A trick for old door dings I learned from a guy in Chicago

Had a 2008 Civic with a deep crease right on the body line that a regular dent puller couldn't fix. I was about to drill for a slide hammer, but this old timer at a swap meet told me to heat the area with a heat gun for about 30 seconds, then use a glue pull tab. The heat let the metal give just enough to pop it out clean without any holes. Saved me a ton of time on the repair. Anyone else use heat to help with stubborn creases like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

jordanr891mo ago

My buddy had a nasty door ding on his truck's rear quarter panel, right on the sharp edge. He tried the glue puller three times and it kept popping off. Some guy at the auto parts store told him to warm the metal first, just like you said. He used a hair dryer on high for a minute, slapped the tab on, and it came out on the first pull. He was shocked it worked that easy. Makes total sense that the heat lets the metal move without fighting back.

rivera.keith1mo ago

Ever wonder how many dings get fixed with stuff from around the house? I saw a guy use a hot glue gun stick and a suction cup once, worked weirdly well. Makes you realize how much of this stuff is just simple physics.

caseywest3d ago

Yeah that heat trick is a game changer for sure. @rivera.keith was spot on about simple physics. Cold metal is stiff and fights back, but warm it up a bit and it gets more flexible, kind of like how a frozen hose is hard to bend. I've seen guys use a heat gun on low too, but you gotta be careful not to cook the paint. The hair dryer trick works perfect for those sharp edges because the metal can actually deform without cracking the clear coat. Once the tab pops off and the metal cools, it holds its new shape way better.