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Dent repair

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by syscon, Oct 7, 2012.

  1. syscon

    syscon Member

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    I have a small dent on the rear door edge.

    How do they repair those dents? Do I need to go to the body shop or just a rubber hummer and touch up paint?

    The paid on the edge is gone and metal edge is showing, scratched.
    (I could upload the file but I'm getting an error.)
     
  2. sfv41901

    sfv41901 Masta S

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    If its right at the edge & paint is missing then some sort of body filler would be needed to make it smooth again & then painted......but without seeing the dent its hard to say
     
  3. syscon

    syscon Member

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    I was trying to post two small pictures but the system will not let me.
    Do have to upgrade to some kind of paid account?
     
  4. Avi's Advanced Automotive

    Avi's Advanced Automotive Independent hybrid repair shop

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    Nope, keep trying
     
  5. syscon

    syscon Member

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    Thank, it worked now.
    So here are the pictures, the dent is on the edge and I'm afraid it will start rusting if I don't do anything.
     

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  6. CLUBGUY

    CLUBGUY Member

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  7. CLUBGUY

    CLUBGUY Member

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    Doesn't appear this could be repaired by the "dentless repair" method....
    If you are not particular about appearances; just use touchup paint otherwise this will require a professional body/repair....
     
  8. syscon

    syscon Member

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    Thanks for the input. Yes, I think it will need to go to the shop as well.
     
  9. Mike500

    Mike500 Senior Member

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    Easiest thing to do is to use an adjustable "Crescent," wrap the jaws in a thin layer of hard cardboard from a cereal box and masking tape, and simply and carefully "bend" the dent back.

    Then, a cheap temporary coating is "clear" fingernail polist at $1 a bottle from Dollar Tree. That will protect the metal from rusting and won't look too bad. Women's fingernail polish is very very tough. Just apply it very sparingly. A thin coat is better than a thick one.
     
  10. syscon

    syscon Member

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    Local body shop wants $1100.00 to fix this small dent (this is crazy).
    New door from a dealer is $950.00 (unpainted and without anything).

    I think I'll go with nail polish and touch-up paint; is nail polish the best to prevent rust?

    The dent doesn't bother me as much as the idea of paying so much money for little dent :-/
    I think using any adjustable wrench, I might do more damage as paint will start cracking.
     
  11. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    That is unfortunate. I don't think people realize how much the paint on your car is worth. I always tell people the most expensive part of your car is the paintjob. Engines and trannys are all cheap comparitively.

    I would do the crescent wrench trick as suggested above. You can order a can of spray paint that matches your color from automotivetouchup.com. Here are the steps I recommend to try to fix this yourself but, you'll never get it exact but, this will get you close (if you don't cover up the bare metal with paint/primer, it will rust)
    1. lightly wet sand the area w/ 1000 grit (only sand the area of repar and a small amout around it. use a pencil (eraser end w/ sandpaper attached concentrating on blending the two surfaces smooth))
    2. Clean with wax and grease remover
    3. mask all but sanded area
    4. Prime w/ gray automotive primer (1 coat) and let dry (30 minutes)
    5. Spray w/ touch up paint (2 coats) and let dry (24 hours)
    6. unmask and blend by wet sanding w/ 2000 grit w/ pencil (blending surfaces smooth). This must be done very carefully and do not sand on the edge of metal as it will take the paint off very easily.
    7. reapply masking to all but sanded area (the area will be bigger)
    8. Spray with clearcoat (2 coats) and let dry (24 hours)
    9. blend edge by wetsanding w/ 2000 grit (this will make some of your original paint appear milky and scratched, don't worry about that as the next steps will fix this). Once again, be very careful not to sand the paint off the edge.
    10. Use rubbing compound to get the sanding scratches out
    11. Use buffing compound to buff to a high gloss

    Steps 10 and 11 are best done with a rotary buffing pad. Keep the surface wet and avoid the edges because even rubbing compound will take the paint off the edge. If done properly, you will barely be able to tell it was ever damaged. This is a 2-3 day procedure and its a pain in the a#$. This is why it costs so much to repair (labor).
     
    RekaZ likes this.
  12. Mike500

    Mike500 Senior Member

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    Yes, it will prevent the exposed metal from rusting.
     
  13. syscon

    syscon Member

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    I used wooden stick and a hummer to straighten it out worked almost perfectly, sanded few mm to bare metal, apply primer, and paint in few days.
     
  14. wmo168

    wmo168 Member

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    [​IMG]Why don't you buy the factory color DOOR Edge guard and put on the door that way you won't notice it.
     
    Chazz8 likes this.