Its Cheaper And Quicker Than Doing It Yourself
The number one reason that people attempt to fix their own door dings and car dents is to save time and money, only to find out they lose more of each when they skip a call to the pros. There is a common misconception that dent repair pros are expensive and inconvenient. At Just-A-Dent, we are proud to offer quick and efficient same-day services for door ding, paintless dent repair, and hail damage repair. Give us a call to find out how much time and money we can save you!
Door Dings Removal Verdict
Door dings and dents are unavoidable. You will come across one sooner or later. If you are confident and trust your skillset you can try to repair it yourself. If not, finding a professional to do it is not a bad idea. When your dent is small you could try to fix it yourself with an easy hack. Though you cannot avoid denting, you can reduce the probability of getting one with a set of practices.
How To Repair Car Door Dings
As sturdy as cars are, it doesn’t seem to take much to get a ding in them. Car doors take a lot of abuse, whether it’s from a freak hailstorm or a careless person in a parking lot. These dings can detract from the aesthetics of the vehicle. Fortunately, it is a very simple fix that only takes a few minutes and can save you a lot of money by allowing you to avoid the body shop all together.
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How Minor Dents And Dings Can Be Fixed With Pdr
by Todd Zimmerman | Sep 10, 2021 | Blog
If your vehicle has sustained minor dents and dings, you must check whether they can be fixed with paintless dent repair . As long as the paint is still intact, there is a good chance that PDR techniques can bring your vehicle back to its former glory. This method works perfectly for minor dents and dings that are not too complex in nature, so lets explore this type of repair in more detail.
The Process Of Removing A Door Ding
The first step in the removal of a door ding is to polish all impact scratching out of the dent, so a clear view of the painted surface can be seen for massaging out the dent. The technician must determine the best tool for the job, and make sure there is sufficient clearance between the glass and door skin to use that tool.
Access to get to the backside of the dent is done through the window opening. This is the area between the window glass and the door skin, the molding at the bottom of the door window opening called the Belt Molding is removed, to allow for tool access. A protective sleeve is put on the door glass to prevent any scratching from the PDR tool.
Using a special light that reflects off the vehicles painted surface, the technician can determine the dent shape. Starting with our massaging process, were little pushes are made that moves a small portion of metal at a time, the technician begins in the center of the dent. The massaging process is used over the entire diameter of the dent, until the metal has returned to its original position on the panel. A second polishing may be required to remove any remaining evidence of impact scratching.
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Use Hot Glue Wooden Dowels & Screws
When you attempt to take out dents yourself, you always put the risk that you might further damage your car, whether you make the dent worse or chip the paint. A safe way of trying to take out big dents on your car is by using several wooden dowels, a few screws, and a hot glue gun.
Simply place two nails into each side of the dowel and put the hot glue on the bottom. Place the dowels glue-side down in areas around the dent, repeat as many times as needed to cover the area, let them dry, and pull each one out until the dent is gone.
Place and pull the same dowels in several different places across the dent until most of it comes out. If you’re going to try this method, make sure that you have enough glue and some patience. Use rubbing alcohol or heat to detach the glue from the car.
Do You Know What To Do When Someone Dings Your Car Door And How To Get Them Or Their Insurance Company To Pay For Repairs
Several months ago, a client asked me to come to his work location in San Ramon to fix a large door ding his wifes sporty black Scion. His insurance company had recommended me as a preferred provider, and I was able to repair the ugly dent quickly, flawlessly, and at no cost to the client.
I thought I would share this story to illustrate what what to do when someone dings your car door so that you may not have to pay out of pocket for repairs.
This particular client had been to dinner in San Ramon with his wife after work. They finished their dinner and returned to the car, where the client immediately spotted a sizeable ding in the passenger side door that he knew had not been there when he closed the car door to go into the restaurant. There was a small streak of white paint in the ding, which clearly showed against the shiny black paint of the Scion.
