Help With Hail Damage

tjwhitford · 04-03-2011, 06:10 PM

I recently got my new red Z stuck out in a hail storm. The only damage seems to be several (20 or so) very small hail dents to the roof. I believe this is because the roof is aluminum but the hood and back are steel. I am having the insurance adjuster with State Farm out tomorrow to have a look. Has anybody had any experience with this and what did you have to do to get it fixed/replace?. Thanks for any help. This seriously blows to have to deal with this on my new freaking awesome car.

christian370z · 04-03-2011, 06:17 PM

With less severe cases, there are hail damage specialists who are basically very good at paintless dent removal. Since you don't have too many, a reputable PDR specialist can most likely remove them. If it is more severe, you might have to have the roof sheet metal replaced but I doubt your case is that bad.

I recommend waiting on State Farm's verdict, but you can get a PDR person to give you a quote at no charge in the mean time.

azn370z · 04-03-2011, 06:28 PM

You got it backwards, roof is metal. How big was the hail?

supunna_picta · 04-03-2011, 07:34 PM

This happened to me when I first moved to Colorado (not a Z car though). Basically PDR (paintless dent repair) is the way to go. There are 2 methods that they will use. 1 is to use special tools (imagine different types of slim jims) to get in behind the dent and massage it out. Usually they minimize removing panels to get in behind the metal i.e. they will go down the window sill for door dings, or pull a tail light to get up in the quarter panel. The other method they use is a sticky glue and a rivet/tack like plastic nub. They glue the nub to the dent and use a special 'gun' that pops the nub off the car which pulls the dent. They will use that method if they feel that it won't pull any paint off if the original ding didin't chip the paint or if the ding doesn't have sharp edges.

I prefer the glue method as it takes about 1 minute to do a dent and they're not pulling the car apart to get to hard to reach spots.

It's not that big of a deal at the end of the day - they'll get your car back to normal looking. Just find a reputable PDR shop.

tjwhitford · 04-03-2011, 11:14 PM

The hail was maybe marble size maybe a little bigger. Just seems like there are so many damn little dents that whatever they do it will still show a little. Thanks for your responses though. I'm hoping it comes out ok so I'll be ready to roll this summer!

supunna_picta · 04-04-2011, 12:15 AM

My car that got hail damage was my MR2 Spyder that I am pretty picky about. The front hood and the rear engine lid looked like someone went to town on it with a ball-peen hammer. The doors and every quarter panel had dents along the top edges.

I couldn't tell where any of the dents had been after the PDR - I was shocked at how good the work was. The guy fixed two dents while I was there just to give me an idea of how they do things, pretty amazing.

It's depressing to look at now but they will fix it!

Auston · 04-04-2011, 10:04 AM

I'm sure you've seen this thread- Preventing hail damage

feedback here would be good

tjwhitford · 04-05-2011, 10:14 AM

The insurance adjuster with State Farm came by yesterday. The estimate was for about $1100. They talked about PDR and I tracked down a few body shops that were recommended to me.

Glad to hear your car came out so good. I'm hoping for the same results. Thanks for all the posts guys.

Footloose301 · 05-12-2011, 08:01 PM

Just got caught it hail as well. One dent in the hood and about 8-10 in the roof. Rather minor dents and I don't think anyone would notice unless I pointed it out but it's more than enough to piss me off as I am very picky about my car. I need to find a place and get a quote. I won't file a claim because my deductible is $1000.

04-03-2011, 06:10 PM	#1 (permalink)
tjwhitford Base Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Russellville, AR Posts: 11 Drives: Nissan 370Z 2009 Rep Power: 15	Help With Hail Damage I recently got my new red Z stuck out in a hail storm. The only damage seems to be several (20 or so) very small hail dents to the roof. I believe this is because the roof is aluminum but the hood and back are steel. I am having the insurance adjuster with State Farm out tomorrow to have a look. Has anybody had any experience with this and what did you have to do to get it fixed/replace?. Thanks for any help. This seriously blows to have to deal with this on my new freaking awesome car.

