How to Repair Dents on Your Car

So yes, accidents do happen. But you just can’t go over it, especially if you always see the dent on your car’s body. You can’t simply take your eyes off it. But do not worry too much. You do not have to rush to a repair shop and spend hundreds of dollars to have it fixed. Repairing dents is easy and you can actually do it on your own. Read through and follow the steps below.

1. First, try to pull out the dent to level with the rest of the panel. Putting it back in place requires either pushing the bump from the back, or pulling the dent from the surface level.
2. If you have access on the rear panel, a reliable method of pulling out the dent is through the use of dolly and hammer. Place the appropriate dolly on the area to be pulled out while you hammer that exact spot from the rear. As you push a spot forward, you might need to use various sizes of dolly to properly contour the dent to the surface level. To put back the surface from its original position, or at least close to it, you might need someone to hold the dolly in place since a jolting dolly while you hammer can cause a bad contour on the panel. If you hammered a spot excessively and it went beyond the surface level, do not panic. Just work the other way around by placing the dolly on the rear, while you gently hammer the outside.
3. On the other hand, if you do not have access on the rear of the panel, you will need to create holes into the dent by drilling it. Begin at the center of the dent, then the surrounding spots needed. It works by attaching screws to the holes then pulling back the dent. Although the result of this method will not mirror the original smoothness and evenness of the panel, you do not have to worry since you will be using body filler later on. If you pulled the dent beyond the surface level, just hammer the spot to push it back.
4. Afterwards, sand the surface using 120 grit sandpaper.
5. Clean the area with a lacquer thinner to remove dust and grease.
6. Apply body filler to level the damaged area to the panel. It is advisable to go a little beyond the surface level then feathering it out while you move away from the dented area.
7. When the filler completely dries up, smooth the surface using 120 grit sandpaper. Use the appropriate sanding blocks to work on the smoothness.
8. You can then apply two coats of high build primer. Let the first coat dry before applying another. If scratches or small holes appear, just fill them with glaze compound to cover them up.
9. When the high build primer dries, sand using a 320 grit paper and then 600 grit paper afterwards.
10. Clean the surface again then spray two coats of regular primer. Again, it is important to let one coat dry first before putting on another.
11. Gently wipe the area again with lacquer thinner. And then, spray two to three coats of paint.
12. As finishing touches, apply rubbing compound when the paint completely dries up. You can also wax and buff afterwards.

So yes, accidents do happen. But you just can’t go over it, especially if you always see the dent on your car’s body. You can’t simply take your eyes off it. But do not worry too much. You do not have to rush to a repair shop and spend hundreds of dollars to have it fixed. Repairing dents is easy and you can actually do it on your own. Read through and follow the steps below.

1. First, try to pull out the dent to level with the rest of the panel. Putting it back in place requires either pushing the bump from the back, or pulling the dent from the surface level.
2. If you have access on the rear panel, a reliable method of pulling out the dent is through the use of dolly and hammer. Place the appropriate dolly on the area to be pulled out while you hammer that exact spot from the rear. As you push a spot forward, you might need to use various sizes of dolly to properly contour the dent to the surface level. To put back the surface from its original position, or at least close to it, you might need someone to hold the dolly in place since a jolting dolly while you hammer can cause a bad contour on the panel. If you hammered a spot excessively and it went beyond the surface level, do not panic. Just work the other way around by placing the dolly on the rear, while you gently hammer the outside.
3. On the other hand, if you do not have access on the rear of the panel, you will need to create holes into the dent by drilling it. Begin at the center of the dent, then the surrounding spots needed. It works by attaching screws to the holes then pulling back the dent. Although the result of this method will not mirror the original smoothness and evenness of the panel, you do not have to worry since you will be using body filler later on. If you pulled the dent beyond the surface level, just hammer the spot to push it back.
4. Afterwards, sand the surface using 120 grit sandpaper.
5. Clean the area with a lacquer thinner to remove dust and grease.
6. Apply body filler to level the damaged area to the panel. It is advisable to go a little beyond the surface level then feathering it out while you move away from the dented area.
7. When the filler completely dries up, smooth the surface using 120 grit sandpaper. Use the appropriate sanding blocks to work on the smoothness.
8. You can then apply two coats of high build primer. Let the first coat dry before applying another. If scratches or small holes appear, just fill them with glaze compound to cover them up.
9. When the high build primer dries, sand using a 320 grit paper and then 600 grit paper afterwards.
10. Clean the surface again then spray two coats of regular primer. Again, it is important to let one coat dry first before putting on another.
11. Gently wipe the area again with lacquer thinner. And then, spray two to three coats of paint.
12. As finishing touches, apply rubbing compound when the paint completely dries up. You can also wax and buff afterwards.