Does It Work?: Homemade Hail Dent Repairs
By: John Nolan and Stetson Samuel
Updated: May 2, 2011
Cars around the Big Country have taken a beating the past few weeks.
Car damage, whether caused by hail storms or human accident, simply put, is a pain to deal with.
Many residents have spent hundreds of dollars to take care of the destruction.
For some, professional help is necessary. However, for more minor dents and dings, there are some inexpensive methods that can allegedly alleviate the unsightly dimples, and we wanted to try them out.
First, we used a lighter, tin foil, and an air duster on the dent. We warmed the surface of the dent with the lighter using the tin foil to protect the paint on the car.Then, after 3 minutes, we immediately sprayed the area with the air duster. Unfortunately nothing happened, as the heat and cold interacted.
We tried the same method using a different heat source and a different, smaller dent. We took a hair dryer to the area, and repeated the sequence with the air duster.
The result. Nothing.
We repeated the steps for a few more of the divots, no real change was noted.
Unfortunately for the car owner, a phone call to the insurance agency would be needed.
Car damage, whether caused by hail storms or human accident, simply put, is a pain to deal with.
Many residents have spent hundreds of dollars to take care of the destruction.
For some, professional help is necessary. However, for more minor dents and dings, there are some inexpensive methods that can allegedly alleviate the unsightly dimples, and we wanted to try them out.
First, we used a lighter, tin foil, and an air duster on the dent. We warmed the surface of the dent with the lighter using the tin foil to protect the paint on the car.Then, after 3 minutes, we immediately sprayed the area with the air duster. Unfortunately nothing happened, as the heat and cold interacted.
We tried the same method using a different heat source and a different, smaller dent. We took a hair dryer to the area, and repeated the sequence with the air duster.
The result. Nothing.
We repeated the steps for a few more of the divots, no real change was noted.
Unfortunately for the car owner, a phone call to the insurance agency would be needed.
