Large, creased dent in quarter panel

[BLOHS7844]

I have a very large dent in the side of my car, by the drivers door. It just barely missed the door though. I got the inside panel out but I'm having trouble getting a good angle to pound out the dent. Would you recommend drilling a hole, putting a bolt through, then putting a washer and nut on the other side and pulling it out? It's been in there since october so it probably wont just pull out straight. How would I make it perfectly straight? What would I do after that? Sorry for all the questions

 

[bryanwheat]

Is the paint messed up on it? If not than i'd look into pdr.

 

[BLOHS7844]

A small flake came off but that's about it. Are there any kits you would recommend? Very tight budget...

 

[TSIturbo91]

A picture would help on a estimation of cost to repair. And metal never goes back to it original shape after its been bent. That's what body filler is for.

Also I wouldn't drill holes unless it's necessary. That practices has been phased out of practice with pins that are welded to the surface and a slide hammer grabs it pulls it. Then ya just break off the pin, grind it down and move on to body filler.

 

[bryanwheat]

For you do do it your self you are going to have to pull it out, hammer it flat, grind off paint, bondo, sand, primer and paint. It will likely cost you more in supplies than to just take the car to a professional pdr tech and have them remove it. Take a picture of what you are working with and i can give you a rough estimate from what i've paid in the past.

 

[TSIturbo91]

Well it's agreed, we need a pic. I've never done an estimate for body work without seeing the damage. Get a few different angles for a better assessment.

 

[BLOHS7844]

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Not the best pics in the world but hopefully someone can make something out them

 

[TSIturbo91]

Ok well my question is how good do you want it to look after? I worked in a body shop for 3 years and off the top of my head I'd say your looking at the most $1200. But we used German paint and Flat rate labor as a dealership body shop and we would blend the paint into the door and trunk lid, bumper cover and roof. On average a shop should be able to fix that for around $500-$800. But it depends on cost of paint, labor, and area you live it.

Also the crease will give you the most trouble in trying to get out. When metal is bent it becomes harder. So the dent will have to be pulled while the crease is lightly hammered to relieve the stress created from the damage. But you should be able to get it looking good without needing to much work.

However I being a quarter panel dent I'd recommend a shop do it unless you were looking to learn and gather some basic body's hop tools.

 

[bryanwheat]

I highly recommend talking to some guys that do paintless dent repair. I've seen worse dents removed than that. It is usually pretty cheap also. I'd say a couple hundred bucks.

 

[dalesmitsu]

Harbor freight has good prices on tools.

 

[TSIturbo91]

I highly recommend talking to some guys that do paintless dent repair. I've seen worse dents removed than that. It is usually pretty cheap also. I'd say a couple hundred bucks.

Didnt he mention paint flaking though. So he would have a rust spot eventually once road salt got to it. Even if the primer is intact for now it won't last so paint work would prevent it from getting worse as well as look cleaner then paintless. I know a guy that does great work as a paintless dent repair specialist and maybe it's just a trained eye but in the light it's not as clean looking to me. The process of massaging the metal back into shape leaves the clear slightly uneven. That being said from 10" you can't tell so it's a matter of budge and preference really.

 

[bryanwheat]

Maybe it is the person doing it, a guy i know can do it to where you can't tell anything ever happened. When you use the stripe board on it than you can see every little high and low spot because it will distort the lines. I usually have my dents removed this way even if i am painting it just so that i don't have to use any filler.

 

[NWHTanK]

This what I use to use to get dents out its kind of expensive but its faster than a stud gun. U can get a stud gun at harbor frieght but u will need all the stuff that goes with to do autobody work. Like suitable air compresor filers primers paint sanders grinders and such. So unless u are prepared to do it more than once than take it to a shop. PDR if they cant access the dent from the back side and the glue tabs they use wont stick becuase the paint is loose then they resort to drilling holes in the body so they can use levarage bars to pop the dent out but the draw back to that is the when they are done u have plugs in the body were they drilled the hole. So with the paint chiped and the expens in tool I would recomend taking it to a auto body shop.

 

[BLOHS7844]

Ill bring it to a shop for a quote, but I really low on money at the moment