Door ding

Blackbelt

I somehow managed to get a door ding low on the driver's side. I can't imagine how as I never park it next to anyone. A dent repair guy said he could fix it but would have to drill into the door from the inside & then massage it out. I researched door dents & dings online and found some interesting remedies. Has anyone tried heating the area with a hair dryer and then immediately dousing it with liquid CO2 from a compressed air can or holding a piece of dry ice in the center of the ding until it pops out? Has anyone had success with the dent repair kits sold at auto parts stores where you glue a plug to the center of the dent and use suction cups to slowly pull out the ding. It's about the size of a nickel and not very deep. Thanks in advance.

rench

Don't let em drill imo.... thats the easy way (thats what cheap used car lots get done and just plug the hole in the end of the door and move it on, I couldn't live with a hole)....door panels aren't that hard to get off. I don't have any experience with the others you mentioned.

polarity

Actually I've tried both of these methods on one of my old 280ZXs. It had hail damage and I was trying to get it out. The heat/cooling method works pretty well you just have to be careful about the heat on new paint. I also got "The Ding King" I think is what it was called. It was recommended on another size I visit. It did remove the dents aswell, but the glue stuff didn't come off as well as I would have liked. They send you a solution to remove the glue when you're done, but there was always a little residue left behind. For both methods there was something I didn't like but it depends on the dent. If there is a crease you can pretty much count out both of these methods for making it perfect.

I've heard alot of really good things about paintless dent repair although I've never used it.

-William

Blown32

I would be very careful and seek the opinion of a professional body shop that you know is very reputable.
The doors are aluminum also so I would take caution with any home or cheap remedies.Could cost you alot more in the long run!

kenchan

i PDR my cars when they get dinged...(im a trained tech but dont do this for business). i can tell you that if you are even thinking about taking it in for a PDR tech to fix, dont touch the ding.

the reason is dings are usually a single impact dent. if you mess with the ding it becomes a multi-impact dent + high potential for convex high spot mess. makes it that much harder to fix afterwards when you find out your limitation.

drilling the door to get a ding is normal practice for PDR if it is in a spot hard to reach. i also use glue pullers on factory painted doors when appropriate. they are time consuming but can have great results. but again, you need an experienced eye to know where to pull, how much and where to knock down after the pull.

just let the pro's do it.

MeetJoeAsian

I work at a dealership, and I've trusted my ding lifter for the past 7 years...I had both my 350Z and G35c taken cared of by this guy...yes, they drill a hole, but, it came out perfect everytime as if nothing had happened...I wouldn't want to heat and freeze my painted panel just cuz I think that will do more damage to the paint going from immediate cold/heat...drilling a hole is nothing new or nothing bad...I didn't really care about the holes they drilled on both my doors...each time I got a ding, I just took it to him, he unplugged the hole and used that hole to massage out the new ding...if you're using your car as a DD, you're gonna get dings here and there, have a professional take care of your car...

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Smallywood

Sorry to hear, I hate door dings. Hopefully you can get it taken care of with no drilling.

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earwicker7

That's why I refuse to park anywhere close to another car; I have literally parked two blocks away and walked when there wasn't a decent spot. At work I park in a place that is technically not a valid parking spot; so far nobody has said anything to me, so I'm hoping I can continue to use it. I didn't do this with my last car and it got covered in dings.

ZKindaGuy

You have to be kidding!......I had it done because the ding was right above the flat edge of the rear wheel well of the panel. The guy drilled a small 1/8" hole at the door seal to put the rod in and got the dent out. Then he painted the inside edge of the drilled hole with matching paint to seal the exposed metal and then put a small 1/4" flat black plug into the hole. When the door is closed you can't see the plug at all. And when the door is open it looks like a small black plu that was put there by the manufacturer.

It looks invisible and doesn't even distract from the car at all.

giantdefy

I was curious about dings on an aluminum paneled door. Does anyone know if its more difficult to pull out versus a metal door panel?

imag

+100

Aluminum stretches when it bends, so you *cannot* easily pop out dings like you can with steel. I am uber-bummed myself, because I have a small ding in the door and in the roof.

It is very specialized work. Only find someone who has a history of work on aluminum cars.

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PapoZalsa

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mikoto

i, i have already experienced that thing. i successfully glue a plug to the center of the dent and use suction cups to slowly pull out the ding. i found this from a wholesale parts store similar to auto parts store.

cheer up!

mikoto | miyata

kenchan

Let the pro do it.