CAR FROM JAPAN - Find best deals of used cars from reliable Japanese sellersSearch Car

5 Great Small Ding Repair Tips

ByTsukasa Azuma-September 20, 2024

No matter how cautiously drive a car, there will always be dings. However, ding repair jobs are simple and easy. You can follow the ding repair guide below and complete a ding repair job in no time.

Ding Repair: Is It Necessary?

You may wonder whether dings and dents are the same on the car or not. Dings are classified as small dents that do not penetrate the paint or expose the metal underneath. Ding marks are typically up to 0.5 inches in diameter and seem not to have effects on your vehicle’s paint.

Unlike dings, car dents are more serious damage. Dings are much more insignificant than dents. They often occur from being hit by a shopping cart, a parked car door opening into your car, or possibly from small debris thrown up while driving. Hail is also a fairly common cause of screeching noises. Although dings are just small dents sometimes, this mark can affect the whole appearance of your car. And due to a small thing, it’s easy to be overlooked while making a maintenance process by drivers. 

Over time, unwanted collisions will inevitably occur. Whether it is an objective or subjective factor, the car’s body will have some slight dings. If you don’t want to waste money, car owners can apply the following methods to handle dings themselves and limit damage to the paint layer…

Car Ding Repair: 5 Tips You Should Follow

Referring to these tips below to give your car a better exterior: 

Tip #1

Inspect the damage carefully. You can fix the ding without leaving any sign of previous damage if the metal is not crumpled or creased.

Tip #2

Dry ice is effective against dings. Use a hair dryer to heat an area and push dry ice against it. Keep it that way for a few seconds. The principle of this method is the same as pouring boiling water and then pouring cold water to cause the temperature to change and the plastic will pop out and return to its original shape. Once the area is warm, gently push the dent out from the inside or use a plunger to pull it out from the outside. This method can work for soft dents on plastic or metal surfaces. Follow this procedure over and over again, until the ding completely fades away. Before touching dry ice must wear safety gloves to avoid injury to your hand.

Tip #3

A suction cup can pull the dings out and put the debts back in line. Clean the area properly before applying a suction cup. Any remaining particles can damage the painting and disrupt the suction process.

Dings are much more insignificant than dents (Photo: info.westerncentralny.aaa.com)

Tip #4

Tapping is another way to rid your car of unsightly dings and dents. A block of wood and rubber mallet in proportionate to the size of the ding can be used to tap the ding back in its due place. Use a cushioning fabric or towel to wrap the device you are going to use.

Tip #5

A paintless repair job is another way to remove dings without spending a lot. A mechanic will use designated tools to fix the damaged spots and bring back the previous smoothness and look of the design.

Though dings in your car are enough to give you sleepless nights, removing them is relatively easy. It is an easily doable DIY. But if you find the dings larger, seek professional help to eliminate those without damaging your car. Having the dings fixed at an auto repair shop should not cost you a fortune, though.

In cases, where you can’t fix dings by yourself, take your car to the mechanic for help: 

The steps for treating dings on cars are still basically based on the heat impact method.

  • For plastic parts, the repair technician will use enough heat to impact the hardness and elasticity of the plastic to return them to their original shape, then repaint the surface if there is damage.
  • For high-hardness steel or aluminum parts, repair will be complicated, requiring specialized equipment to return them to their original shape.

We hope that all these tips may help you handle this problem easily.

Watch more:

 

Tsukasa Azuma is an awesome car blogger of Car From Japan. He owns a car repair shop at downtown Osaka, and he put all that experience to good use in his sharing posts. Tsukasa’s blog is one of the best resources for information about keeping your favorite imported car running smoothly. Moreover, because of being passionate to learn about the recent happenings in auto industry, he doesn’t only provide great car maintenance tips, he also always updates latest trends in among car brands and share them in his own interesting viewpoint.

Comments

Tendai07:02 January 29, 2017
Reply

What can l do if the check light for ABS goes on and off and the engine light is on but the car was serviced and am l self to use my car with ABS on. Thank you

Trang Tran22:23 February 06, 2017
Reply

Thank you for contacting Car From Japan. However, we cannot answer your problem because there is many things we need to see at your car. I suggest you to bring the car to a local mechanical shop o solve your problem.

Michael Mtegha11:22 January 28, 2017
Reply

My car is Mazda Demio model 2003 , when starting engine in the morning it goes higher then after sometimes it lower, so when driving the car it has a higher sound than on idling or parking position what can be the cause

Trang Tran01:54 February 08, 2017
Reply

Thank you for contacting Car From Japan. However, we cannot answer your problem because there is many things we need to see at your car. I suggest you to bring the car to a local mechanical shop o solve your problem.

Tyler Meredith10:16 November 29, 2016
Reply

I like what this article mentions about paintless dent repair and how it works well for those not looking to spend a lot. It makes sense that flattening out the dent could be helpful when looking to restore the dent. It’s something to remember because I don’t mind having body filler used although paintless could save me money.

Trang Tran16:03 November 29, 2016
Reply

Thank you. We will provide more useful information like this. Stay tuned