Saturday, 23 April 2011

Dent Removal on the Cheap - Macgyver Style

Ever had a big dent from someone leaning on your car or doing something stupid and causing a big dent? I had this problem a few years ago on my old 1994 Toyota Corolla. I didn't have auto insurance, had way to much debt and I was too cheap to get it repaired by a proper workshop. Since I still wanted to woo the ladies,  I "borrowed" the IT guy's compressed air can, got my room mates hair dryer and followed a similar technique to the following you tube clip, to get my car back to its former glory.

Method :

1. Heat up the dented area with the hair dryer for at least a minute on a high setting, Usually your paint can withstand the heat from the hair dryer. This should get the metal soft for the next bit.

2. Now turn the compressed air can upside down and spray the area of the dent from the center outwards in a circular motion. You should hear a pop and hopefully the dent will be restored to its former glory.

This worked for me however I tried it on a friends car who had a dent with a crease in it. This didn't work. Also smaller dents don't work either.

This method works on large shallow dents, anything smaller than a baseball or shallower that 1/4" wont pop so easily. It is the ratio of metal thickness to surface area that is critical and also what's behind the dent as insulation material or stiffeners may also stop this working.  So try this method and if it doesn't work get your insurance to cover it or take it to a cheap PDR place and get them to knock it out. 



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56 comments:

  1. Minecraftblogger23 April 2011 at 07:39

    Looks pretty sweet (:

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  2. Legnox23 April 2011 at 08:41

    That. Is. Amazing!

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  3. GADAFINY23 April 2011 at 10:14

    cool and chip

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  4. fit4life23 April 2011 at 10:34

    that, is brilliant!!

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  5. N4M3L3SS23 April 2011 at 11:07

    wow that was like magic

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  6. Anonymous23 April 2011 at 12:02

    Great post,
    Ill give you a cheezburger friend.
    Hope everyone supports this blog as well.

    Jake

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  7. WhitUK23 April 2011 at 15:46

    good info thanks

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  8. Al3xaG23 April 2011 at 18:12

    Wow! good to know this, surely will be useful someday.

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  9. Marian23 April 2011 at 19:05

    useful as always

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  10. nowaysj23 April 2011 at 22:20

    Bought a used accord a few years back, the second night I owned it, someone jumped onto my hood in the middle of the night, left 4 shallow depressions.

    Talk about depression! Wish I would have known about this trick, I spent the next day with a hammer and towel hammering them out. Still can see them if you're looking.

    Really wish I knew about this!

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  11. Tom23 April 2011 at 22:32

    That was awesome! I almost want to dent my car just so I can try it haha!

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  12. Butcher Bradley24 April 2011 at 02:04

    Good post, I'll make sure to do that if it ever happens to me.

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  13. Lich24 April 2011 at 02:24

    That's going to come in really handy with the way I drive :)

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  14. JayPower24 April 2011 at 03:57

    Damn thats amazing technology, could use one of these badboys ;D

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  15. **Hype.Planet**24 April 2011 at 04:12

    thnks for the information!

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  16. elexerdelex24 April 2011 at 04:14

    @Mike
    hahaha I wanted to say that aswell!

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  17. Unknown24 April 2011 at 04:42

    I hope I will never need to remove dents :P But if it happen I will try this definitely.

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  18. Rocka-Rolla24 April 2011 at 05:52

    Humm, I might actually try that on my old car :)

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  19. 13-c-a-t-s24 April 2011 at 09:32

    My grandfather took the dent out of the roof of a rolled car doing something similar only he used a blowtorch

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  20. The Satirical Swashbuckler24 April 2011 at 10:41

    Sweet! I really am going to do this on one I have

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  21. Jay Reid24 April 2011 at 12:00

    I'll show my father this, good tip.

