Car dents can be easy to pull out of your car – here are some DIY tips

Because teeth are an unsightly looking thing. Most of us take pride in the car we own and drive, even if it isn’t the most modern compared to the new Mercedes driving by. So it still hurts when someone hits you with a shopping cart, or you get into a minor collision on the highway, or even get hit by large hailstones, which happens once in a while.

Depending on the size of the tooth you just had on your car or just noticed on your car, you may need to visit your local panel beater or body shop to have it checked out. Or, if it’s small enough, you might be able to do this repair yourself with just a few DIY tools.

First you will need to have a good careful look at the damage. If you have waves or a line or a crease in this dent, unless you have some sort of experience with this, you’re going to have to take it to a panel beater so they can access it and work out a price. . It’s unfortunate if it ends up here so it may seem like a fairly small and cheap thing to fix, but even the smallest thing takes time, especially if there’s a crease in the tooth to remove. However, if you have something simple that has dented your car like a large hailstone, then you can carefully remove it. If it’s a complete panel that’s taken a beating in a minor car accident, then if you’re a competent welder, you can buy another panel, remove the dented panel, and replace it with a new one.

A helpful tip for wrinkle-free teeth is to use your home plumbers plunger. You will have to be very careful here. The technique involves applying pressure very, very slowly to the tooth with the plunger over the top, as if you are about to remove a blockage. So gently but forcefully push the plunger down until there is no more air left in the plunger. The best result here is to apply a little water or grease around the rubber edge of the plunger to keep it as airtight as possible. Then, with a very firm grip, pull back on the plunger and it should release the dent. This is a tough job and probably impossible to do on corner dents, but it’s great for side dents, roof dents, and hood and trunk dents on flat panels that, due to interior trim being difficult to remove , can be repaired quickly and easily.

Another dent repair method is to use a block of wood, an old towel, and a rubber mallet. This is good for teeth larger than the surface area of ​​the plumbers plunger. The towel is to protect the edges of the block of wood. So, wrap your towel around the block and make sure the block doesn’t have a hidden sharp edge, as if it does it’s likely to do even more damage. This is great for hoods and roofs and boots/trunks. If the dent is in the hood, open the hood and hold the block of clad wood against the bottom of the dent, then tap gently until the dent is gone.