This weekend I spent a great couple of hours washing and waxing -- every square inch looked great. Today I found a 1/4 inch door ding in the panel behind the passenger door. Not too deep in the metal, but it must have been a sharp hit as it went right through the colour coat! I can see white.

I've just come from my dealer to see about getting the coins out of my CD player (another sad story) so I asked him about the ding. PDR won't fix it as the paint is damaged, so he said the whole panel would need to be re-painted. The alternative is he can sell me a LiB touch-up kit, but said I'll always see it.

Question: if I get a PDR guy to smooth the metal, and use the touch-up paint myself, is there a product I can use to minimize the visual impact?

 

Sounds like a PDR guy can't fix it, if the dealer SA is right.

So don't use the paintless dent repair guy, that is, one who does ONLY PDR.

Use those people who go to car lots and repair chips, dents and flaws. They use various techniques, including PDR, paints and sanding. You can't tell what they did, the work is that good.

They use stuff like this [to get rid of the color match "blob", professionally apply clear coat, etc.]:

http://www.langka.com/index.php?osCs...354273a2be6c51

If the dealership does not know of such a person or does not use one, call some major dealerships to find out who they use.

Again, this is not the strictly PDR person, it's the guy in between the PDR and the body shop. Dealerships use them when they need a professional touch-up, usually on an emergency basis, such as needing to get the new or used car on the lot, and not wanting to spend the money to shoot the whole panel.

 

if you're talking about the rear quarter panel, it's hard to repair with PDR
unless it's close to the rear of the car. but atleast it's not the driver
side where the gas filler makes it virtually impossible to fix without drilling.

you can try langka (sp?). i think minimaybee tried it with success.

 

Also see these concepts. The pros use this kind of stuff and techniques.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8xiuAStLIs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycw1G...eature=related

And of course, you can always do it yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFoCvT7eHYc

 

PDR guys generally won't fix an area that has paint damage because the idea of PDR (Paintless Dent Removal) is to return the affected area to how it was originally without invasive procedures. Point being that even if you fix the dent, the chip will still be there.

Your paint is metallic? It's very difficult to touch up metallic paints. Body shops will spray a larger area and "blend the edges" so you don't see where the painting stops. Any touchup you use will be darker because the metal flakes that were distributed when the car was first painted, won't match up with the metal flakes in the touchup.

As for the white area--you might want to clay the damaged area first just in case that what you're seeing isn't white paint from a white door that hit you.

How you can improve the look depends on what you expect from the repair.

For areas of paint that are missing, I use some Duplicolor spot putty, sand it down, then use touchup. Then I sand that, and polish it. The end result is paint that matches the color of the surrounding paint, but with a slight dimple that can be seen in reflections and by reflected light. It'll never be perfect but it won't be immediately noticeable either.

Maybe post some pix of the problem??

Richard


[QUOTE=myminirox;2471562 Today I found a 1/4 inch door ding in the panel behind the passenger door. Not too deep in the metal, but it must have been a sharp hit as it went right through the colour coat! I can see white.

PDR won't fix it as the paint is damaged, so he said the whole panel would need to be re-painted. The alternative is he can sell me a LiB touch-up kit, but said I'll always see it.

Question: if I get a PDR guy to smooth the metal, and use the touch-up paint myself, is there a product I can use to minimize the visual impact?[/QUOTE]

 

First of all, thank you to everyone who responded. You've given me some very good ideas.

I looked at it again this morning, and it doesn't seem quite as bad as yesterday (I WAS upset). I will try to post some pix, but I'm a bit of a dinosaur in the digital photo area (got to work on this ...).

I'm thinking that I'll start by getting a quote from a professional touch-up guy. Depending on what he says I may just buy the touch-up paint and try the "blob eliminator" myself, polish, wash and wax, and see how it looks. If I do this I'll really take my time, photo document, and post the results.

 

if it was my car i would just push it out and then touch it up, wetsand it
down, wax it later on. done.

a little chip is hardly something i would paint the entire panel for risking
color matching issues, etc.

goodluck with it.

 

One of the guys at the dealership said: "it's a shame this happened on a new car". I told him I'd had it 11 months, driven every day and washed every week, and he couldn't believe it.

Always carefully hand washed, and freshly Hydro'ed on the weekend. The paint looks better than new.

 

I would put a few more "imperfections" on the panel if I were to repaint the whole thing-just to credit some karma. :P

 

I've washed the MINI a couple of times since the incident. The white must have been paint transfer from the other car as it's gone, and wax alone erased the traces.

But, the wierd and wonderful thing is I cannot find the dent! I've looked at the panel from every angle possible and just can't find it. I keep going back because i can't believe it. I know I wasn't imagining it, 2 guys at the dealership commented on it, but it seems to be gone. I don't have an explanation, but I thought I'd let you all know.

 

myminirox has gone crazy...

 

I think it's all due to the HYDRO..........

 

it's still there

 

Huh

Sorry, based on the bizarre course of this thread, have to press the "unsubscribe" link.

Bonus Tip: Sell the MINI, dent and all. Only way you are gonna keep your sanity.

Super Bonus Tip: Buy another MINI and start over.

 

When you make it to Vancouver the first drink is on me.

 

have the PDR tech pull it out with a glue puller. if it's that shallow
wont need to remove anything and just glue pull it.

 

here it is.

 

Ken, got a question for you. I watched that video on the DentOut thing... basically the glue puller. Do you think those work, or is it a scam? I started looking around and I can pick up the DentOut puller for about $20, which is a lot less than the $95 I was quoted for a tiny tiny dime sized dent I have. The ding is on the passenger side behind the door, sort of up and to the right of the rear tire... I am afraid the PDR guys won't be able to get in there to pop the dent out.

What are your thoughts about the "as seen on TV" version?

PS
Don't let your wives move things in the garage. They tend to fall because of the lack of Jenga training as a youth... At least it's not me in the doghouse for once!

 

I use glue pullers when I can't get good access from the inside.

Glue pullers are effective but it takes quite a bit of practice to get it right. The trick is to pull past the dent so the panel is slightly convex, then knock it down using the knock down tool. It can take a lot of pulls to get it past the dent. Then you need a trained eye and light guide (or a brick wall) in the reflection to get it straight.

It's not as easy as advertised.

I've done a 5" crease on my old Legacy using nothing but glue pullers (3 different size pullers) and a knock down tool. It was straight to the point the dealer could not tell.

 

Btw, glue puller has its limitations though... If the ding is near a curve or a decorative line on the panel it won't have enough pull force. Otherwise it will just tear the paint off.