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  22. freightblog24 April 2011 at 15:42

    i hope this works

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  23. Gambling Degenerate24 April 2011 at 17:45

    lol, macgyver style made me laugh

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  24. CandleintheDark24 April 2011 at 18:30

    woooah, awesome!

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  25. Nope24 April 2011 at 19:46

    That's a pretty good idea. I have a dent in my car that I don't mind so much but its too small to use this on, shame.

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  26. The Greener Side25 April 2011 at 11:25

    Molecular expension physics at its finest. Nicely done. Was that you in the vid too?

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  27. Anonymous25 April 2011 at 12:27

    i did this once on my car, unfortunatly the dent was too small and wouldn't pop out. put still useful +1 follower

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  28. Deadlock25 April 2011 at 12:53

    dont have a car but LOVE mcguyver...

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  29. Zach25 April 2011 at 12:55

    Wow that is awesome

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  30. Blog Hunt25 April 2011 at 18:00

    i wrote this down so i dont forget.

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  31. The Old Master25 April 2011 at 18:08

    bravo! bravo ms talente!

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  32. SpeedNSave25 April 2011 at 18:12

    The Greener Side -> No that wasn't me, i was skeptical when it was the first time i tried so didnt try record it. The second time with the crease however we were all prepped, polished the car etc.. however it failed :P
    Found this off a search on youtube.

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  33. Elliot MacLeod-Michael25 April 2011 at 21:31

    there's a big shallow dent that's been on my car since i bought it. if i can overcome my laziness enough to try this i will.
    +followed

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  34. J.R.25 April 2011 at 23:15

    Will have to try this next time some jagoff dings my car.

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  35. Blk Jesus26 April 2011 at 04:01

    thanks for the tip ill have to remember this

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  36. Dootzkie26 April 2011 at 05:02

    The greatness of the power of information that internet provides at it's finest!

    Glad i stumbled on ya!

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  37. nowaysj26 April 2011 at 10:28

    Think I might just go dent my car to try this out!

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  38. Just Me27 April 2011 at 01:31

    damm that was awesome

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  39. **Hype.Planet**27 April 2011 at 04:58

    Great info, thanks!

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  40. Boss27 April 2011 at 05:33

    Macgyver's my hero haha

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  41. berlinblogger27 April 2011 at 06:53

    thats brilliant man!

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  42. Erasmus27 April 2011 at 10:50

    Tbh, I can't help but be a bit of a skeptic. Does the hair dryer really "soften the metal"? I'd be amazed if it really had any effect. Could be solid otherwise though, and it sounds like it worked well for you. I'm probably just pragmatic.

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  43. nowaysj28 April 2011 at 11:15

    Dude, I want more MacGyver tricks for my car!

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  44. WhitUK28 April 2011 at 12:23

    Used this technique only the other day after seeing this !!! awesome video man +kudos

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  45. Marian28 April 2011 at 15:52

    this could've saved me a lot of money. well... better that i know now than never.

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  46. Atley28 April 2011 at 22:22

    I love an easy cheap fix. kinda fun to do too!

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  47. nowaysj29 April 2011 at 11:51

    Moar! plx!

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  48. christopherson29 April 2011 at 12:28

    wow. this blog is excellent.

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  49. $ome Music29 April 2011 at 12:29

    macgyver style.

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  50. The Red Room29 April 2011 at 12:30

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  51. The Old Master29 April 2011 at 18:14

    Thanks!

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  52. Lealeepo1 May 2011 at 07:38

    These are some useful advice. Will see if i will ever need this.

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  53. Unknown1 May 2011 at 08:32

    That looks so sketchy lol MacGyver Style lol

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  54. CandleintheDark1 May 2011 at 20:04

    This is awesome! Seriously fkin smart

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  55. nowaysj2 May 2011 at 10:47

    Waiting for part deux.

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  56. The Awesome Alien3 May 2011 at 05:44

    my auto body teacher would do this with out co2 instead he would use a damp towel co2 will kill the clear coat if you over do it

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