[Closed] DIY Dent Removal. Is this worth trying to fix myself?

Get a boot lid from a breakers yard and swap it over.

This.

Or this.

Sorry, but not even 'dent wizards' would touch it. It's a new skin/boot.

Breakers yard best option. You can do on-line parts searches - put in the part and colour code, and breakers yards will get back to you. Or even ebay.

Thanks all, glad I didn't waste my time trying to do something with it! I'll have a look at a replacement lid. Cheers

Why are you sorting his car out?

#prayforthesnowflake

Does it open and close ?

Leave it as a reminder not to be daft in future ?

It needs replacing so you might aswell have a bash at knocking it out.

Why are you sorting his car out?

#prayforthesnowflake

He's just started driving and has already had a big repair bill for a coolant leak and a new set of tyres so I thought I would be nice and help him out if I can. Any reason why I shouldn't or are you just trolling?

I would just leave it personally if the boot still works! He'll do it again soon enough, plus as a bonus people will give him a bit more room on the roads 😂

Paint the dent in a suitable lipstick shade and get a couple of eyes with those car eyelashes in the back window.
Make it look tasteless but deliberate.

If you've got a dildo to hand you can use that to pull it out, it'd still have the crease but wouldn't look so bad.

Any reason why I shouldn’t or are you just trolling?

1. Car value, however is plan is to resell it this should be sorted imho.
2. If he is a new driver, something similar could happen again, maybe wait some time before getting it sorted?

Paint the dent in a suitable lipstick shade and get a couple of eyes with those car eyelashes in the back window.

That's his birthday present sorted! 🙂

you could probably make it look a bit less bad by thumping\pushing it from behind (I suspect a large amount of it will 'pop out'), but you'll never get it looking 'good'

That dent is bigger than the glue stick method will work. We've done a couple of door knocks/stone dents with the glue stick puller kits - certainly improves them, but OP's damage is pretty big.

TBH I've helped my lad out with his car - He had some 'savings policy' money last year which we said get a decent car. He did, but he's since lost his job and is now delivering pizza for dominoes. His wages are enough for insurance and fuel and a little spending money (he's not out boozing), but he's needed tyres recently, so I've paid for them.

Maybe make him do the leg work searching for a suitable replacement boot, then get him to help you strip the existing boot, and refit all the parts and refit ?

Try pushing it out.

I'd leave it for now while its a delivery mule.

When his job situation gets better help him out then?

Had similar damage on my wife's car recently, though not as severe. Firstly you need to establish if there is any structure behind that - if there is you're pretty much screwed as far as repair is concerned. Luckily in my case there wasn't and I got some quotes from various bodyshops that ranged between £500 to £1400!! The latter seemed to specialise in insurance repairs to were loading on all sorts of labour and techniques, like full glass removal. Fine if you are claiming off insurance, but I have a £350 XS on my policy so funded myself and went with the £500 option and it looks mint. Not sure what they actually did, they said they would employ all the latest techniques to pull as much of the dent out as possible (so welding tabs or glueing tabs on and pulling out and 'massaging' from inside), but if the metal is stretched alot you won't be able to pull the dent out without leaving distortion. Then you're into the usual filling and sanding type of cover-up actions. I don't care so long as it passes the aesthetic tests which it does. You'd never know.

People like Dents Away are SMART repairers - so Small and Medium Repair Technology....not sure that could be counted as small or medium sized repair.

Just go and get some quotes form local bodyshops and see what they say and take it from there. If structure behind the dent then you're into new/replacement tailgate arena.

The gluestick method won't totally fix it, but you'd likley get a decent amount of it out, just not the fold in the centre - that line will remain.

Personally, I wouldn't push it from the back. You only really want to be pushing on it in a few localised spots toward the end - pulling a dent out works far better.

lankystreakofpee
Free Member
Why are you sorting his car out?

#prayforthesnowflake

He’s just started driving and has already had a big repair bill for a coolant leak and a new set of tyres so I thought I would be nice and help him out if I can. Any reason why I shouldn’t or are you just trolling?

