Tuesday 7 July 2009

Can I Repair A Dent In My Car Bodywork Without Painting?

By Mario Goldstein

In the fine art of paintless dent removal, there is more of a fine art involved than you might think. Not only does it require good training skills, it also requires the touch.

The tools used for this procedure are long and delicate, to allow access to difficult to reach places. One wrong move can cause a wrinkle in the surface, making a highpoint that is visible when looking at the smoothness of the surface.

Wrinkled metal is one of the most difficult, if not, almost impossible repairs to do, it all depends on the force of the slip.Most often you get one chance only in paintless dent removal, it is a finesse job that requires great skill, combined with a lot of knowledge and a gentle touch.

Gaining Access When doing paintless dent removal, the first thing that has to be done is to gain access, whether it is the hood, roof, door, trunk, or quarter panel. Once access is gained, you have to select the right tool, not forgetting the length, tip size and diameter when you are selecting that tool.

Starting the Repair Once you have started the repair, delicate, and precise movements are required, many times over, it?s the repetition that works the area. The metal can?t be pushed, it has to be "coaxed" back into its original position, and ?coaxed" is the right word being you can only remove small amounts of metal at a time. There are four major types of damage, and different ways to repair each of them. The standard dent is reversed by a massaging action at the center. For a crease, you use work from left to right, while gently applying. If you start with the smallest dent you can repair double rings can be repaired by starting.

The best way to start with is the smaller area then move to the larger one. Once you have repaired about 90 % of the damage, then you need to work on the distortion evident in the larger dent.

The trick of doing the actual repair is to get the light right on the painted side of the surface. You have already got your tool in place from the other side and now you are ready to get into the finer work.

You need to find the precision point of the tip of the tool. To do this shining the light in the same direction stand perpendicular to the crease. . Don?t work at an angle as the surface will look distortedLooking for the tool tip is like stretching a piece of foil and running your fingernail across it from the other side. When you are repairing the surface, you can see the tool tip you gently move it back and forth, much like the fingernail example. Start at the center, and apply pressure steadily, in finite strokes. The larger the dent, the less pressure you need.

Completing the job. If you did have to make a hole to gain entry, apply sealant as a paint protector and continue to mend the hole.

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