Why DIY Paintless Dent Removal Is A Bad Idea

dent-removal

There are times when however careful a driver you are, your vehicle is going to get a dent or a ding either from other cars, or accidental collision when backing into parking spaces. All of these impacts to the bodywork of your car or van, is going to have an impact on your wallet. Tempting though it may be to try to carry out the repair yourself, it can end up costing you more in the long run. Calling the experts of paintless dent removal in Melbourne should be the first point of call. Take a look below and see why DIY paintless dent removal is not such a good idea.

Damage to the paint work

Paintless dent removal is just what it says on the tin, because this method of repair when carried out by professionals, means that the car paintwork is not chipped, removed or lifted in any way. If the metal has not been creased or folded, then it can be put back to its original shape without overstretching the metal skin. For those who attempt to carry this out using DIY methods, there is a real danger that paintwork can become damaged. This is because unless you are an expert you can easily push out a dent too far, which can cause the paint to crack or bubble, and then you are faced not just with a repair bill but a respray job. Though you maintain your car regularly basis you have to contact experts.

Making a bad situation worse

You may have had friends tell you that use of DIY kits are the best way to get rid of dints and dings. One of the ways they may advise is, that because you are dealing with a metal skin, by pouring boiling water on the dent this will make the metal softer allowing you to “pop” the surface back into shape. What they fail to tell you is that dents don’t go away but can bubble out to the other side of the metal skin. Also, if the ding has caused the structure of the metal framework to be compromised, allowing water to enter the metal work can lead to rust and further damage which will cost a lot more to repair.

DIY Kits

Another option is to try to buy one of the DIY dental removal kits readily available on the market. The more expensive kits will have a number of tools that the professionals use for the removal of a paintless dent. Melbourne professionals however have the facilities and know how in order to gain access to the inside of the car body panels. It is not just getting access, but you will probably have to remove pieces of trim without damaging them and then put back the trim pieces when you have finished. Unless you know exactly what you are doing, you can snap or scratch exterior trim or even break off the parts that attach this back to the body work.

Overstretching the metal

One of the important points to remember is that metal does hold its shape but only up to a certain point. If you are trying to attach a tool to the affected area and then pull out the dint, it does take experience and skill to get this right. Even if the dent looks to be a fairly shallow one, without any fracture to the surface of the metal – once you start a little DIY dent removal and if you get it wrong, it will be visible to everyone. Even if you use a shaping tool to hold the metal in place while you start to massage the metal surface to push the dent back, the temptation is to try to go for the flawless perfect look. Amateurs are prone to doing this and end up working on the area over and over until they manage to stretch the metal, so now you have a flabby area on the bodywork of the car. This is one material that does not shrink back into place so you will be stuck with poor repair and visible evidence of overpulling.

Lack of proper tools and equipment

If you decide not to go for a DIY kit bought from the local store, there is a temptation to use the tools that you have to hand in your own workshop or home. Don’t even go there because even if you think that you can use a sink plunger to latch onto the dent and pop it out, or a heat source such as a hairdryer to try to make the metal more malleable, it will end up looking like a botch job. You can also end up leaving visible push marks across the bodywork due to being a little over aggressive when trying to remove the dent.

Living with the mistakes

It takes a lot of effort to learn how to carry out paintless dent repair as the professionals have spent a lot of time and effort learning their craft. The factory finish on your car once it has not been worked on by a professional, will be very evident and you cannot get it back to its original state. When it comes to trying to sell on the vehicle the patch job you have done, it will be quickly picked up by any potential buyers. Not only have you wasted your time and effort, along with buying any paintless DIY kits, but you have to look at your mistake every time you get in and out of the vehicle. Plus, you will have reduced the value of the car not to mention the overall look.

Time to call in the professionals who have technicians trained in the technique of the paintless dent removal. Melbourne based panel workshops have the premises, the know-how and the specialist tools to press out and massage the damaged part of the panel from behind the dent. They also maintain the manufacturers paintwork finish while restoring the metal to its original shape so forget the DIY and give the experts a call.