The client then looked at the white mini van parked next to his car. He remembered that the van was parked in a spot that had been empty when he had parked his wifes car. He noticed that the van was parked hapharzadly, at an angle, and crossing the line into his parking spot, leaving little room for the vans passenger door to open.
It was obvious to the client that the mini vans occupants were responsible for the door ding in the otherwise showroom-condition Scion. So he began taking photos of the dent, the vans position relative to the Scion, and the vans license platejust in case.
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Do Car Dents Get Worse
When you ignore the paint damage that occurs with a dent, it will invariably get worse. Weather conditions, everyday wear-and-tear, and even washing your car can cause the cracks in the paint to grow larger. If the car dent is severe enough to damage the sealant as well, peeling paint can leave bare metal exposed.
Door Dings Removal Process
This is a job that requires a lot of skill and patience. Before ordering the stuff for the repair, make sure to purchase an instruction manual as well. This will let you know how to position the equipment according to the dent you have. You should find the exact position needed to apply pressure before you go through with the procedure.
Before you place your equipment, make sure to have proper lighting on the dented area. The shadow cast on the dent will allow you to pinpoint where to place the equipment on the back of the dent.
After the tools are positioned behind the dent, it is advised to use special glue that can be applied to the front of the damaged area so that pressure can be applied with added care.
Finally, you slowly and methodically manipulate the outer edge of the dent until the area bends back to its ideal position as before. The dent will slowly reduce in size until it disappears.
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What Is Paintless Dent Removal
If a car door is dented but the paint is still intact, one of our collision repair technicians may use paintless dent removal to fix it. Special tools are used to work the dent out, resulting in a smooth surface. PDR is a quick and cost-effective method for correcting the following types of damage:
- Parking accidents
- Damage caused by rocks and road debris
- Hail damage
- Minor collision damage
Paintless dent removal costs can vary a bit, depending on the size of the dent. Small dings can cost around $75 to $125, while larger dents range from $150 to $450.
You Can Do It Yourself
However, if you’re willing to give it a try, in many cases you can fix your car’s dents quite effectively yourself using some not very expensive dent-removal tools.
But first, you must assess the damage to know what you’re dealing with. How bad is it? Where is it? Is the dent in a composite bumper/fascia, a sheetmetal fender or door, an aluminum hood or deck, or even a carbon-fiber panel? Is the paint scratched? How badly? The best methods and tools you can use will depend on those answers. And if in doubt, get a couple of quotes from a paintless dent-repair specialist or body shop to learn what they would charge, and why.
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Buy A Dent Removal Kit
Dent removal kits designed for DIY ding and dent fixes can be effective for removing damage to your car. Youll find a wide variety of dent removal kits on the market. Some of the kits are better for smaller dings and dents, while others will take care of larger damage. Keep this in mind when choosing the best removal kit for your cars dings.
Dent removal kits often include special equipment used by professionals. This is an advantage because the tools are designed specifically for dent removal. Such kits tend to be the costliest DIY method.
If your car has experienced some minors scrapes and bruises along the way, theres no harm in trying out these DIY ding and dental removal methods. You may be pleasantly surprised at the results.
Which Way Worked Best For You
If you’re willing to try anything and don’t have a ton of tools at home, grab a dent removal kit, which contains tools specially created to remove car dents using many of the methods detailed above.
Did you give any of these methods a try, or did you end up biting the bullet and hiring an auto body shop to do the work for you? If you used a different DIY method for removing dents and dings from your vehicle, make sure to let us know below!
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Are Car Paint Repair Costs Covered By Insurance
Yes! Again, if you have comprehensive and collision auto insurance, youll have full coverage. If the scratches were caused by falling objects or vandalism, your comprehensive car insurance policy will cover the repair costs. Or, if you were in a collision with another vehicle and your cars paint was scratched in the process, youll receive auto repair coverage as part of your collision insurance policy. Remember that while insurance can help cover the costs of car paint repair, it makes sense to research which body shop can handle the repair best.
