Auto dent removal

Joe Bass

Joe Bass

*probably eating right now*
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Driving to work on Monday some
jack@$$ didn't clear ice off the roof of their car and a sheet flew off and damaged my hood.
Gave my kid the dash cam and the files from that day are corrupted (don't buy a $25 dash cam), so it looks like I'm on my own.
The truck is a 2005 so I don't wanna spend much to repair it. In fact, I can leave it be and be okay with. But then I started wondering if any of the fine GTAM members might have access to one of those dent suction cup repair thingies and might wanna help a brother out.
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Joe Bass said:
Driving to work on Monday some
jack@$$ didn't clear ice off the roof of their car and a sheet flew off and damaged my hood.
Gave my kid the dash cam and the files from that day are corrupted (don't buy a $25 dash cam), so it looks like I'm on my own.
The truck is a 2005 so I don't wanna spend much to repair it. In fact, I can leave it be and be okay with. But then I started wondering if any of the fine GTAM members might have access to one of those dent suction cup repair thingies and might wanna help a brother out.
3d9e4528c88fe315ba158f316017100e.jpg


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Try the boiling water trick

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Any chance you can get to it from inside the engine compartment and carefully push it out? Or perhaps by taking off the front grill and reaching in from there?

Just a thought if you can’t get a hold of a dent puller tool or the boiling water trick doesn’t work.


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Robbo said:
Any chance you can get to it from inside the engine compartment and carefully push it out? Or perhaps by taking off the front grill and reaching in from there?

Just a thought if you can’t get a hold of a dent puller tool or the boiling water trick doesn’t work.


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Underneath is right where all the reinforcement pieces(?) are. So no go to push from the underside.
What's the "boiling water" trick? @boots
(heading to Google now)

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Joe Bass said:
Underneath is right where all the reinforcement pieces(?) are. So no go to push from the underside.
What's the "boiling water" trick? @boots
(heading to Google now)

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Boil some water and pour it on the dent. It will pop the dent back out sometimes.

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You might be able to snake in a prybar from the hole around the hood latch and pop it out. That would be last resort, as you might do more harm than good prying on it. Nonetheless those Pilot hoods are tough to reach from inside.

At least the paint hasn't chipped or bubbled from what I can see from the picture. You can buy the PDR kits on Amazon pretty cheap to try it yourself.

For probably like $100, a PDR guy should be able to pull that out without too much trouble.
 
@48Connor unfortunately there is a crack in the paint. It seems to holding together because of the 3M clear hood protector.

Picking up a Bondo suction dent puller at PartSource today. Ten bucks. Will use the boiling water and suction method.
Anyone think the 3M film will be a problem when I do this?

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Joe Bass said:
@48Connor unfortunately there is a crack in the paint. It seems to holding together because of the 3M clear hood protector.

Picking up a Bondo suction dent puller at PartSource today. Ten bucks. Will use the boiling water and suction method.
Anyone think the 3M film will be a problem when I do this?

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Oh man I didn't even see that chip/crease at the front. That might be tough.

Good luck with the dent pulling.
 
There are a lot of youtube videos on the subject using everything from hot water to hot melt glue. One major part of the process is working the dent from the right spot so it doesn't create a new damage line. Think of it in terms of massaging the dent out rather than forcing it out.

For the paint crack, all you can do short of a repaint is seal it to prevent rust.
 
nobbie48 said:
There are a lot of youtube videos on the subject using everything from hot water to hot melt glue. One major part of the process is working the dent from the right spot so it doesn't create a new damage line. Think of it in terms of massaging the dent out rather than forcing it out.

For the paint crack, all you can do short of a repaint is seal it to prevent rust.
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Be sure to do this ASAP as exposed metal will begin to rust VERY quickly
 
SVeezy said:
Be sure to do this ASAP as exposed metal will begin to rust VERY quickly
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He's already got a sheet of 3M over the crack. Assuming it didn't tear, I would just leave it. Fixing it properly (remove 3M, sand, paint, clear, apply 3M) would cost more than its worth on an '05.
 
GreyGhost said:
He's already got a sheet of 3M over the crack. Assuming it didn't tear, I would just leave it. Fixing it properly (remove 3M, sand, paint, clear, apply 3M) would cost more than its worth on an '05.
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Oh agreed 100%. I was simply suggesting if the 3M is torn best to put some touch up paint on the bare metal ASAP as you will begin to see rust in as little as one day.
 
DemonPig said:
Joe, it's too bad that it happened but let's be honest here - a Pilot is not a truck. Capiche?
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Lolz
To be fair, iirc consumer reports put the '05 up against a trailbazer and an Explorer and it beat both. If I had my way I would have another minivan.

**not great at multiquote so will address some posts here**

The 3M coating is open/ apart/ chipped. Will be doing a light sand / primer/ colour match after the dent is addressed.

I YouTubed some options. Went out and bought a Bondo suction dent puller. Poured boiling water and went to town. Couldn't do a damn thing. The dent will not allow the cup to grip. I mounted it on a flat surface, slid it over the dent and pulled but I couldn't get it to come up.

Thinking of buying a big @$$ bug deflector and just cover it up. Wanna make it look passable, but don't wanna spend too much coin as it is a 2005. However, Only 250k on it. I figure I can get another 50k/ 5 years out of it.

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Joe Bass said:
If I had my way I would have another minivan.
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Joe, for the most part I read a lot of threads and by the time I get to them there are usually enough posts with my pov that I don't bother adding more. I have found myself agreeing with your pov many times and even laughing at much of what you offer, but for the love of all things good and holy I have never once heard a man say that he wants a minivan. This is like saying, "oh no, that's okay I don't want any more bacon." Purely scandalous that.

Hope you manage to pull your dent. That's what she said.
 
If you're keeping it for another 5 years then just pay a pro to fix it. I'd say around $300-400 if you're not too anal about paint matching 100% (as in the hood may be slightly off compared to the rest of the body).

Clearly it bothers you. When something bothers me I generally take care of it. If you cover it up, you will still know that it's there, possibly rusting away. Fix it!
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