what to do when clear coat begins to peel

After you have a collision and you have dealt with your insurance company, the next thing you need to do is handle repairs. If the damage to the body of your car is fairly mild, you might be able to fix it on your own. Paintless dent repairs include different methods that get rid of small dents without needing to paint over the area. Here are some ways to use paintless dent repair at home.

Take the Preparations Step

Before you begin removing the dents on your car, you need to do a few things to prepare. First of all, investigate the damage on the body of your car to determine if it is something you can fix on your own. If they are small dents, it is generally something you can do yourself. However, if the dents are especially deep or long, you might want to skip these DIY methods and head straight to your local auto body repair shop. If you have decided to try it yourself first, you should have the following supplies:

• Compressed air can
• Aluminum foil
• Lighter
• Hair dryer
• Dent removal kit

Use Foil, Compressed Air, and a Lighter

One of the easiest ways to remove a dent from your car is by using foil and compressed air, which is why you should start with this method. This should not do any damage to your paint job, therefore making it an excellent paintless dent repair method to try at home. Start by tearing a piece of foil that will fit over the entire dent with a few extra inches on the outside of it. Have a lighter handy in addition to the compressed air.

Hold the foil over the dent with one hand, and hold the flame of the lighter over the foil with the other. Do this for about a minute or as long as you can, then pull the lighter away. Keep the foil pressed against the dent, but this time use your compressed air on the dent. This is going to use both hot and cold temperatures that will hopefully release the dent.

Use a Hair Dryer and Compressed Air

For this next paintless dent repair method, you will use the compressed air but replace the lighter and foil with a hair dryer. You need to be able to turn it on for this method, so use an extension cord and plug the dryer into an outlet in your garage. Turn the hair dryer on high so you get the highest amount of heat, then point it directly at the dent. This is going to help the dent to heat up. Heat it up for a few minutes, then remove the hair dryer and use the compressed air on the dent for a few minutes. You should start seeing a patch form, which melts away and helps to pop out the dent.

Use a Dent Removal Kit

You can also do the repair work with a dent removal kit. This is sold at most auto repair stores. It uses a suction tool that is placed right over the dent, with a string that uses light pressure to start lifting the dent. It will come with detailed instructions on using it properly. If none of these methods works, bring your car to the nearest auto body repair shop, like Lombard Body & Fender Inc.