The world is a place of bumps and bangs, particularly for our cars. There are some fairly basic steps you can take to knock those dents out.
It is very easy to get a small dent in your car. No matter how careful you drive, or how tightly you lock your vehicle away in a garage, a dent can still show up. It is possible to fix a small dent yourself without a great deal of trouble and minimal expense. You will need some tools. Gather up a couple of hammers, one ball peen and one clawed. You will also need a block of wood, an electric drill, some HSS drill bits, and a pair of self locking grips. To complete your preparation, get a self tapping screw, an abrasive sanding disc or wire brush, and a body filler kit. A few sheets of fine sanding paper will have you ready to start.
The first step is to beat out the dent. If you can get around to the inside of the dent this is easier. Some dents can be popped out with just your hands. More resistant dents will require the block of wood and a hammer. Place the wood on the inside of the dent, and tap with the hammer until the dent is just a little below the surrounding surface of the panel.
If you can’t reach around to the inside, you will need the drill and self tapping screw. There are some nifty dent pulling tools available, but I am assuming you don’t have one of those, yet. Drill a hole in the exact center of the dent, insert the self tapping screw, and take hold with the clawed hammer, or the grips. Then, gently, pull until the dent is just a bit below even with the surrounding panel.
Once the dent has been removed, use the drill and sanding disc to completely remove all the paint from the dent. Make sure you get all the paint and primer and are down to bare metal. Use the body filler from your body filler kit to fill the hole, and bring the surface even. After the filler is hardened properly, use sanding paper to get it smooth. Once you have done, this all that remains is to repaint.
Start with a couple of good coats of primer. Follow that with at least three coats of spray paint. After you apply each coat, go over it lightly with some very fine sand paper. When you apply the next to the last coat, follow the same procedure, but then wait at least one hour to allow it to dry completely. Then, you can apply the final coat. Do not use sand paper on this, just let it dry, and admire your work. This procedure works well for those small dents. If you have a major dent, there is another procedure you should use. You drive the car down to your local, friendly auto body shop and tell them to have at it.
Ernie Yetis is with AutoBodyShopStop.com - providing
auto body repair information.
