Tried my luck at dent removal

So today I noticed a dent just above the rear window after parking it. I could've sworn that my truck was pretty spotless, minus a few nicks when during inspection prior to buying it earlier this month. It bothered me enough that I wanted to fix it myself.

I didn't want to deal with scheduling a time for a professional repair, so after work I picked up a paintless dent removal kit from Harbor Freight. LOL

I bought the kit knowing that I wasn't going to get it perfect. I just wanted the dent to get to where I could live with it. It took me a couple tries, and I was as careful as I could be. From start to finish, an hour or so was spent working on it.

Here was the original dent:



The tools I used:

Used about two sticks of glue. It was a pretty slow process. I believe in quality work, regardless the quality of the tool being used. The painter's tape served as a border and scratch protection from the two outer feet of the crossbar. It was a simple process, explained here.

*DISCLAIMER*-- I take no responsibility/liability for any damage caused should you do this to your own vehicle. This is for informative purposes, and documenting my experiences only. Proceed with the repair at your own risk.



Now when I step out of my truck, I won't be seeing such an eyesore.

 

Love the write up. I had a few dents in my roof from people sitting up their. Bought a large suction cup from HF. Cold night, hot water, dents came out within 20 min of "massaging". I've got a smaller dent in the tailgate, might try this method here soon. Thanks!

 

No problem. I'm sure if I spent more time on it, I'd get the dent to where I really want it...aka gone. Spent a lot of time massaging the dent to get rid of some high spots.

 

Same here, it looks good though judging by the picture, it's barely noticeable from the side. At one point on the second dent on my roof, I thought maybe I did need a puller because the suction cup couldn't get a good grip due to the angled roof notches, but after a lot of boiling water and moving the cup around, it popped back into place. I would 100% rather try and pull or push a dent and spend time doing so rather than sand, bondo and paint, that's way too much for these types of simple dents and defects.

 

So how exactly did you do this? Looks great

 

I thought dents were battle scars!?!

I have a few that came with the truck. Maybe I'll try my hand and getting them out. How much was the repair kit?

 

Get the little bit out!

 

$12 without the coupon at Harbor Freight. With a little patience, the kit can be worth it.

 

I prepped the area by cleaning it, then surrounded the general area with painter's tape. I then mounted the "adapter" by itself using the hot glue gun and let it set in position (only took about 10 seconds). Next, I secured the bracket and continued to tighten the center wing nut until the dent got pulled out.

I had to repeat the process multiple times to achieve my desired result. It actually took more time to take the used glue off the truck, than actually pulling the dent. I also made sure to go slow when tightening the wing nut, monitoring the two feet on the edge of the bracket, to keep it from making two more dents on the body. Rushing the process can also lead to high spots around the dent, so be patient and take your time.

 

^pour a little isopropyl alcohol out to remove the glue. it'll peel right off.

 

I like it

 

What is the glue for?!?!