No not trolling - how very dare you! 🙃

The reason for not running around after him and wiping his bum is, he'll never learn. There's a whole generation of kids now who have everything (materially) but can't even tie their own shoe laces (mebbies slight exaggeration). Just look at the current Uni fiasco. 'The Uni delivered boxes of COLD junk food so we had to phone home for vegetables and fruit....'. FFS, we wasted our grant money on climbing gear, porridge and beer 😁

@Boblo, I get that and completely agree. He's deffo no snowflake, he's had part time jobs since he was 13 and he's a grafter. Currently doing 'full time' college + 30 hours a week at McD's. We've always taught him to fend for himself but I like to help him out every now and again cos I'm nice like that 🙂

I'd get it along to an independent repair place for a quote; you might be surprised what they can repair, rather than having to stick a new boot lid on.

There's a bloke near us who works wonders on car repairs & always tries to repair panels before replacing. There's some examples on his FB page.

https://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/category/Automotive-Body-Shop/AB-services-198136827228835/

I think i got posters mixed up there.

I thought every one learned how to pop panels out aged 17 after "hitting a deer"

You'll likely be able to pull that out and make it look better, for some value of, but you'll struggle to DIY anything with that crease I reckon.

My old mechanic used to have a big sucker for such duties. He got it from a glazier, it's 'real' purpose was for carrying big panes of glass.

There’s a whole generation of kids now who

... have to spend their entire lives listening to envious boomers continually telling them how useless they are.

OP as others have said. I'd also say leave it as there will surely be others to add to the collection if they have only started driving but if you have to sort it out then a breakers for another one.

Thanks all, as suggested I think I'll leave it as it is as a reminder to concentrate every time he gets behind the wheel!

When it comes to selling it, I might have a go at getting the worst out with him or replacing the boot lid...

I thought every one learned how to pop panels out aged 17 after “hitting a deer”

Pffft, I did this when trying to avoid a bloody rabbit never mind a dirty great big deer.

Youll never get metallic paint to look right out of a rattle can.
IF you can, show the rest of us how.
IF it were me I'd bash it out as best I can, then have plenty of time to find a replacement in the same colour.

LIPSTICK !!!
HA HA HA HA HA

Genius !!

trying to avoid a bloody rabbit

*looks at trim, looks at pepper pots"

And this rabbit was where? in the middle of a field you'd entered backwards? 😛

Boot lid here for £40, not worth the bother of trying to fix it for that money.

*looks at trim, looks at pepper pots”

Exactly my thought process. Mk2 XR2? Its natural habitat is on its roof rotating gently.

Exactly my thought process. Mk2 XR2? Its natural habitat is on its roof rotating gently.

That's why the rabbit was bloody.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vauxhall-Corsa-D-2006-2014-tailgate-5-door-various-colours/152934191736?hash=item239b969278:g:ovMAAOSwq-tansyW

Well under an hour to swap over.

And might come with a free sticker.

Cougar
Full Member

There’s a whole generation of kids now who

… have to spend their entire lives listening to envious boomers continually telling them how useless they are.

Cheeky git! I'm Gen X (and not the least bit envious) dontchaknow... 😝

And this rabbit was where? in the middle of a field you’d entered backwards?

In the middle of the road in a place called Harewood actually LOL!

Mk2 XR2? Its natural habitat is on its roof rotating gently.

Yup! And it didn't take me long – I think I had it for about 10 weeks 🙂

Fair play to the guys who worked out it was a Corsa D from the original picture. Could be an idea for a new thread - guess the make and model from an obscure picture game!

Pffft, I did this when trying to avoid a bloody rabbit never mind a dirty great big deer.

Bet you needed that Panadol...

Could be an idea for a new thread – guess the make and model from an obscure picture game!

There used to be a TV show like that wasn't there? Contestants would have to recognise loads of things (from their specialist subject) from tiny visual clues and have to date them etc? I used to tell my brother he should go on as he was an obsessive Ford fan - he used to get the new car brochure as soon as it came out and could reel off model specs across the range from memory.

Bet you needed that Panadol…

And the Bensons, before retiring quietly to read the Roald Dahl.

Yup! And it didn’t take me long – I think I had it for about 10 weeks 🙂

I always wanted an XR2, it's probably a good thing that I never had one! There were some silly cars in the hands of very inexperienced drivers in the 90s; the 1.9L Pug 205 GTi, that bonkers Renault 5 GT that had a turbo lag of about 15 minutes...

A mate of mine's folks lived in a pretty big house with a fair bit of land, on a sharp bend on a country road. Dragging dazed young men out of upside-down hot hatches was such a common occurrence that they'd got blasé about it. "Get the kettle on love, we've had another one."