Dent Repair Myths You Need To Stop Believing
Accidents happen, and dents are inevitable throughout the lifespan of your vehicle. Whether your car gets hit by a shopping trolley or your kid hits a grand slam right into your car, deciding how to repair the dent can be stressful.
You may have heard some myths about how you can repair dents yourself and save money. However, that may be a bad choice in the long run. This article will discuss some of those myths regarding dent repair that just aren’t true.
Dent Repair is Expensive
Cost is the first thing that comes to mind when people consider taking their car to a professional for dent repair. Doing your own repairs or simply leaving the dent may be tempting because you believe it will be expensive to fix. But that’s not necessarily the case.
Considering you can cause further damage to your vehicle, it can be a much cheaper route to let the professionals take on your repair and save you any extra costs that you could have avoided. And dent repair methods such as paintless dent repair (PDR) are effective in repairing your dent and are easy on your wallet. And in some cases, your dent repair may be covered by your insurance and can be swiftly taken care of.
DIY Dent Repair Kits Do the Same Job
You may be thinking that you want to repair the dent yourself with a DIY dent repair kit. Because, after all, it’s the same thing the professionals use, right?
There are a variety of DIY dent repair kits available, and while they are tempting, they can cause further damage and not give you the desired results. These kits might include materials like scraping tools, hot glue guns, or slide hammers, but unfortunately may not be the proper tools you need for your specific dent repair project.
Common DIY Dent Removal Methods Debunked
Videos that you may come across on YouTube or Pinterest can make dent repair look easy. And finding fixes online is simple enough, but you probably don’t have access to the proper tools or have the extensive knowledge needed to complete the job correctly.
Here are some of the more common DIY dent removal methods we have seen and why you shouldn’t attempt them.
Dry Ice
Dry ice is said to be a viable option because the ice will cause the metal of your car to contract and have the dent pop right out. While this method might work, you also have to consider that dry ice is very dangerous to work with.
Not only can it cause frostbite if you touch it, but the carbon dioxide gas released can also build up to dangerous levels. On top of being potentially harmful to you, this method also can destroy the finish of your car’s paint.
Boiling Water
Boiling water is often used to mould a bumper back into place by pouring the water on the dismantled bumper piece. Once the hot water has been poured and the bumper dent shaped into its correct position, you pour cold water to fix the dent into place. While this may work to remove the dent, now you need to put your bumper back on.
We don’t recommend this method because it takes multiple times to try heating the bumper and flattening it into place, giving plenty of opportunities for extreme burns. This method also may cause permanent warping to your bumper, which makes for an even more costly repair bill when you have to replace your entire bumper with a completely new one.
Toilet Plunger
Legend has it that a toilet plunger can suck a dent out by using pressure. This method can go awry and cause an even more significant dent from the pressure of placement and the pulling of the plunger that sits around the dent.
A plunger’s pressure can potentially cause damage to paint jobs or crack whatever part you’re removing a dent from. Considering all of the above and the fact that it is a tricky method to pull off correctly, we recommend leaving the plunger to fix the loo instead.
Hair Dryer
Like the boiling water method, people use hair dryers to fix dents with the heat they create. This can work occasionally but is a gamble with its outcome and can cause cracks and warp or scorch parts of the material you’re using it on. In addition, using the hair dryer method on metal can be a tremendous waste of time and power because a hair dryer will not produce enough heat to make metal pliable.
Trust Our Specialists for Dent Repair at Caversham Coachworks
We know it can be daunting to find a trustworthy and honest repair specialist, especially when you feel it is a task you can carry out yourself or something seemingly minor like a dent or scratch. However, we want you to save time and money by letting us take care of your car from inside and out.
At Caversham Coachworks, we can help with everything from insurance, crash, and car body repairs to dent and scratch repairs and many other services. We don’t want to see you ruin your car trying to fix things yourself and promise to take care of you and your car with expert advice and quality auto repair. As the leading independent vehicle repair centre in Berkshire and Central Oxfordshire, we offer reputable service and professional work that can’t be beaten.
Contact us today or use our free and easy estimator tool and let us help you fix your car’s exterior with ease.