Do it Yourself Car Dent Repair

Car dents are easy to come by. Someone bumps your car door with her bumper when pulling out of a parking space. A person slams the corner of his car door into your rocker panel as he struggles to get out of his car. Yes, it’s easy for your car to be dented, but very expensive to have it repaired. Now you can save big money by repairing these dents yourself. Here’s how:

Tools
It’s possible to do most any job successfully if you have the proper tools. Car dents are no different. There are certain tools you will need if you want to repair your car dents yourself. Tools you will need are:

• A rubber mallet.
  
• A block of wood.
  
• An electric drill with HSS bits.
  
• A self-tapping screw.
  
• A set of self-locking vice grips.
  
• A drill with a sand paper disc that will attach to it.
  
• Sandpaper.
  
• A body filler kit.
  
• A rasp.
  
• Clean rags.
  
• A plastic spatula.
  
• Aerosol primer.
  

Step-by-Step Dent Repair

• First you must push out the dent. Try doing this with your hands. Many times dents will pop-out with very little effort.
  
• If the dent doesn’t spring back to its original shape, place the block of wood on the outside portion of the dent. Use the rubber mallet to pound the dent out from the inside. Be sure to leave it just below the level of the rest of the car’s panel.
  
• If you can’t access the inside of the dent, mark the center and drill a 1/8 hole with an HSS bit. Use a self-tapping screw and turn it into the hole until only ½ inch remains visible.
  
• Place the self-locking vice grips on the end of the screw.
  
• Use the electric sander to sand all paint from the dent.
  
• With a spatula, fill the dent with body filler.
  
• Allow the body filler to harden.
  
• Reshape the surface with a rasp.
  
• Use coarse sandpaper that’s been wrapped around the block of wood to continue shaping the body filler.
  
• When you almost have the proper shape, discard coarse sandpaper and replace with fine.
  
• Check the finish by running your fingertips along the body filler.
  
• Repair any flaws or imperfections.
  
• Rub gently with fine sandpaper.
  

Painting

• Prepare for painting by covering the surrounding body parts, cover lights, windows and other exposed surfaces with paper and masking tape.
  
• Spray a thin coat of aerosol primer from a distance of eight inches, moving the can from side-to-side.
  
• Apply two additional coats of primer.
  
• Allow the primer to dry thoroughly and rub gently with fine grade sandpaper.
  
• Apply a top coat of aerosol paint that matches the color of your car. This coat should be sprayed in horizontal lines from the top down.
  
• Apply two additional coats, using the same method.
  
• Allow the paint to completely dry and rub gently with fine grade sandpaper.
  
• After one hour, apply the final coat of paint. Allow to dry thoroughly.

Repairing the dents in your car requires concentration and patience. Pay careful attention to detail. Once you have completed the work successfully, you’ll never again pay big money to have a body shop fix the dents in your car.