92_rugby_subie Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 This is a rant and a request... So today at Washington Square, some guys were chasing eachother, I guess a brawl or something, I didnt get many details. One caught up to the other and swung him around and threw him right into Neds fender head first... Drinking plus shopping dont mix? I got out and was like WTF just happened here, and someone called an ambulance as the guys head was bleeding and we all waited for the police to show up, blah blah blah. There was a lot of yelling at people Anyway... Theres a dent in my fender... not HUGE, but its noticeable for me because NED is in really good exterior shape I dont know if I should remove the fender and hammer the dent out... or if that will cause more harm then good... Not sure if I can plunger it out either... but I dont want to pay the body shop bill for a fender... I can take pics tomorrow, the police took my information and some pictures... I dont think I did anything wrong, so I think Im good, but when I asked if I should contact my insurance, the officer said "Shouldnt be necessary, and they will probably total your car, its a 79 you said right?" (ugh, no 1986, but whatever) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Call your insurance - it will fall under uninsured motorist coverage. Make sure you have a copy of the police report. Take it to a paintless dent removal place or call one of the mobile services. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLoyale Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 If there is no crease, you could try the old dry ice trick. Uninsure motorist only covers Medical if you only have comp/liabilty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilspawn666 Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Just curious. What's the dry ice trick? Most off the cars I drive dents are the least of my worries, but this one got me interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zukiru Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 (edited) Super cooling a dent can make it pop back out. It shrinks the stretched metal back into shape. Edited December 22, 2011 by zukiru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red92 Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 In the long run, it might be better to take it to a body shop and get a quote yourself, without involving insurance. It sucks to have to pay for something out of pocket when it isn't your fault, but depending on your deductibles and the wording of your insurance policy, and depending on how your insurance company weighs your claim history, it could end up costing you more in the long run to have insurance pay for the repairs. :-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLoyale Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 +1 super cooling a dent can make it pop back out.It shrinks the stretched metal back into shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92_rugby_subie Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 How do I go about the dry ice trick. Got a camera phone pic, will post it in a second... Insurance WILL cover it... But my deductible is $500 and the dent repair will be $349-469 depending on if the metal is creased on the inside of the fender (apparently wont know until they pull the fender, I didnt wanna mess with that) so I brought him back home, parked him and took the picture to get your guys opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92_rugby_subie Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 From the front: From the hood down to the ground: Its really not that bad... honestly, but given Neds shape and stance in the family I dont like the dent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92_rugby_subie Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 Pics are hard to tell since the car is really shiny :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLoyale Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 I see the concave, if you remove the fender you could probably just press that concaved part back out with the palm of your hand. You might want to remove that molding and flex that back straight too (Its a metal strip coated in rubber) You can sometimes get old dry ice from food stores for free, from what I have seen, you just place the dry ice over the area until the dent pops/springs back to original form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbone Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Dont bother with the dry ice, it rarely works (BTDT). Get a can o' air (stuff used for keyboards, etc) and a hair dryer or heat gun. Heat the area up with the dryer/gun (be careful not to overheat, you can bubble the paint) then take the can o air, turn it upside down and spray the area. If it doesnt work then the dent will need to be massaged from the inside, just like the painless dent removal guys do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92_rugby_subie Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 I will attempt the can of air as I have that.... and a heat gun should be around here somewhere. I want to pop this out because Ive driven about 6-7 trips to store, friends house, home etc and even if Im not thinking of it (or maybe I am) I always see it when I get in or out of the car and think it looks horrible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLoyale Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Rob, I like that idea. Its a lot easier to come by as well. At work, I have cans of Gum Remover which get as cold as -230 Deg F. I should snag a few for "Personal Use" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red92 Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 Its really not that bad... honestly, but given Neds shape and stance in the family I dont like the dent. Yeah, I'm right with you - Get that fixed! It's very easy to say "Oh, it isn't THAT bad", or "It's just a little dent, I can live with it"... and it's a slippery slope. Years go by, you start slowly justifying why you shouldn't fix things, and then one day you suddenly realize that your once prized car is actually now a beater! How the heck did THAT happen? It's better to just keep after it and stay on top of the appearance while you can. An old car in good condition is something to be proud of for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubies Subie Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 From the front: Its really not that bad... honestly, but given Neds shape and stance in the family I dont like the dent. Hey, that looks just like the dent we got in our Buick, only dent in the whole car and that's all you notice, so I know what your saying take a plunger to it, at least part of it will come out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaruglkid Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 unfortunately the bad part about plungers is you have to push in to sunction cup it. if you can reach under there and from the outside of the circle push around and around in a spiral motion and should come out, thats what i do at least.:cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaruglkid Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 Dont bother with the dry ice, it rarely works (BTDT). Get a can o' air (stuff used for keyboards, etc) and a hair dryer or heat gun. Heat the area up with the dryer/gun (be careful not to overheat, you can bubble the paint) then take the can o air, turn it upside down and spray the area. If it doesnt work then the dent will need to be massaged from the inside, just like the painless dent removal guys do. the only reason i wouldnt do this is because it sometimes has the tendencie to pop can and becomes flimsy and that noise from expanding and contracting can get really friggen annoying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbone Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 I've had pretty good luck with a plunger. They need to be fairly big dents to make it worth it. One was on Caboobaroo's XT6 and got about 80% of the dent out on the rear quarter panel. The other one was my sisters Ford Escape where she had backed into a concrete pole on the right rear quarter. It was scraped pretty good and had a bad crease. I got everything out but the crease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taz ride Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 Search dent removal and you will find a Utube using a hair dryer and caned air. It is worth a try. Hope this helps with Ned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l75eya Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 I'd really just loosen the fender and pop it out from the other side lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92_rugby_subie Posted December 24, 2011 Author Share Posted December 24, 2011 Okay. Problem. Tried the heat gun then compressed air trick... it worked Til I shut the door, then folded in again Gave it a few hours, tried again.... worked 3 hours later, it had folded back in. Is it too cold (35*F) to be doing this? Is it time to remove the fender? :-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaruglkid Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 well now that its been flexed both ways it prob wont stay where its supposed to unless your lucky. you might still be able to do the swirly method Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92_rugby_subie Posted December 24, 2011 Author Share Posted December 24, 2011 I posted on craigslist and got someone that says he can pop it out for $30, and if that doesnt work, he will paint a straight junkyard fender to match mine for free. So the whole thing will cost me $30 + Junkyard fender But going to remove the fender and try to pop it from the back inside of my house and leave it inside for a few days so it doesnt pop back out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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