The Desi Blog

Here we will show you how to remove dings and dents with a few different methods, all you can do yourself at home while washing your car. It wont take more than 5-10 mins for each of the dents with each of the methods if you have dings and dents like these

First Method:

For this method, the apparatus you will need are:

1 Heat Gun (or hair dryer is ok but takes longer)

1 can of Air Duster(compressed CO2)

If you press the trigger holding the air can upright, nothing but Carbon Dioxide comes out

But if you flip the can over and spray, liquid Carbon Dioxide comes out which is extremely cold to touch when it comes out.

HERE WE GO

1. Heat the dent and about 1-3 inches(depending on size of dent) of metal around the dent till it is little more than lukewarm.
2. Then quickly spray your liquid CO2 holding the can upside down with the trigger fully pressed starting from the outer edge of the dent and then fill in the circle you just made around the dent. The surface should have a layer of white ice on it.
3. And now comes the sweet part, just wait and watch the magic, and before the ice layer melts off of the surface, POP comes out the dent!!!!
4. If it doesn’t, heat up the dent again and this time, only make the ring all the way on the outer edge of the dent, it will have to pop out this time.

   Second Method:

   Now this one is extremely easy to do and works more than most of the time! You can get dry ice at your local grocery store like Super Walmart or Market Basket or Shaws, $5.00 for a huge chunk(bigger than your head) but be careful with it though, you need a thermal proof glove or a thick oven mitt to touch it.

   
   

   For this method, the apparatus you will need are:
   1 chunk of hot ice
   1 Heat gun

   1. Wash the dent thoroughly to remove any grease, oil or tree sap.
   2. Break the Hot Ice to chunk the size of a softball so you have firm grip.
   3. Now touch it to the center of the dent and keep it there for 5-10 seconds, apply as needed.

      

      

      

      HAVE FUN DETAILING YOUR CAR AND KEEPIN’ IT SPARKLING.

Paint repairs are not all that difficult, but require some preparation and a lot of patience. First, you need to get the color code for your car. Your local car dealer or auto parts store should have it on their computers, or look in your owner’s manual to locate the spot on your car where it’s been imprinted. Usually its on the door jamb if the drivers door above the VIN sticker. Most parts stores have a variety of spray-paints in a special section with a reference book listing your car’s correct tint. take a look and check which paint you need for your car.

Tools & Materials Needed:

1 rattle can of Automotive Primer

1 rattle can of Automotive Clear Coat

1 rattle can of Auto Paint (color coded to match your car)

100grit, 200grit, 400grit& 800grit wet sand paper.

1 bucket of soapy water

1 bowl of fresh water

1 car wash mitt or sponge

1 roll Masking tape

1 Old new paper

The procedure is easy but it takes patience. My suggestion, start in the morning or noon time, and grab your favourite 6pac(i added them in the materials list ;-P ) When sanding down the chipped area, take your time. In bodywork, preperation is 99% of the job, the more you prep, the better the paint at the end will come out. You may also do some bondo filling if you feel like there are some deep gouges out of the plastic or any nicks. Feel the surface with your bare hands after every step shown below. Let every layer of spray dry and spray thin, multiple and even coats.

How to do it!:

1. Wash the chipped area with soapy water thoroughly removing any dirt, grease, oil or tree-sap on or around the area.

   

2. Grab the the 200 grit sandpaper and sand in long strokes in all directions, first go up-down, then side2side. feel with bare hand if anything feels bumpy, if so, some more sanding needed. Don’t sand same small spot for too long or the paint will melt and clog your sand paper. Sand in long strokes.

   

3. Sand the whole surface down with 400grit sand paper and it should look like this with no rough feeling bumps on the surface.

   

4. Wash the sanded area down to remove any loose sanded particles of paint or plastic, If the plastic has a rough feeling to it, you may need to wetsand it or even wet sand it after a layer of primer.

   

5. Mask off the sanded area atleast 1inch away from the sanded area to cover all of the prepped area, i used brown bag but you can use newspaper.

   

6. ITS FUN TIME!! Spray the PRIMER in very thin layers like i did in the picture above. Let each layer dry before spraying a new layer. If you get any drips or imperfections, do not touch it, let it dry, then sand it down with 400 grit and then do another layer of primer.

   

7. Once you have something that resembles a baby’s bottom, like above, go and grab a brew, watch some TV, let it dry for no less than 30 mins. Remember, it may look dry and feel dry at 15 mins, but it hasn’t cured yet. its better to wait out right now than to have that part peel off within a week in the sun.
   
8. Just like the primer coats, apply the paint in several thin and even coats, let each layer dry for 3-4 mins. apply about 3-4 layers or until full coverage achieved.
   
9. Carefully remove the masking and you will have a small distinguish line of where the masking tape began, take the 800grit or 1000grit sand paper and WETsand this step down till it looks and feels feather edged. Then either use some rubbing compounded on the sanded area or use some Turtle Carnauba Wax.

   

10. If you want, you can repeat steps 4 thru 9 but only spray clear coat instead of the primer and paint to make it look more like the original paint of the car. Otherwise, VIOLA you got urself a brand new paintjob!!

If you have a dent in the corner of your bumper like these

It will look horrible driving around in a car like that, specially if your car is a late model.

Most body shops would charge anywhere from $450-700 for a simple fix like that and If you have a $500 deductible insurance, you are paying most of the cost out of your pocket!!

Here’s how to save the hassle of not having a car for a week and keeping the greens in your pocket all in trade for 15-20 mins of your time and small amount of elbow grease.

1. Try to do this project on a warm day as it will be quicker but if you have no choice, go right ahead. take the heat gun(or hair dryer) and point it towards the center of the dent, keep the heat gun about 1 foot away from the bumper.
2. Heat the dent up untill when you touch it, it feels a little warm, now your bumper plastic should be a little more flexible.
3. Stick your hand in either from the bottom or from the top of the bumper whichever gives you the best access to the back of the dent, and push the dent out. Most of the time, the dent will pop out and it will look as good as new again.
4. If its too hard to push out, heat it up a little more. But make sure you don’t melt the paint off of the bumper on the outside.
5. If you do this the same day that you discovered the dent on your car, you will have an immaculate result, the longer you wait, the worse the result will be but even if you do this after a month of getting the dent on your bumper, you’ll be surprised how well it will turn out.

–If you have an older car and you got a similar dent on your car, chances are that some of your paint will chip off and even after you do the method shown above, this is what you may end up with…

Now dont be scared if this is the result of the project, this is nothing but a mere paint chipping. Click this link to be forwarded to HOW TO FIX A PAINT CHIPPING.