Why the Hail did this happen to Me!

[DIESELMAN]

AHHH! Yesterday it hailed. I don't need to say more. The damage is light but I have about 15-20 small dings. You have to look at the right angle to see them but I Know they are there. It Really Pi$$e$ me off!



You people in Hail Country, what have you found to be the best way to have hail dents removed?



Suck 'em, Freeze 'em, hit 'em or Forget 'em??

 

[JHansen]

Oh man I feel for you-I got caught in a hailstorm when my truck was 3 months old. I almost cried... ..... but the only damage I could find was one of the stainless cab pillar pieces sustained a few dings-I suspect because it was "floating" above the sheetmetal on a couple pieces of 2-sided tape. Still haven't gotten around to swapping it off even though the new one has been here for quite some time now... ...



Sorry-no advice on how to get the dings out though... ... .



Jason

 

[Todd G]

My truck is in the body shop right now for hail damage. I had over a 100 dings. I couldn't believe how many there were after I noticed the first few. It's been in the shop for a week and a half now and they say it should be done on the 30th.



They said the only way to repair them is with a torch. Of course this ruins the paint so you get new paint. I checked on mine yesterday and it was primer from mid-door on up. I didn't even recognize my baby. Oh well, at least it will have a fresh coat of paint.

 

[Pit Bull]

I had over $3000 in hail damage to my truck this spring. I tried dry ice that did not work. The body shops wanted $3200 to fix my truck. The paint-less dent repair wanted $700 for the hood and front fenders, the rest is real hard to see. I'm keeping the $2800 that I got from my insurance company and will use it on my truck, tires, transmission upgrade, etc. Don't get me wrong the dents bother me but most people don't even notice them until I point them out. If it was a sport or luxury car I would have it fixed but not the truck. Function over perfection



If I was going to have it fixed I would go the paint-less dent repair route. Cheaper and it does not affect the paint, also no body putty.

 

[Casey Balvert]

We don't get much hail our way but when we do it can do major damage. A few years ago it was into the hundreds of millions. Thousands of acres under glass around here. Somehow my vehicles escaped. Just ordered a cover for the truck. That should at least provide some protection because she sure will not fit in the garage. Cheers. Casey

 

[Deezul1]

Several guys have posted that the "paintless" dent repair worked really good. It will depend on the guy with the tool and how much experience he has. I watched one of those guys work out a bad door ding in a fender and it was amazing. If you didnt know where to look you couldnt find it.

 

[DIESELMAN]

The dents are small, should be fixable, I'll price both ways and might just do as Pit Bull did.



My '98 got wacked real bad, so I used the Hot Air system... . Took it to a Dealer in Phoenix on a 117 degree July day and traded it in, parked in the sun for the trade in evaluation, that took 30 seconds! Got the new '01 truck that eventually became this truck which now HAS HAIL DENTS! AAAHHHH!



What comes around goes around,,,,, here it comes



Pit Bull, how well did that work?



All mine are on the hood and roof. I'm just going to extend the bed liner over the rails. Sides and fenders were untouched, though I'm getting stone chips where the 2 tone paint would have been had I got it. ( 5000 miles, 30% on dirt)

 

[Pit Bull]

Diesel Man, I agree. Keep the money or just spend what it costs to do the paint-less dent repair to the hood and the front fenders. Don't wait to long, like I did. At least with me now after 6 months of living with the dents I can't part with the $700 to have the hood and 3 or 4 dings I have in the front fenders fixed. I figure that if I do have it done something else will happen

 

[BCFAST]

I'm a Dent Guy!

Have a good dent guy fix it... . you get to keep your original paint with no bondo or excuses!! And dont forget the icing: he'll/she'll be done on the same day so you can continue to enjoy you NEW truck (you lucky dog!). Chin up, brother... it aint no thing.



Brian

 

[Fireman]

John,



Two national companies "Dent Wizzard" and "Press-A-Dent" do a tremendous amount of hail damage. I know that Dent Wizzard charges by the panel not the dent. If you have a good guy doing the work this would probably be the way to go-lower cost and no problem with paint matching or paint quality. I've used DW and was satisfied with the price and the results. Bear in mind though that regardless of what you do it will never be just like new. Sorry, if it had happened I would have probably hurlrd on the spot !:--)







Fireman

 

[Fireman]

OH,BTW who can see the roof anyway?



Fireman

 

[DIESELMAN]

Fireman, what do you mean 'see', its a telekenetic thing, I KNOW they are there!



The angle of the storm left 7 smallish dents in the hood, and 12-15 slightly larger on the roof.



I'm really rough on trucks, hell I've had a '76 '77 '82 '84 '87 '89 '91 '94 '96 '00 '01 Fords at 60K+ miles per year, and '98 '01 and '03 Dodge, the fords are disposable trucks, F150 and F250's I use for work, and junk after 2 years.



