Pro tip: watching a guy at a swap meet in Ohio fix a dent with a hair dryer and compressed air changed my whole approach to paintless repair

I was waiting for a $10 part at the Columbus swap meet last month and saw this old timer pop a massive door ding out in under two minutes with just heat and a can of air duster, has anyone else tried that trick or was he just that skilled?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_wade1mo ago

Blew my mind the first time I saw that trick too. Gave it a shot on my old Civic's door and ended up turning a small dent into a weird crater, still haven't figured out what I did wrong.

brianm274d ago

Heard that too much heat in one spot can warp the panel if you're not careful, so maybe that's what happened to you @the_wade. There's some old forum post I remember saying you gotta move the hairdryer around constantly and check the temp with your hand before spraying. My buddy tried it on his Mustang and it worked great, but he also said the key is having the can upside down so it sprays liquid instead of gas. Could be your Civic's door skin is just thinner metal and needed a gentler touch.

evangarcia1mo ago

Tried it on my old F-150 last year with a hair dryer and a can of keyboard cleaner... worked perfect on a crease above the wheel well. You gotta heat it longer than you think though, like really get that paint warm before you hit it with the cold air.