Heat guns are a great way to ruin factory paint in a hurry. That clear coat isn't meant for those temps. You might get the dent out but you'll be left with a cloudy, baked finish that needs a full respray. Those plastic pullers work fine on cold metal if you just work slowly from the edges. Rushing it with heat just trades one problem for another.

Found my sweet spot at 16 hours (which really made the crust pop).

Yeah, that's pickling salt, not regular salt. The stuff without iodine makes a huge difference for fermenting.