Dent Repair on Chrome Bumpers

I believe that there are two types of bumpers in this world: ones that have been bumped and ones that will eventually be bumped. It seems to be unavoidable. It is fantastic that they are there because they protect the car from greater and more costly damage, but the damage can be an eyesore and a reminder of bad parking lot experiences.

Fortunately, there is a solution that is both affordable and effective. It uses the same principles as Paintless Dent Repair, but with a different approach. This is actually a project that you can attempt on your own if you like. If you are mechanically inclined and enjoy taking on projects, you may be able to repair your own bumper with a simple investment of about 2-4 hours (depending on the vehicle).

I am finding that chrome is pretty resilient; it can stand up to pretty extreme temperatures which are great because the metal moves so much easier when it is warm.

The first step in repairing a bumper is to be remove it from the vehicle. This is where you can run into difficulty, especially on trucks with sensors and lights in the bumpers. Once removed, the damage should be relatively easy to access. Heat the metal, making sure to keep an eye on the chrome so that you do not damage or discolor it, and then gently pound out the dent. It sounds fairly easy, but can actually be more challenging than you would think.

Like I said, if you are mechanically inclined this may be something you want to try yourself. However, as with almost all things on your car or truck, there is a risk of damaging parts when you do the work yourself. Ultimately, I'd recommend you bring it by The Car Bar for this repair. The results will be professional and you do not run the risk of smacking your knuckles on the frame - this hurts a lot, trust me!

I priced out new bumpers for a 2005 Chevy 1500 and a 2005 Ford F150 just to see what an average bumper would cost. Both trucks ran just shy of $400 for the rear bumper and the front bumpers were around $350. And these were just simple bumpers - if you were to add sensors and lights the price goes up quite a bit. Our prices for bumper repairs range from $150-$250, depending on the damage and how difficult the bumper is to remove. As you can see, this is a great alternative to replacement and, as always, your satisfaction is guaranteed!

I Can Fix That Dent Myself...

There you are, looking at your car and the dent you just found in it. Maybe it is a large soft looking dent or just a small door ding that some random malicious shopping cart, put in your door. You start thinking “I can fix that dent myself. I saw a video on YouTube where some guy used dry ice or an upside down can of air and the dent just popped out.” Well, here is where you should be hearing the scratching record sound, followed by little red flags popping up all around you: Not all dents are created equal! Hopefully we can clear the air when it comes to using these homegrown methods.

Let us talk about the dry ice method first. This fix is supposed to remove minor dents; the small ones you get from shopping carts or other doors opening into yours. It supposedly works on all metals and panels. The idea is that the metal is cooled so much that it shrinks the metal and it is returned to the original spot. Sounds logical right? This is a method that I have tried time and time again and never got any positive results. I even left the ice on the dent for 30 minutes to see if that would make a change. Nothing! Here is why it does not work. The dry ice only cools the metal and paint there is no real drastic change in temperature. There is another method with a more drastic change that we will highlight in a moment. Simply cooling the metal does nothing except make it cold. The metal still needs to be pushed back into place.

The next method, which seems to be gaining popularity involves a hair dryer and a can of air. I have seen the videos of this method and honestly the results were very promising. First thing you do is borrow a hair dryer. The paint on your car is made to withstand some pretty extreme heat, a hair dryer will not damage it. (If the paint is new, ie. Less than six months old, do not attempt any sort of repair on your own, you will damage the paint permanently). Once the metal is hot a can of air duster is turned upside down and spray on the hot metal. The compressing agent is the only thing that comes out and that stuff is cold. The heating and then rapid cooling results in the dent popping out. I have tried this method without success. Although I do believe this method may work in certain situations, the dent has to be large, soft and relatively new. I have tried this method on small dents with zero luck. However, this method is an easy and cheap fix for some dents (again, those that are large, soft, and new). In fact, I even suggest trying it before you visit The Car Bar. It may save you some time and a little money!

The real message is this: The majority of these quick “do it yourself” fixes do not work reliably and on the occasions that they do, the conditions have to be just right and even then there is often more work that needs to be done. There is no one-size-fits-all dent repair. Be very cautious if you do try these methods on your own - you run the risk of damaging your paint and spending an arm and a leg on a new paint job!

Do you have a question you'd like us to answer on our blog? We'd love to hear from you! Leave us a comment here or send an e-mail to jason@thecarbar.net with your question (help us out by including FAQ in the subject)! Whether we can help you online through our tips and tricks or whether you come by The Car Bar, our ultimate goal is to see your car fixed correctly!

Oh, and for those of you who've seen other interesting dent removal techniques online, fear not - we'll talk about those too! In fact, we will be addressing the ever popular "Toilet Plunger" method in a later post, so be sure to check back!

An Introduction to Paintless Dent Repair

So you just bought a new or “new to you” car. You spent weeks researching the deals and watching prices. Your computer’s wallpaper has been various versions of your new ride for quite some time now. It's clean, it's waxed, and it looks incredible… except for that stupid dent that some careless individual decided to “customize” your car with! The thought of taking your pride and joy to the autobody shop to be sanded, filled with bondo and repainted makes you light headed. You cannot afford to have your car in the shop for 10 days and the cost must be outrageous. I have an amazing alternative for you. It is called Paintless Dent Repair! Just as the name suggests, there is absolutely no painting. Your car's original factory finish is maintained and restored using this gentle yet extremely effective technique.

Paintless Dent Repair was first introduced in the early 1940’s at the Mercedes factories. Primitive stamping and forming machines would not always produce a flat panel, so there was a need for a skilled technician to bring the metal panels up to quality standards. The practice was very isolated to those factories until the 1980’s when there were changes that helped propel Paintless Dent Repair (PDR) to its popularity today. First and most importantly was the introduction of new Poly-urethane paints and clearcoats. These new products allowed the paint to be manipulated to greater extremes, allowing for larger repairs. The second change is that dealerships saw the incredible potential of added value to their vehicles when they were dent free.

Today PDR has come a long way. There are teams of “Hail Chasers” that clean up after massive hail storms. Almost every dealership you see uses a PDR Tech to improve their pre-owned inventory and the tools and techniques have pushed the trade to easily repair dents as large as basketballs and sometimes even bigger. Beware though, there are several methods that appear to work like magic, but not all dents are created equal. You may hear of the “dry ice” method, for example, where the metal is super cooled to “shrink” the metal and the dent. I have tried this and had zero luck. I left the ice on the dent for 30 minutes. No change. There is also the toilet plunger/suction cup method. While this may or may not repair a large part of a large dent, there is still much to repair that a toilet plunger simply cannot do.

The Car Bar's Paintless Dent Repair Technicians are on the cutting edge of this industry. We use the most non-invasive techniques possible, leaving your car in-tact and dent free. We use custom tools to get behind the effected metal and gently push it back to the original shape. Your paint, clearcoat, and metal are left undamaged and normal. The dent has no chance to pop back in because it was repaired thoroughly and correctly. The tools are precision and the patience, limitless. Please do not try this at home, you could seriously damage your paint and metal. It takes technicians as long as 3 months of training to be able to finish a dent to the customers standards.

You would be surprised to see what PDR can do for your car. It is always a wise decision to see a PDR Tech first (preferably at The Car Bar). We can tell you right away how to make the repairs in the most economical way. While great, Paintless Dent Repair is just one of a number of different ways to deal with auto dents. Check back later to read about how different types of dents are repaired.