Paintless Bodywork

[rrausch]

Anyone know anybody in So. Cal. who is good at doing Paintless Bodywork?



I acquired a dent on my door last night! A good sized dent. Happened while I was away from the truck so I'm not sure what happened. No paint was scratched, just a big dent pushed in. It looks to me like it could be pushed back out by somebody really good. I took it to the bodyshop and was quoted $1,000. 16 to have a new door skin put on. (yikes!)



Anybody got any ideas?

 

[Kimrey]

I'm across country from you but I imangine this would be everywhere. Look in the yellow pages for a "dent wizerd" or some type of dent removal service. There are plenty of people here in N. C. that do that type of work. As far as cost, it would probably run anywhere from $100 and up. I hope this helps!

 

[Pit Bull]

Had a dent the size of a small football less than a 1/2 inch deep take out of a Lexus rear quarter for $95. 00 at one of though places a couple of years ago. Could not tell it was there when they were done. Was told by the owner that Lexus, Mercedes, and Toyota were the easiest to work on. The metal was more plyable. Said Dodge and Chryler were the worst. Metal on Dodge is very hard. Let us know how it goes.

 

[ReggieRam]

Why Can't People Park Around Big Trucks?

Why the heck can't people in CA park around big trucks? Every time I visit out there, it seems like I come home with a new dent or usually a scratch. Sure, I drive a duallie, and people give me wierd looks and plug their ears when I drive down the street, but does that mean that they should just bang their doors into my pretty truck? I think not! I try to be careful, back into spaces, park at the far end of the lot where nobody else is, but it doesn't seem to help. My last visit for Xmas, I came home with a three inch vertical Explorer Red stripe on my duallie fender. didn't cost me anything but a lot of time, rubbing compound, and wax to get it out, but it still really bugs me. My truck is worth a lot more than a Fourrunner, so back off! Sorry that this is unrelated, but seeing where you're from and what your problem is with the fresh dent just tee'd me off. Hope you have luck getting the dent out.

 

[Barry]

It works really well on small dents. I don't know about big dents. It does not work well on old paint that is brittle.

 

[BCFAST]

Ive been a dent guy for 10 years... sorry we're 3000 miles apart. Sorry to hear about your trouble... for me, the size of the dent isnt nearly so important as the shape and depth. To explain metal working in simple form, I equate the skin of your door to pizza dough. You know how the guy starts with a 5" blob of dough and stretches it thin and big? Same thing with the door skin: if you push it in too far, it stretches... then it's too big to make flat again... more material than what's supposed to fit in the space. Or even a small ding: if it's sharp-looking, like someone tried to drive a nail into it... the bottom of that little cone is all stretched out. There are some tricks of the trade to deal with the extra skin, however. The other scourage is body lines, and rounded panels/corners. As for finding a dent guy locally, PLEASE dont just call Dent Doctor or some big franchise... the work is done by hand. . meaning you are at the mercy of the skill, pride and experience of the individual technician. I suggest asking a couple of upscale auto dealerships... . and when you go, bypass the sales people, go around back to the clean-up area and ask there. If I can answer any questions or more advise, PM me!

Brian

 

[The Sequel]

One of the guys who works for me had a small tree branch fall on the hood of his Jeep Wrangler at work. The dent was at least 6 inches around, 1 inch deep and on the curve of the hood. He had a guy come and fix it for around $90. The guy worked on it for a long time, but when he was done, you couldn't tell it was ever there.