help with dent removal tool

[moni05]

Hi guys, I am looking for a tool to remove a small dent in my car. have any of you tried this [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]. I appreciate your help

Rose

They make something, I have seen it on TV. My husband always used a suction cup. Guess a plunger would work too. Depends on the dent.

[katlnhats]

Originally Posted by mbclark1

They make something, I have seen it on TV. My husband always used a suction cup. Guess a plunger would work too. Depends on the dent.

We're thinking alike; the first thing I thought of was a plunger! And they do make different sizes, depends on where you go to get one.

Kat

[verwon]

You can often remove them yourself, without buying one of those, even without a plunger. Andy backed into a light poll one day, and removed the dents just by reaching up underneath the car and pressing the metal back out. If you aren't strong enough to do it by hand, a rubber mallet will do it just as easily.

[verwon]

Oh, and a warning, if you get one of these tools, and use it wrong, you will end up with more dents than you started with, something they don't tell you when they want you to buy it. Oh, and that hot glue they sell often doesn't stick well to steel, so if your car isn't fiberglass, you will find it a real pain to use.

[katlnhats]

Geez, Ver,

Good thing you posted on this, it sounds like you could easily make your car worse, rather then fix the dent! I'm not going to tell what I "once" backed into!!!! (long time ago, no ticket, but it was SO embarrassing!)

Kat

[moni05]

Thanks to all of you for the advice!

Moni

[verwon]

LOL! Kat, trust me, Andy is not usually like that, and he so mad at himself and embarassed, even though no one saw it and knew but him.

Oh, by the way, I got my information on this tool from one of those 20/20 report things, were they report on new stuff and how well it works and etc. I like to watch them and keep up to date on different things, especially when it is something like this, because before we watched their report, we were considering buying one as well.

Anyway, to really investigate and test it out, they purchased several from the top selling companies that marketed it, so they could see if one was better than the others, then they had different employees take them home and try them on different vehicles, so they could see how it worked for the average person who would, theoretically, just see the add and order, then follow the instructions to use the kit. Anyway, they ended up reimbursing several employees for new damage it added to their vehicle, and for those who had a vehicle made primarily of fiberglass instead of steel, the hot glue damage the finish on the fiberglass panels, something they did not warn about in the instructions, and if you weren't extremely careful and just tried to pop it off like they show in the adds, it could actually crack the fiberglass. Most of the people who tried it could never get it to work, even when they had someone from one of the companies demonstrate how it was supposed to work.

Only a few people were able to get the hot glue to stick to their steel cars, especially if the car was hot from sitting in the sun, or really cool from sitting in the shade.

Now, I have to say, red flags on this went up for me the first time I saw an infomercial on it, and they showed that the adhesive you are supposed to use is hotglue. I don't care what you are using it for, and it doesn't matter if it is a high-temp or low-temp glue gun, it is not reliable for anything that you need to adhere to something strongly or to adhere on a permanent basis. Hot Glue is only good for quick craft items or a temporary hold to say keep two pieces of wood together for a woodworker who needs an extra set of "hands" until he can put screws or dowels in. I have used it for a lot of craft items, and no matter what you glue with it, it eventually just dries and cracks off and the thing falls apart. So I could not see anyway you could expect it to stick to the metal surface of a car strong enough to let you pop out any dent.

[katlnhats]

Hi Ver,

The program 20/20, when I "do" remember to watch it, almost always has useful information to the average person - people like Andy and I and the other person who posted Tell Andy, at least he didn't hit a Priests car! A pole is nothing compared to that. Only thing I've ever hit.
That glue doesn't make any sense to me either. And I thought of the plunger as people tend to already have one, though the same applies to the rubber mallet. No need to buy something that won't work either.
A friend of mine, this is so bad - was backing out of a parking lot, there was a cruiser parked there, and she backed right into it! Of course the officer was right there, she was crying and he ended up giving her a warning as she didn't do any damage. Then when he told her she could go, she was so nervous, (he really should have moved his car!), she hit it again! Got a ticket that time. See? Andy, what you hit wasn't much at all
Kat