You know what they say, 9 out of 10 Fords ever made are still on the road, then I walked to the dealer and bought another one!



The Dodge's are supposed to last me, I've just kept upgrading, and only upgraded to the '03 with my wifes blessing that this would be my 'Retirement' truck. ( I'm calling it a carrer at 45! , yeah right, the wife's just gonna have to keep workin a little longer!).



I just wish it waited for my first scratch, Arizona Pinstripe, Door Ding or something, not 6 weeks after getting it!



Guess I'll be needing that new paint job, and the pinstriping, and the flares, can't wait for the new tires, need to paint the trailer and ATV's to match, oh, and new wheels, the old antenna mounts just wont be right, that new bumper should be available by February, my old winch is really dirty, damn dear, when it rains it pours, look at all the stuff I gotta 'fix' because of the hailstorm

 

[Fireman]

John,



I've never got to make the first payment before some disaster strikes. On my '01 a pedestrian hit it with somethig blount making a dent worse than any door ding then that night a tree limb fell on it producing a mega dent. I got my first one on the'03 two weeks or so ago when an air hose got loose and whipped the coupling into the rt. rear door:{ and it was my own carlessness this time . My dad has a Hickory tree near his drive, and one day my old truck was clobbered with Hickory nuts( hood and roof) I fixed the hood and nobody else ever knew there were dimples on the roof. My wife keeps telling me it's just a truck, maybe, it is, and it just cost twice as much as my first house. You fixin' to retire? for real? I was going to retire this year untill they changed the rules on me , I'll probably be here 3-4 more years. What you gonna do with yourself when you don't have to punch the clock anymore?



Fireman

 

[DIESELMAN]

Fireman -



Actually, I don't punch the clock now. Salaried at my main job, it pays all the bills. I have a second business, I'm typing on it right now, wireless ISP systems. And a third, consulting, its what you do when everyone considers you a know-it-all pain in the ass!



I put away dollar for dollar, so in theory, I should be able to quit one job or the other by 45, and just be that annoying guy who owns the business and drops in once in awhile. Sometimes I wished I had a plan to work in but this is working out.



Besides, my wife likes working! I think?



Primary job and consulting is networked communications systems engineering. I build Military, Private and Public Safety communications networks and communications systems. The past few years I've been taking on only those jobs that are fun and pay well. Been going to Alaska for two years now, its great to be paid to do something you enjoy!



Besides, my younger brother is a cop, he plans to retire about the same time, I have to beat him to the punch (read that double dipping public servant)! I look at retirement as just time to do something more fun, won't stop working though. With three kids to put through college, I'll still need business interests.



BTW, mines paid for, but it still hurts, at least I carry full and comp insurance, not just liability like many others do.



This reply was more like I TRIED TO BY-PASS THE CUSSING FILTER chat and off subject, should have PM'd you, but hey, it is MY thread after all!

 

[rbattelle]

Well, it finally happened to me. I've got around a dozen hail dings, mostly on the hood and roof, with a few here and there on the driver side.

Here's the crazy part - I don't let anyone drive this truck, so I don't want to take it anywhere to have the dents repaired (if repairing them even falls under my deductable). Am I going "too far" in my obsession?

I was thinking of trying dry ice on the dings in the hood and the side, but leaving the roof alone.

I'd be interested in hearing opinions and experiences with this kind of thing. Insurance adjustor hasn't been out yet.

-Ryan

 

[mc130fox]

Never mind.

 

[Hoefler]

I have used regular ice in a bucket with water and a towel. On a hot sunny day, take the towel soaking wet with ice water and put it on the spots to quench the hot sheet metal. It will remove or greatly reduce the hail dents. The darker the color vehicle, the better it works, but it will work on white, just takes a few more dousings.

 

[HBarlow]

Lots of hail dings will slowly disappear without effort over time. The daily heat and cool cycle will slowly shrink them.

Collect the big damage check from your insurance company and use it to pay down yout truck note or to buy something you need.

 

[Mark31]

Collect the big damage check from your insurance company and use it to pay down yout truck note or to buy something you need. [/QUOTE]



Yeah, Uncle Harvey! Somebody backed into my repainted 88 S15 GMC's door and put a good pooch in it. We put a good suction on it and got most of it out. I cried all the way to the bank!! Mark

 

[MChildress]

Man this is an oldie. I ended up with $3500 worth of damage on my 04 a few years back. My 95 truck parked right beside the 04 had no damage. This was only quarter size hail but it looked like a ball peen hammer had worked the truck over. I know they are trying to lighten the vehicles up but they have got the body metal whey to thin now days.