how to remove a big dent

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sansa

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Hi everyone. I was wondering if there is a simple method to repair a consistent dent on my car. I'll show you two examples of the kind of dent. It is below the car door...
I was thinking of "pops-a-dent" but I guess this is for smaller dents...

here you a couple of pics (plus one from an other car just to show).
Thanks very much

PS: I am just talking about flattening the dent and not about painting it... :)
 
Since this is your first post...


Welcome to AutogeekOnline! :welcome:


I'm not a body guy or painter but we have a bunch of guys that are and hang out on this forum. Hang tight and I'm sure they will chime in with some suggestions.


:)
 
sansa said:
Hi everyone. I was wondering if there is a simple method to repair a consistent dent on my car. I'll show you two examples of the kind of dent. It is below the car door...
I was thinking of "pops-a-dent" but I guess this is for smaller dents...

here you a couple of pics (plus one from an other car just to show).
Thanks very much

PS: I am just talking about flattening the dent and not about painting it... :)
Click to expand...


Is there any access from behind the rocker area? If so, the indentation could be worked out from the inside with proper tooling. If there is no access from behind, pins can be tack welded on to the indentation and then a slide hammer would pull the dented area outward. This would require grinding the paint off so as to have a clean surface to weld the pin to. Would also require filler to smooth out the surface once the majority of the dent is removed and then primer and paint to prevent corrosion. The third option would be to replace the rocker and repaint.
 
That can't be PDR'd or popped out. You can repair that, but I'm guessing the part will be cheaper than a repair.
 
Welcome to autogeek, and you may have to take it to a auto body shop even though that will cost lots of money but a alternative is if you have the time then try knocking it out from the inside then place bondo, and paint
 
trekkeruss said:
Take it to a body shop. What could be simpler? :laughing:
Click to expand...

Andr3wilson said:
That can't be PDR'd or popped out. You can repair that, but I'm guessing the part will be cheaper than a repair.
Click to expand...

jamesboyy said:
Welcome to autogeek, and you may have to take it to a auto body shop even though that will cost lots of money but a alternative is if you have the time then try knocking it out from the inside then place bondo, and paint
Click to expand...
Hi everyone and thanks for you anwer :)
I am trying to understand if there is a way to do it on my own... I'm not so hampered with manual works so I would just give it a try... User Just02896 gave me a nice suggestion: solder the indented part and then go with slide hammer! I'll give it a try

Anyway you all reject the "pops-a-dent" solution? (I guess all of you know this kind of tool...)
 
Just02896 said:
If there is no access from behind, pins can be tack welded on to the indentation and then a slide hammer would pull the dented area outward. This would require grinding the paint off so as to have a clean surface to weld the pin to. Would also require filler to smooth out the surface once the majority of the dent is removed and then primer and paint to prevent corrosion.
Click to expand...

That's right Just02896! There is no access from behind.
So you suggest to do this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M8M4ovKCLQ

(you have to consider that the entity of my dent is really more important than the one you see in the video)
 
To remove a dent try to think of what forces were applied to create the dent in the first place.

A dent is is actually a new form in the metal. As the metal is formed or dented, it stretches so this must be considered when removing. Unfortunately, the damage below will not simply pop out.

In your photo below, the rocker panel, door frame and door skin have been damaged. The door can be easily fixed by an experienced technician but the rocker panel and door jamb will need to be replaced, at least sectioned.

The rocker and jamb damage could be repaired but it would be faster and easier to section and replace the area.



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Was there insurance on the vehicle when the damage happened?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using AG Online
 
rustytruck said:
Big HAMMER?
Click to expand...
Oh yea!

sansa said:
That's right Just02896! There is no access from behind.
So you suggest to do this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M8M4ovKCLQ

(you have to consider that the entity of my dent is really more important than the one you see in the video)
Click to expand...

The method used in the YouTube video is only applicable to small superficial dents. I would not suggest trying that on larger dents such as yours. You'll need an actual body repair slide hammer or you won't have the available force needed to work the dent outward. It's the same principal but with much more capable equipment.
 
BobbyG said:
The door can be easily fixed by an experienced technician but the rocker panel and door jamb will need to be replaced, at least sectioned.

The rocker and jamb damage could be repaired but it would be faster and easier to section and replace the area.
Click to expand...

wouldn't you give it a try with a bigger slide hammer?
 
Just02896 said:
The method used in the YouTube video is only applicable to small superficial dents. I would not suggest trying that on larger dents such as yours. You'll need an actual body repair slide hammer or you won't have the available force needed to work the dent outward. It's the same principal but with much more capable equipment.
Click to expand...

I see... I was thinking of doing the same thing the guy does in the video but instead of beating with a tiny little object like I would beat to the pliers (using a big whasher) with a standard hammer to have much power...
 
Do you have any experience with any type of metal work?

Pretty much no matter how you go about it the paint will get completely ruined in the process. As previously mentioned, the best repair would be to replace the rocker and door.

I'd check your local junkyards to see if you can find a door of the same color, and fit it up. It appears the rocker isn't only dented, but also pushed up. Once the door is hung, and properly aligned, begin your work on the rocker.

You could try a slide hammer, but the rocker panels are made of 16 gauge steel, which is much more difficult to massage than a 20 gauge door skin. If you can't get it out satisfactorily , see if the junkyard has a rocker section for sale. I've picked them up for around $150, and a few hours of work to cut and replace.

Now a days a welder isn't a necessity, they make panel bonding adhesive that is stronger than the actual steel, I'm still a fan.of welding in most cases. So it can Be done in your garage. Look into how much you want to actually spend, then how much it will cost.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using AG Online
 
ken tuep said:
Do you have any experience with any type of metal work?

Pretty much no matter how you go about it the paint will get completely ruined in the process. As previously mentioned, the best repair would be to replace the rocker and door.
Click to expand...

I really don't care abou the paint because now it's completely ruined and there is also some rust in the upper part...

I'm pretty confident with paints although I'm not an expert in the field. What I think is that I can only do a much better work than the actual situation of the part!

Anyway I really wouldn't know how to disassemble and assemble the new rocker panel in my car... So that's not a job for me. What I could try is to reshape the part and then paint it and polish it!

Thank you for your post
 
Ok guys I wanted to thank everyone for the support.
Hope this thread will help the community here.
Cheers
 
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