Get An Estimate On The Damage
Take a picture of the dent and send it in to us. If you want to get an accurate estimate on the damage, you can use our cost estimate calculator tool to find out how much it will cost to fix a door ding.
9 times out of 10 whether its you or the person who dinged your door, PDR will be the most cost-effective option for fixing a dent.
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Can Paint Chips Be Repaired
In fact, even if the chip is about one-fourth the size of a dime, you can still repair it. Clean the chip with soap and water and then dry it with a soft cotton cloth. Rub a dab of automotive polishing compound over the chip to gently soften any ragged edges. Just a dozen swirls or so will do the job.
How To Remove Dents And Dings From Your Car 2021 Guide
Everyone who owns a car knows how hard it is to pay attention to the road, pedestrians and other traffic at the same time. We get distracted for just one second when we are parallel parking and realize we didnt notice the sidewalk thats just behind it.
When we are parking in one of those huge malls, there are signs and chains and walls everywhere and its a miracle when you dont bump into one of them. Dents and dings are normal, however, every time we make even the slightest dent in our car, we hurt as weve hurt ourselves.
The first time you scratch your car you feel like your whole world has fallen apart. The combination of panic and fear makes you feel anxious and like youve lost your breath. Pretty much everyone feels the same way and when you dont see a wall, sign or another car and you make a dent in your precious vehicle, you feel like your heart is going to explode. This is even scarier when you have a brand-new car that you spent thousands on.
If you scratch your vehicle or if you somehow make a dent in it, you should not panic. Unless there is too much damage, there are many ways to fix it and to make it look like you just bought it. Most of these tips wont cost you too much money, and you dont have to take your car to the mechanic. Follow these tips and your vehicle will always look like you are the number one driver.
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Five Diy Methods For Removing Dings Dents From Your Car
Taking your car in for minor ding and dent repair can be costly. But seeing those dents every day can be a bummer. Its good to know there are some easy and effective DIY ways to take unwanted dings and dents out of your car.
Here are five quick and easy ways to remove minor damage from your vehicles exterior so that you can once again smile when you look at your car.
For Minor Or Shallow Dings
Most of the modern cars have thin metals that can be pushed or pulled back to shape when dented. For minor dings, one can choose one of these following methods.
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What Exactly Is A Door Ding
The most common type of door ding is the result of another vehicles door swinging too far and impacting the side panel of another vehicle. In this situation, the vehicles are usually parked beside each other. The impact of the renegade door leaves a dent, or a ding if you will.
Dents in your door can also be classified as door dings even if the resulting damage was caused by another object. You can get a door ding from a runaway shopping cart. Perhaps things got wild in your garage and someone speared your car door with a heavy broom. A door ding could occur from literally any object type capable of creating an acute impact in the side panel of your vehicle.
Causes Of Door Dings And What You Can Do To Protect Your Vehicle
There are so many ways your car doors can be dinged, but well remind you of some of the most common ones so you can avoid them.
- Obviously, the most common problem is when other people in other cars open their doors too quickly in a parking lot. The solution? Never park. No of course you have to park! Just try to park away from other cars and trucks. If a parking space seems a little tight, dont bother with it. Get a few extra steps for yourself for the day by parking further away from the store and walking.
- Be extra aware of parking by other vehicles when it is gusty. The wind can cause someones door to fly open much more quickly than they intended.
- Watch out for shopping carts. Dont park by any loose carts that could be propelled by wind or gravity into the side of your car. Sometimes those things have a mind of their own, so try to choose a safe spot in the parking lot.
- Avoid parking under trees during windy weather. Usually, small sticks wont cause any damage if they fall on your car, but who knows? There could be a squirrel with a cache of acorns and a vendetta lurking above.
- A host of sports-related projectiles could damage your doors. Flying golf balls, frisbees, rubber balls they can all cause dings. If you have the option at home, park in the garage. If you dont, then at least warn your children to be careful around the car.
- Hail damage! This happens a lot, so it gets its own section.
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