04-03-2011, 06:17 PM	#2 (permalink)
christian370z A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Newport Beach Posts: 3,900 Drives: 2010 370Z/Saab 900se Rep Power: 432	With less severe cases, there are hail damage specialists who are basically very good at paintless dent removal. Since you don't have too many, a reputable PDR specialist can most likely remove them. If it is more severe, you might have to have the roof sheet metal replaced but I doubt your case is that bad. I recommend waiting on State Farm's verdict, but you can get a PDR person to give you a quote at no charge in the mean time. __________________ -320whp / 259wftlbs- SP Rays -- RE-11s -- SpecialtyZ Tune -- Swift Springs -- Stillen 25R Oil Cooler -- Stillen G3 Intakes -- Berk HFCs -- F.I. 12" CBE -- Stillen Sway Bars -- Es14 Spring -- INGS+1 lip -- CF Spoiler -- GTR Start Button -- VLED Parking Lights -- PWJDM V2 shift knob

04-03-2011, 06:28 PM	#3 (permalink)
azn370z A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Seattle Posts: 1,722 Drives: z34 - R1 Rep Power: 490	You got it backwards, roof is metal. How big was the hail? __________________ 2010 k23 H&R sport springs / Spc rear camber arms / SSR SP1 / Berk cbe / Varis cf lip / Nismo S-Tune side skirts

05-12-2011, 08:01 PM	#9 (permalink)
Footloose301 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Naples, FL Posts: 2,659 Drives: 40th Rep Power: 21	Just got caught it hail as well. One dent in the hood and about 8-10 in the roof. Rather minor dents and I don't think anyone would notice unless I pointed it out but it's more than enough to piss me off as I am very picky about my car. I need to find a place and get a quote. I won't file a claim because my deductible is $1000. __________________ 2010 40th Anniversary 370Z

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04-03-2011, 07:34 PM	#4 (permalink)
supunna_picta Base Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Englewood, CO Posts: 102 Drives: Red 370z Rep Power: 14	This happened to me when I first moved to Colorado (not a Z car though). Basically PDR (paintless dent repair) is the way to go. There are 2 methods that they will use. 1 is to use special tools (imagine different types of slim jims) to get in behind the dent and massage it out. Usually they minimize removing panels to get in behind the metal i.e. they will go down the window sill for door dings, or pull a tail light to get up in the quarter panel. The other method they use is a sticky glue and a rivet/tack like plastic nub. They glue the nub to the dent and use a special 'gun' that pops the nub off the car which pulls the dent. They will use that method if they feel that it won't pull any paint off if the original ding didin't chip the paint or if the ding doesn't have sharp edges. I prefer the glue method as it takes about 1 minute to do a dent and they're not pulling the car apart to get to hard to reach spots. It's not that big of a deal at the end of the day - they'll get your car back to normal looking. Just find a reputable PDR shop.

04-03-2011, 11:14 PM	#5 (permalink)
tjwhitford Base Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Russellville, AR Posts: 11 Drives: Nissan 370Z 2009 Rep Power: 15	The hail was maybe marble size maybe a little bigger. Just seems like there are so many damn little dents that whatever they do it will still show a little. Thanks for your responses though. I'm hoping it comes out ok so I'll be ready to roll this summer!

04-04-2011, 12:15 AM	#6 (permalink)
supunna_picta Base Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Englewood, CO Posts: 102 Drives: Red 370z Rep Power: 14	My car that got hail damage was my MR2 Spyder that I am pretty picky about. The front hood and the rear engine lid looked like someone went to town on it with a ball-peen hammer. The doors and every quarter panel had dents along the top edges. I couldn't tell where any of the dents had been after the PDR - I was shocked at how good the work was. The guy fixed two dents while I was there just to give me an idea of how they do things, pretty amazing. It's depressing to look at now but they will fix it!

04-04-2011, 10:04 AM	#7 (permalink)
Auston Track Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 764 Drives: 2009 Z34 T+S RAE Rep Power: 17	I'm sure you've seen this thread- Preventing hail damage feedback here would be good

04-05-2011, 10:14 AM	#8 (permalink)
tjwhitford Base Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Russellville, AR Posts: 11 Drives: Nissan 370Z 2009 Rep Power: 15	The insurance adjuster with State Farm came by yesterday. The estimate was for about $1100. They talked about PDR and I tracked down a few body shops that were recommended to me. Glad to hear your car came out so good. I'm hoping for the same results. Thanks for all the posts guys.