Fixable dent + scratches on car?

Question

I have a 10-yr old Honda Civic coupe and I need to fix a dent on its door. It is not a very deep dent, but about 8" wide. My questions are as follows:
1) Autozone tried to pull it out with their suction cup, but that did not seem to work. Is there an alternative to taking it to the body shop?
2) The guy at Autozone said these things must be fixed asap or they dont pop out as easily. Is that true?
3) Is it complicated to get rid of the scratches above the tire next to the dent?
4) The plastic strip on the side of the door fell out when the car got dented. I have the intact strip, can I superglue it back?

Answer 1

There is a heat and suction method that sometimes works but I'm not sure if that was what Auto zone tried or not. Here are some backyard mechanic fixes that might work. You can use a bathroom plunger on the dent...park in direct sunlight to heat the dented surface up, or use a hairdryer on it...once its warm as possible then use a bathroom toilet plunger to try to draw the dent out. Also, shocking a dent can pop it out ...heat as warm as possible, use the plunger as above to pull pressure against the dent while pouring ice cold water over the warmed dented surface...Last resort beside taking it to a body shop would be to try to remove any internal panels and push the dent out from the inside......

So far as how long it stays dented being a factor on whether it can be pulled out successfully I'm not sure about, sounds like bunk to me but it may have some validity.

Once you get the dent pulled there is a scratch filler you can buy from auto parts dealers that fill the light surface scratches and match to the painted surface, its more like a clear polymer wax that fills the scratches your local auto parts dealer should be able to help with that...

Attaching the side moulding, you should get a more pliable glue than super glue to put it back on. 3-M weather strip adhesive I think would be the best to stand the stresses of the vehicle rattling down the road and the weather. The 3-M adhesive is better because it has a bit of give once it sets up, the super glue would be too brittlle and wouldn't work as well. Hope all I have mentioned here helps.

Answer 2

in answer to # 1 :
It all depends on whether or not the dent is on any body lines or not and how direct the the dent is.

#2:
what the guy at Autozone said is true! The metal retains a 'memory' of that dented position and it will be a little tougher to have the dent removed.

#3:
it depends on how deep the scratches are, If they did not scratch through the clear coat they can be wet sanded out and buffed. This is an extremely delicate process! You only want to use 2000 grit sand paper. If the scratches went through the clear and the color you can get some touch - up paint to match your caars colour and touch them up.

#4:
I would NOT use superglue!! It dries too brittle and the moulding will just fall off again. I would use a two sided FOAM tape. Stick it on the moulding first, depress it firmly, then remove the protective coating from the other side and stick moulding back onto door CLEAN, DRY, WARM surface.

I hope this helps you out. Good luck!!!

Answer 3

you will might desire to get a physique save to try this, you will might desire to get a clean bumper cover because of fact bondo won't follow plastic ok and if it have been given hit there back it would purely flake precise off, bondo and all. My suggestion, take it to a physique save, you may no longer purchase a bumper that suits it for the reason which you will possibly desire to combination it with the the remainder of the motor vehicle.

Answer 4

A 10 year old car – I would leave it alone. It's not worth the expense of having it repaired.

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