body damage - dents and dings

Fig 9. This dent on the leading edge of a bonnet is over 10mm in diameter and is not acceptable to most lease companies, however it can be removed without the need of a bodyshop type repair.

Advice
As with most of the things covered in this guide, prevention is far better than cure. As most dents occur in car parks it is worth trying to find parking spaces with plenty of room around them, then there is less likely hood of somebody bashing your car with their door while trying to squeeze in. Although it's tempting to take a space near to the entrance, parking a bit further away and walking 75yds will pay dividends.. and be honest, the extra exercise will do you good.

Its often tempting to rest your shopping on your car while you fumble for your key, but keep heavy items away from the car as they can cause scratches as well as dents.

If you keep your car in your garage, then take note that this is another danger area. If your kids are storing their bikes in there, do not expect them to take great care with your car! Spades, rakes, and lawnmowers that are propped up against the wall can fall against your car and cause damage. If you have a lot of stuff in the garage, you should consider if your car might be safer parked in the street!

Never sit on your car or allow anybody else to do so, certainly never sit on the bonnet as this can cause large dents.

Fig 11. Removal of dents.

About
As shown in figure 11, dent removal involves using metal levers to get behind the panels and massage the dents out of the panels. This process is often called 'paintless dent removal' because it does not require filling and painting the dents. Because no painting is required in this process, it is important that the paintwork is not broken. If the dent has cause the paintwork to crack, split or flake off, then a bodyshop repair will be required.

Most small circular dents (as shown in figure 9) can be removed as long as it is possible to access the dent from behind, plastic trim, panels and liners sometimes require removal to provide access and this is not a problem, but some panels will have a sealed double skin or crash protection bars which means that access is not possible.

Fig 12. This has dent has formed a crease which is often difficult to remove.

Fig 12a. This dent has formed a crease which is often difficult to remove with paintless dent removal and will need to be seen to at the bodyshop - it's also a bit big.

Some dents cause a fold or crease in the bodywork (Figure 12 & 12a see also Figure 19 on the Scratch page.), and although the paintwork may not be broken, it is not always possible to remove these dents completely, although it is often possible to get a 90% improvement which may help you avoid a lease return penalty charge.

There is more information about dents on the next page.

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