Old or new, small dents on your car are always an irritating blemish we’d prefer to remove. While some are harder to remove and require professional services, some are possible to fix at home with the right knowledge and equipment. If you would rather try it out at home first, we’ve found 4 simple ways to repair small dents on your car.
1. Fix a Dent with Boiling Water
Like all of the techniques listed, this method requires equipment you can easily find at home. Fill the kettle and a bowl of water, find out a pair of rubber gloves to protect your hands and you are ready to test it out.
Step one: boil the kettle or pan and tip on the dent.
Step two: while the area is still warm reach from the inside and pop out the dent.
Step three: While popped back to its original shape pour the bowl of cold water onto the area to increase the cool down.
2. Remove with a Hair Dryer
This method relies heavily on household items with a few others thrown into the mix. After locating and measuring the dent, you’ll need to gather rubber coated gloves, aluminum foil, dry ice, a can of compressed air and a hair dryer. Once you have collected all the tools, you can follow the steps below.
Step one: heat the dent with the hair dryer, keeping it six inches away from the surface area.
Step two: cover the dent with a square of foil – at this point you will need to put the gloves on to protect your hands, before rubbing the square with the block of dry ice. Another way to cool the area is with the can of decompressed air.
As a result of the rapid change of temperature the dent should pop out, happening within the first two minutes.
3. Try a Dent Removing Plunger
Not only can you unclog a drain with a plunger, but you can also remove small to medium-sized car bodywork dents with one too. Simply splash some water on both the plunger and the dent and start using push and pull motions until it pops out. Make sure to use a cup plunger used for sinks.
4. Reduce the Damage with a Vacuum Cleaner & Bucket
Using suction is a key way to remove a dent from a car panel. Ensuring you have enough power for this method is key and why we recommend using a vacuum cleaner with powerful suction. Once you have this the only tools you’ll need are a bucket and tape.
Step one: make a small hole at the bottom of the bucket.
Step two: tape the bucket over the dent.
Step three: place the vacuum hose over the hole at the back of the bucket and turn the vacuum on.
As long as the dent is shallow the suction created should pull the dent out of the car. If the dent is too deep or large this method may not work.
Paintless Dent Removal
These methods will vary on effectiveness depending on the damaged area you are looking to repair. Unfortunately if the dent is too big, deep or has caused metal damage you will require a professional service to rectify the damage.
Unlike the DIY techniques mentioned, paintless dent removal or PDR is a professional method and conducted by our repair specialists at ChipsAway Ireland. As the name suggests, this repair is conducted without needing to fill and paint the dent. In its place, our technicians use a ‘massaging’ technique that smooths out dents restoring the area to its original condition.
This service is ideal if you don’t trust yourself to do it at home, or were left unsatisfied with the results of a DIY job. If this is a method more suitable to your needs, submit your damage via our dent removal enquiry form for a quick quote.
