hail dents

looking to take some hail dents out of my roof and trunk lid/ going to use a little filler/ any advice or help tks Butch

 

The thing about hail damage, the low spot looks small, but the tin is usually depressed for a couple inches around the hit. Stretched all to hell. Shrinking is required in most cases. Around here, a dozen or more dents can get you a write-off on anything a few years old, just not worth the repair bill! On the roof the headliner has to come out for access, the trunk and hood substructure is in the way, too. Lots more work than it looks!
You can just fill 'em with bondo, but it's usually less than satisfactory on big flat panels.

 

tks butch

 

Hey,

Several ways to go on this type of repair-

You didn't mention if this is a late model daily or old beater, but if late model and never had a repaint you could go the "glue tab" type-tabs are glued to center of damage, then pulled up with special puller. It usually leaves no paint damage if it's a factory finish. Next we have the skilled use of a pry pick (see Martin Tools catalog) for what these tools look like, but basicly a round type pry bar-tool, that is inserted in an opening in the back or side of the damaged panel and the damage is pryed up in a circular pattern until the damage is removed. This is the method used by "Paintless Dent Removal " mechanics in detail shops. The last method is the skilled use of heat from an O/A torch to heat the low areas of the dent. Heating causes the low area to expand, and if done correctly no filler is needed. This last method isn't one I'd suggest you try without much pratice under the watchfull eye of a master!

" Beware the irrational however seductive "

 

until a few months ago I had never seen a car with hail damage (in california we dont have this problem) it looked like the car was parked out on a driving range, _ serious stuff you guys put up with!

 

A good paintless dent guy can make jt look perfect .DENT WIZARD guys are all over check with most new car dealer body shop or look on line.

 

I agree that you need to look online and do some serious research before you make any decisions. Where I live we get hail storms that damage cars every summer. One of my neighbors had a lot of hail damage on his OT late model last summer and the business his insurance company recommended were able to remove most of them completely. He said that they had used some dry ice dent removal technique but he didn't know anything about it and I've never heard that before. Good luck.

 

Google dry ice dent removal. I may be just what you need.

 

tks will ask around Butch

 

try a half inch size piece of dry ice on it sometimes it works wonders the dry ice if it gets cold enough shrinks the strech. sometimes you have to jack the side of the car up to get it to stay put.

 

Try dentless paint repair first then bodywork primer if needed.

 

I have known about Dent Wizard since they have been in business but have only used them a few times for small dents with no paint damage such as a baseball or golf ball damage. I purchased a 25,000 actual mile '91 Caprice Wagon that was like new except for hail damage on the hood and roof. I took it to my local restorer to have him repair and paint those areas. I sure hated to do that to an original paint car but had no choice I thought. He recommended the Dent Wizard guys and said they had done fantastic paintless hail damage repairs for him. I was skeptical but followed his advice. There were about 75 small dime size dents. When I picked it up you could not tell it had ever been damaged and the best part is it still had 100% original paint. It was expensive but I was very pleased. I am a believer.

 

hail sucks. it takes patience and know how to get it done right. i've seen paintless repairs that after a few years start to oil can where the dent was. r pope hit the mark with his post, the metal is stretched all to heck and a paintless guy is just going to manipulate the stretch so it blends in with the surrounding area (not shrink it back to original). heat with a low flame torch just enough to start the metal to expand (this is not nearly as hot as most think) hammer and dolly quickly and lightly then cool with compressed air or water this will shrink the metal. also a good shrinking disc on a grinder along with something to cool it will work too. good luck.

 

I'm a big fan of the torch method. It doesn't take it out completely but the spot left is very very small. Practice on some scrap metal but here is how you do it:

Use a welding tip fairly small 0 or 1 should do. Use a fairly small flame 1 or 2 inches long.
Take a vixen file or any fine cut file and block around the dent so you can find the edge of damage. then start the flame out on this outer edge and circle around in a spiral slowly and get faster as you get to the center. If you do it right the metal should bubble up slightly and leave a small cherry red spot at the center. tap the cherry red spot with a dinging hammer, slapper or slapping file. let it cool down and your done. should leave a 1/4" divot. skim it with filler and your good to go. sometime you can get it smooth enough to prime out with no filler. and you don't need access to the back side of the panel so this method works great on hoods or deck lids where the inner structure is almost always in the way.

hope this helps someone. its always been my favorite method for dealing with hail.

 

A good paintless dent removal guy can make it look like no damage happened at all! And the repair will last. Oklahoma get the nearly basketball-sized hail, for which only a panel replacement will work. But, for the smaller hailstones, they do wonders!

In the last big storm in '08, my wife had some damage to her PT ragtop. There were approximately 30 dents from hail. Couldn't tell the car had ever been hit, once it was out of the shop! There was a black Kia Amanti in the shop at the same time that had over 300 hail dents on it. The guy performed the same magic on it, too!

As far as totalling a car with hail, unless it has been hit with a LOT of baseball-size hail or larger, it'll get fixed.

 

I have been a bodyman for almost 50 years. Those pdr guys can work wonders and at a lot less money.

 

Depends on your skill and pocket book. But I like the torch method the best. Use a carburizing flame about 6" long and heat the hail dent from the outside to the centre. You need just about enough heat to melt the paint. The metal will raise and then file it off with a standard body file. If there is still a small dent do it again until all of the damage is gone. Make sure you file the metal as it sets the surface. If you don't file it the damage will come back. This also works great for small door dings and dents or hard to get at damages. Heats your friend!!

The Old Tinbasher

 

Oh, I thought you were praising dents.