Car care & driving
Dent in Your Car Door? Fix It Yourself!
Autopapyrus
Dents and scratches on vehicles are hardly a rare occurrence. Usually they happen because of driver inattention, but quite often the cause is an outside impact, such as a runaway shopping cart or a careless neighbor in a parking lot.
Most of these flaws aren't serious. You can often get rid of them yourself, and scratches are easier still. However, if the damage to the body surface is serious, you'll need a professional. Repairing a dent can be fairly expensive, since it requires buying extra tools. Before you start straightening a door yourself, weigh all the costs and risks. If the dent is very large, you won't be able to straighten it out completely, and the uneven spots will be easy to see in daylight.
If you don't want to spend your money and time, and the body damage isn't too severe, you can quite possibly handle the problem on your own. A good repair manual for your car's make and model will show you how to fix other problems, too, and how to deal with various tricky situations that can happen to a car on the road.
Method 1
To get rid of the dent in the door, you'll need a rubber mallet, a regular hammer, and a wooden block about 10 by 20 centimeters (4 by 8 inches). Before you start working with the rubber mallet, remove the interior door panel. It's also a good idea to take out the window glass. Then carefully begin tapping, alternating between the wooden block and the rubber mallet. Once the surface is level, apply primer and polish it. Next, apply paint from a spray can or spray gun, but only on the spot where the dent was, not on the whole door. Let the paint cure for 2-3 days before reinstalling the door.
Method 2
Another option is to try pushing the dent out from the inside by hand, without any tools. This helps the dent straighten out and the metal return to its original position, so all that's left is to do some finishing work on it. A very practical approach here is to use an ordinary car tire. Place it behind the damaged panel and inflate it gradually, watching the panel level out.
Method 3
Modern technology has also given us more advanced ways to remove dents. For this method you'll need a heat gun or hair dryer and a can of compressed carbon dioxide (CO2) spray or dry ice. The heat gun is used to warm the dented area. Once the surface is warm enough, it's time for the CO2. Spray it on the damaged area for about a minute. This sudden temperature change can make the metal pop back into shape.
Sometimes only a very experienced specialist can tell whether a door can still be repaired or needs to be replaced. If the door frame or its main stiffening components are deformed, you won't be able to remove the dent yourself. You'll need to buy a replacement door and move all the internal parts from the old door into it. If you're not an experienced DIYer, you may run into difficulties, so a good maintenance guide for your vehicle can come in handy.
Most of these flaws aren't serious. You can often get rid of them yourself, and scratches are easier still. However, if the damage to the body surface is serious, you'll need a professional. Repairing a dent can be fairly expensive, since it requires buying extra tools. Before you start straightening a door yourself, weigh all the costs and risks. If the dent is very large, you won't be able to straighten it out completely, and the uneven spots will be easy to see in daylight.
If you don't want to spend your money and time, and the body damage isn't too severe, you can quite possibly handle the problem on your own. A good repair manual for your car's make and model will show you how to fix other problems, too, and how to deal with various tricky situations that can happen to a car on the road.
Method 1
To get rid of the dent in the door, you'll need a rubber mallet, a regular hammer, and a wooden block about 10 by 20 centimeters (4 by 8 inches). Before you start working with the rubber mallet, remove the interior door panel. It's also a good idea to take out the window glass. Then carefully begin tapping, alternating between the wooden block and the rubber mallet. Once the surface is level, apply primer and polish it. Next, apply paint from a spray can or spray gun, but only on the spot where the dent was, not on the whole door. Let the paint cure for 2-3 days before reinstalling the door.
Method 2
Another option is to try pushing the dent out from the inside by hand, without any tools. This helps the dent straighten out and the metal return to its original position, so all that's left is to do some finishing work on it. A very practical approach here is to use an ordinary car tire. Place it behind the damaged panel and inflate it gradually, watching the panel level out.
Method 3
Modern technology has also given us more advanced ways to remove dents. For this method you'll need a heat gun or hair dryer and a can of compressed carbon dioxide (CO2) spray or dry ice. The heat gun is used to warm the dented area. Once the surface is warm enough, it's time for the CO2. Spray it on the damaged area for about a minute. This sudden temperature change can make the metal pop back into shape.
Sometimes only a very experienced specialist can tell whether a door can still be repaired or needs to be replaced. If the door frame or its main stiffening components are deformed, you won't be able to remove the dent yourself. You'll need to buy a replacement door and move all the internal parts from the old door into it. If you're not an experienced DIYer, you may run into difficulties, so a good maintenance guide for your vehicle can come in handy.
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