Hail Damage Repair: Can You Really Do It Yourself?

A lot of people think that you can just take care of hail damage by yourself with no knowledge, tools, or experience. The internet is fraught with videos lauding the virtue of all kinds of home remedies, including hair dryers and dry ice. It should come as no surprise that so many people want to find the easy way out when it comes to hail damage dent repair. After all, even little dents in your new car can be detrimental for its value.

Unfortunately, the fact is that they just don’t work. The men and women at Jungerman CARSTAR have broken these DIY methods down one at a time for you. Jungerman CARSTAR wants the people in St. Peters, St. Charles, O'Fallon, and Lake St. Louis, Missouri to understand that there’s not necessarily an easy DIY solution for hail damage.

Sun Exposure

Some sources will tell you simply parking your automobile in sunny areas will cause the heat of the sun to eliminate the dents. Common sense most likely tells you that this will not solve your hail damage problem, and it won’t. Nevertheless, wikihow asserts that 1 week of parking in warm sunlight will take care of 90% of hail damage. Naturally if this were the case there would be much less call for dry ice, hair dryers, and of course, professional dent repair.

Hair Dryers

This brings us to the hair dryer technique. The idea is to apply additional heat the simple sun exposure can't provide. Know that as you apply heat you must watch to ensure you don't damage your car’s paint any more; if you see any discoloration, stop right away.

Dry Ice

Everybody likes to talk about how all it takes is a little dry ice can get rid of those pesky hail dents. They say that it is as easy as making the temperature cool rapidly by warming the dent via a hair dryer before applying the dry ice. This method probably will not work. Even if it does, the hail damage will only be partially removed.


Dent Removal Kit

If all of those other homegrown techniques fail you, you can always fall back on the highly lauded dent repair kits. These kits generally come with something to knock the metal and a glue gun. Even so, these kits can’t give you the skills and experience needed to actually take out the dent. If you do choose to try these out, do not take the risk on any larger dents. Many people do not take into account that you can actually make the issue even worse when you do not do it right.

Leave It To The Pros

So, if nothing else really works and you are stuck, must you pay a visit to an auto body shop? Maybe; in the end it’s your call, but at least you know the damage will be fixed properly if you go to a professional. Will it cost you an arm and a leg? Not always. A lot will depend on the methods utilized. So how do auto body shops fix dents in the St. Louis, Missouri area then? There are lots of methods.

Remove and Replace

If the damage is serious and the parts which have been damaged are bolted on and can be easily removed, the remove and replace method may be the easiest way to go. In this case the parts in question are simply replaced.

Paintless Dent Repair

Paintless Dent Repair (PDR) is often employed to repair hail damage. In this process the technician goes behind the dent with tools to rub out the dent leaving the paint surface intact. This technique requires a lot of practice and specified tools, so it is really not suited to the do-it-yourselfer. It is especially effective for parts not easily replaced, such as roofs and quarter panels. Of all the professional techniques, it is the most cost effective. Actually, in locales where damaging hail is a normal occurrence, it's the repair technique most liked by insurance companies.

Finish Glazing

This strategy is good for small hail damage and is an alternative to PDR. Some individuals try this at home, outside of the professional auto body shop; make sure you know what you’re doing before you do.

The major advantage of this technique is that you don’t have to sand the paint all the way down to the metal; instead, you just sand it coarsely so the glaze putty adheres properly. A related advantage is that the protective anti-corrosion coat from the factory is not removed during the repair since the paint is not sanded the whole way down to the metal. Though of course this method is utilized to make repairs, other than the hail damage at issue your paint surface ought to be in excellent condition for this technique to work well.

Here’s how this process works. First, whoever is repairing the damage will need to clean the damaged areas well in order to locate all of the hail damage. The next step is to sand the damaged areas, normally utilizing a hundred and eighty grit paper on a dual-action sander. This step makes sure that the glaze sticks well to the car’s surface. After the sanding, it is best to utilize compressed air to blow all debris from the repair areas. Next, the surface ought to be cleaned again, this time with degreaser and wax. At this point it's time to apply a thin coat of the finish glaze to repair the little points of damage. Next comes a second sanding session, with 150 or 180 grit paper on the dual-action sander. Lastly, the repair is done, and it is time to prime, block, and paint the freshly-repaired areas. Clearly, this isn’t a simple fix, but it looks good.

Traditional Repair with Body Filler

This technique is very very similar to the finish glazing technique with just a couple of exceptions. The main difference is that you do need to remove the paint to the metal, and that your grind ought to be really coarse. Obviously anti-corrosion coating is an issue under these conditions. Very big dents can't be fixed this way.

Traditional Heat Repair

For vehicles with larger dents and older vehicles made of thicker metal this is the method your auto body shop will need to go with. This technique utilizes heat, usually an oxyacetylene torch, to raise the metal. The technician heats the metal surrounding the dent in a spiral motion working from the outside moving inwards; this will raise the metal. Next, to relax the metal, the technician taps with a hammer. Finally, he or she tests the metal to find out if it's level to check if the dent is gone. After the metal cools, it's time to feather edge the paint, prime, block, and paint the metal again.

The primary advantages here are that this method is the only one that works for thicker metals and larger dents, and that for proficient technicians it is quick and fast. It also eliminates the filler and sanding filler steps. However, as most auto body shops will warn you, newer vehicles are not always able to take this technique because they're made of thin metals that can warp.

The Bottom Line

Unless you really know what you are doing, fixing hail damage isn't an easy feat. The good news is that hail damage repair is probably covered by your insurance. Since average hail damage repairs range between $2,500 and $3,500, and can often go much higher, it is well worth making a claim for the repair. If you would like a professional opinion on your hail dented vehicle, go to Jungerman CARSTAR in St. Peter's, MO. They have got plenty of experience using all of the latest dent repair methods.