If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of an anonymous door ding, you know exactly how frustrating it is upon discovery. The process for door ding removal isn’t complicated but it’s still a process that no one wants to go through. Not sure what that means?
Just imagine.
You park your car and run into the grocery store for 15 minutes and come out and BAM! There’s an ugly-looking dent on the side of your car door.
You’re not exactly sure how it got there or who did it but it’s there. This, my friends, is an anonymous door ding. Sometimes you see them coming and other times you don’t.
What exactly is a door ding?
The most common type of door ding is the result of another vehicle’s door swinging too far and impacting the side panel of another vehicle. In this situation, the vehicles are usually parked beside each other. The impact of the renegade door leaves a dent, or a “ding” if you will.
Dents in your door can also be classified as door dings even if the resulting damage was caused by another object. You can get a door ding from a runaway shopping cart. Perhaps things got wild in your garage and someone speared your car door with a heavy broom. A door ding could occur from literally any object type capable of creating an acute impact in the side panel of your vehicle.
Can door dings be repaired?
Yes, of course. There’s almost nothing that can’t be repaired if it’s made of metal. We use paintless dent repair to fix door dings if the damage isn’t too severe. The level of severity depends on whether the paint has been scraped off, along with the size and depth of the dent.
There are instances where the paint has been removed and you will need more than just touch up paint and a polish. For most door dings, paintless dent removal is the best solution.
The door ding removal process
To begin the door ding removal process, our technicians will clean out the damaged area to get a clear view of the dent and determine the extent of the damage. They may be inclined to polish the area as well to remove loose debris and see the area that needs to be pushed or pulled out.
Once a proper assessment is made, we decide on the best method of door ding dent repair. Pushing a dent out is always preferred to pulling the dent out with glue pullers. We’ll decide on the best tools for the job by matching the push tools to the shape of the dent.
Wondering why we prefer push tools over glue pullers? Click on the link to find out why.
For most door dings our first option is to get behind the dent through the same opening that the window glass moves into when you roll down the window.
We remove the rubbery part at the bottom of the window called the belt molding to get access to the inside of the car door. PDR tools are used while leveraging them against a fixture. This way, a PDR tech can continuously push against the dent in a back and forth, rocking motion and move the metal closer and closer to its original shape.
For this reason, we cover the glass in a protective sleeve to avoid any scratches, breaking or chipping.
Whenever a dent occurs, it changes the shape of the metal. These changes in the shape of the metal are easily spotted with a PDR lamp. This type of light shines lines over the dent in order to see every deviation in the surface. They also help to monitor the progress and results of the small changes that are happening with each push from behind the dent.
The finishing touches include using a PDR hammer-like tool to “tap down” and crowns around the dent (raises in metal that happens on impact). A second cleaning and polishing will ensure the dent is virtually undetectable.
Click here to read a case study on how to remove a dent from a door panel.
Here’s what to do when someone dings your door
Sometimes you won’t know who damaged your vehicle. In these situations, it’s going to be you who foots the bill. Whether you go through your insurance or you go to a PDR specialist doesn’t matter. You will still be paying a deductible even if your policy covers dents and minor damage. If you were present when someone else damaged your car then follow the next step.
Collect insurance information just like you would in an accident
If you witnessed someone actually damaging your vehicle, you need to collect his or her information immediately. They are liable for the damages done to your car and you can get them or their insurance company to pay.
You should also ask any one else who witnessed the door ding for a statement and collect their contact information as well.
Call your insurance company and make a claim against their insurance.
Clean out the dent
Once a side panel has sustained damage, it’s necessary to clean out the area as soon as possible. In the deeper dents where paint has been chipped right off and there is metal exposed, you need to protect your vehicle from the possibility of rust setting in.
Get an estimate on the damage
Take a picture of the dent and send it in to us. If you want to get an accurate estimate on the damage, you can use our cost estimate calculator tool to find out how much it will cost to fix a door ding.
9 times out of 10 whether it’s you or the person who dinged your door, PDR will be the most cost-effective option for fixing a dent.
Set up a PDR appointment
Call, text or email us for an appointment and get your car fixed ASAP. Magic Dent Repair gives 10% discounts for using our online estimate form and an ADDITIONAL 10% if you sign up for our monthly newsletter.
