Hi everybody,

I know there are lots of solutions to this, but I guess I will tell ya my story then.

My mom open up her car door and accidently dig my driver side door. The location is about 1/3 of the height of the door from the top and about 1 feet away from the door handle. Its ding is big enough to see, that it gives me a headache every single time I get into my car. Having to see that ding before I drive is not a pleasant feeling. I'm making payments on it, so this really sux. I'm wondering how ya fixed your door dings w/o having to shell out lots of money? Is it possible to take the door apart to see if you could even it out from the inside? I really don't want to take my whole door apart to find out that I can't. So if anybody that did could tell me if its possible this would be great. Has anybody tried using those "as seen on tv" stuff?? Does it or would it work? Those pops it dent products? Please help guys, cause I'm really down that my mom did this, and I really want to fix it to bring a smile on my face. It happen about 1 month within getting my car, thats the sad part. Couldn't it wait for like 2-3 years?..gosh...There also a kinda deep mark on the paint, but I could care less about that right now, I'm more worried bout the dent itself.

Oh, btw, I should of gotten a clear bra, cause there are hella rock chips on my hood and front bumper. The only problem with this is that it was really hard for me to find a clear bra installer in my city. Now its too late, oh wells, I could always get repainted, not such a big deal as a massive door dent.

Thanks if anybody could help.

Wu

 

i heard those tv advertised ding removers work pretty well. give it a shot, couldnt be that much for the kit. Or there are local dent remover guys that will come to your house and remove it for you, for a very resonable price, at least in the Bay where i live there are, where in nor cal are you located? Also, keep a good distance from the car in front of you on the highway and those chips wont be that bad.

 

Thanks ChuckP for the reply. I'm here in Sacramento. I will try the tv ding remover tomorrow and go from there. Hope it works, other then that, thanks for making it seem like its possible to get rid of door dings for cheap. You made me feel a lil better, lets hope tomorrow will be awesome as well..hehe.

 

You gotta go with a paintless dent remover guy as described by ChuckP.

Their prices are very reasonable and they can make your dents and dings disappear with no bodywork (most of the time - depends on the dent)

 

Check around your area for a PDR (Paintless Dent Repair) shop or mobile professional. They can work magic on a door panel, provided the ding is not too close to an edge, which it sounds like it isn't. For one ding, they shouldn't charge you much more than $50-$75, depending on your area. The paint may be another issue, but you should also check around with detailers or body shops to see if they can do a spot repair/airbrush touchup.

Check out:
www.dentwizard.com
for PDR.

 

Don't waste your time on the "Pops a dent", its garbage, and you might make it worse or harder for the professional PDR guy to fix it.
Call Dent Wizard or someone like them, they can, and do work magic.

 

Okay,

This sounds crazy, BUT IT WORKS (Seriously). I've talked with a lot of old car body repairs guys, and this is what they recommend:

1.) Buy a small block of dry ice (about the size of a bar of soap). Must be bigger than the dent (this is key)
2.) Make sure it's either about 70F outside, or put a heat lamp/light on/near the ding (about 2ft away), and let it heat up that area for about 10~20 minutes, until its warm (NOT HOT).
3.) Wrap dry ice in cheese cloth (NOTE: use gloves to hold dry ice ALWAYS).
4.) Move lamp away, making sure the affected area is warm.
5.) Hold the wrapped dry ice directly against the ding for about 30~60+ seconds. You'll begin to hear the dent creak, and then the steel will snap back into place. It'll sound like a gun and scare the crap out of you (seriously).
6.) Remove dry ice, look over spot, and buff/wax as necessary.

This will work because stamped steel (i.e. the door panel) will remember it's original shape. The dry ice makes the steel in the affected area contract, thereby re-taking its original shape.
Dry ice cost (size dependant): about $1~$3
Cheese Cloth Cost: about $3?
Time: Some leg work to get the dry ice, and about 20+ minutes prep and work.

Now, remember, this works well on small door dings, shopping cart dings, etc. The bigger the dent you try this on (like a BIG crease dent), the more dry ice you need, the more application time you need, and the HIGHER THE CHANCE THAT PAINT DAMAGE CAN OCCUR.

I highly recommend only using this method on the small dents.

I hope this helps. I had a sceptical friend of mine try this on his S13. He couldn't believe it, it worked like a charm!

Let us know how it goes.

 

I usually take dings to www.dentwizard.com they cost $99 per dent, but they
completely remove it.

Ive fixed a couple dings on my previous car using kitchen utensils. Large spoon to
push the ding out, then chopsticks and a small hammer to tap the metal back into
shape. Worked great, could not tell where the ding was. The problem is it only
works in certain areas where you can pivot against something inside the door/fender
to push the ding out unlike the PDR tools the pro's use.

 

anyone try the ding king as advertised on tv before?

 

I've used the ding king before. It actually works fairly well on dents larger than a quarter. Smaller than that, and it's only marginally effecive. It will reduce it some, but not completely eliminate it. I actually think it's a fairly decent $20 (or whatever it costs) gadget. Obviously a PDR guy is the best choice, though.

 

Excuse me for asking, what the heck is a 'cheese cloth'?

 

anyone try repairing a ding on the rear quarter panel? I have a crease there.
barely noticeable, but bugs the crap outta me.

 

Go to your local automotive store. Go to the car detail section. You should be able to find some there.

 

Cheese cloth is used to make cheese from yogurt, I think. My wife makes homemade cheese all the time. I see the stuff hanging from the faucet handles dripping into the sink... (no, it doesn't smell).

 

That ice procedure sounds too good to be true..

Gonna save the post in a .txt in case I ever need it..

:-)