out slowly.

Boiling Water

If you really don't want to spend any money on paintless dent repair, you can always boil some water. Once you have boiled the water, carefully pour it over the dented area. This works best on plastic fenders. If you are able to remove the fender completely, you can easily push the dent back out. The heat from the water makes the plastic more pliable and easy to manipulate. You may need to repeat this process several times to get the results you are looking for. Yet, it doesn't cost a dime, and you don't need any special equipment.

Use a Plunger

Don't run to the bathroom and grab the toilet plunger, or you'll be the laughing stock of the neighborhood. Instead of using a flute plunger, also known as a toilet plunger, you will need a cup plunger. These cup plungers are used for sinks and other drains. They come in different sizes but are usually drastically smaller than the type of plunger you use on your toilet. The process is simple and pretty self-explanatory. All you need to do is use the plunger to pop the dent back out. You can use a little bit of water on the plunger and the area you are working on to create a suction. Simply, push and pull the plunger until the dent pops back out. You may have to repeat this process a few times to get the best results. Keep in mind that you probably won't have much luck with this method if you have large, deep dents or have any creasing due to impact.

Use Dry Ice

Dry ice is readily available at most hardware stores and fairly inexpensive. It is definitely cheaper than parts, labor, and a paint job. But, you should always seek out a dent repair specialist so you don't further damage your car. However, to use this method, you will need to heat up the damaged panel. You can do this by parking your car in direct sunlight. If it's not sunny out or really cold, you can use a blow dryer to heat the panel by hand. You will want the damaged area to be hot to the touch before applying dry ice. Make sure that you wear protective goggles as well as dry ice gloves, or any other thick rubber gloves. This will protect you from frostbite and other hazards when handling dry ice. Once the damaged area is heated thoroughly, using your gloved hand, grab a piece of dry ice and rub it on the dent using a circular motion. The rapid temperature change will cause the dent to shrink and pop back out.