hevquip

Theoretical question, for me at least. Seems like an non-conventional contour to work on, so I wonder how "they" (those who fix those things) fix that. Drill in and put a device in the hole to pull on and pop it out? I have trouble seeing how a dent like that could be made smooth again, short of filling it and painting over it, or pulling it and hammering or sanding the **** out of the creases and still having to use some filler before paint.













Anywho, on a sidenote...

...When on the main page to look through all the forums, there's ones for things like suspension, wheels & tires, DIY, and performance mods, but no forum dedicated to body and paint and cosmetic issues, such as interiors. A forum like that would be good for reading up on removing a bumper, fixing a dent in a fender, Bondoing and sanding techniques, doing paint touch-up, reupholstering a seat, finding out the weight of a hood, installing a nose panel, trying a $50 paint job (some forum members have done an awesome job!), removing carpet, etc., etc., you get the point. Maybe someone on this board is listening and will make it happen...

onspeed

do they drill to pop dents? i thought they welded something at the center?

mazdaverx7

a stud gun is used to work that dent out. you grind the area to bare metal and the stud gun welds a stud onto the metal and you more or less use a slide hammer and pull the dent out. you then grind off the studs when you have the basic shape and then the rest is done with body filler. that is the commercial way to fix that.

FRporscheman

Buffer.

JohnKoaWood

A profesional body shop, or any body shop affiliated with a Porshce dealer will NOT pull that dent out.. "they" would cut out the panel and weld in a replacement.

This has been the standard practice since panel beating became such a black art.. it used to be how it got done...

And yes, I have a full set of body hammers, dollies, picks, rollers, and shrinkers / stretchers... I HAVE been beating out the damage from my N/A because I do not want to pay a shop to cut out a panel, weld in a new one, then paint the entire car...

The panel below the tag is VERY difficult to get to, bat CAN be accessed and beaten out.. but you are literally talking HOURS and HOURS of work to get it right the old school right way... the other way.. couple hours and it is baking the new paint!

there are 2 right ways (beat it out, replace the panel) then there is the wrong way, which funny enough is the way used by less than reputable shops, which is to "pull" the dent using a stud gun and a slide hammer, and then fill it with body filler to make it smooth... body filler has its uses, filling in large dents should never be one of them...

Tedro951

I'm in the grind, stud, grind, fill, prime, paint camp. Cutting and welding brings its own problems. In a perfect world, the guy doing the cutting and welding would be an artist, carefully ensuring the gaps are perfect, the backside of the welds are prepped and properly coated against corrosion, using proper sealant around taillights, etc.

In the real world, it'll probably be an irritable body man, trying to get it to the painter in a big hurry, not concerned about the long term effects of bare welds on the backside, gaps that will need filler anyway, and doing damage to the tailights and hatch carpet/trim in the process.

Its funny how many customers we used to have that specified "new" body panels so they wouldn't have "bondo" in their car. Most of the parts we received from GM and Ford had dents in them. I think they must've pulled them from the line because of the dents and sent them to shops.

I had an identical dent in mine. I pulled it until it was VERY close. It took 3 smears to get it just right, using various diameter dowels to match the curves, but it was maybe a total of 1.5 hours or less, and there was almost no filler remaining on the car.

m73m95

If you are using the stud gun correctly, you shouldn't have to grind the studs off. They should come off with your fingers and a few "side to side" bends.

If you weld them on to well, you will create a number of problems you'll just have to fix later. 1. more grinding 2. you'll melt off the rubber body insulation on the inside of the body. 3. you'll weaken the surrounding metal by getting a few very hot spots surrounded by cold spots.

Just bump the trigger on the stud gun. On a straight pull, the stud is very strong, but comes off easy, with no damage to the body, on a sideways tug.

BTW, I have a stud welder kit for sale if anyone is interested. $250

hevquip

Is that dent accessible from inside the hatch? I don't have a car to jump into, but if you were sitting in the hatch and removed the spare tire, wouldn't you be able to look down in there and see the indentation on the inside to the right of the spare tire well or somewhere in approximation?

Dash01

1. Paintless dent repair? At least ask local car dealers who they use, and consult with them. Maybe fix without resort to body and paint work?

2. Vacuum cup? Harbor Freight sells these for <~$5. Same principle as welding a tab on, but uses vacuum over a vastly larger area, leaves paint and metal alone. Heat with hair dryer to help paint stay flexible.

3. If you can get to the damaged area from the inside of the car, maybe tap out the dent with a dead blow hammer: Take softwood yardstick, cut into a couple sections, double up, lay or tape against inner surface of dent, tap the wood with deadblow hammer. This distributes the impact over a wider area.

4. Youtube may have PDR or dent removal videos.

5. " also has info about using heat and ice to shrink or remove dings. Yours is probably too big and deep for that , but worth a shot to reduce the size?

harrisonrick

how much you are willing to spend = how it is fixed

Tedro951

I think you'll do more damage cutting access to it. I tried to access the backside, couldn't. I had the same dent as you, in the same place. Yours looks a little deeper, possibly.

That isn't coming out with suction cups or ice. I'd at least let a paintless guy do an estimate. They'll come to you, and if a miracle happens, you've saved on the decal, too. My money says they'll have to cut an access hole or two on the inside, if they'll even try.

Ben Waite

From the picture it looks like a bumper. Remove that one ,Don't waste time trying to fix that one, buy another one cheap, paint it the color of the car and mount it to the car.

JohnKoaWood

Dent in question is the body panel immediately above the bumper... below the tail lights.

Would take LOTS of itty bitty suction cups... as there are few straight lines, flat areas, or much surface area at all...

Don't bother with dry ice, it wont do anything but make you spend the money to buy it...

if car is concourse cut / weld / respray or find a panel beater willing to take his time...

if car is typical 944... stud gun / body filler / rattle can it.. if you want to go the extra mile, go to a automotive body supply business and get them to mix you matching paint and put it into rattle cans... either replace the decal on the rear, or leave it off... some 944 owners dont even know there is a decal that belongs there....

F40LM

I have a dent in the same area passenger side. First attempt was to drill holes and use a 2lbs slide hammer to pull the dent out. I AM NOT AN EXPERT BUT HAVE DONE THIS BEFORE ON OTHER CARS...my experience: it just didn't work here, too many conplex angles. Did more damage to the panel trying to pop it out. After drilling and bumping in 8 spots along the dent I finally had to step back and admit the easiest fix will be to cut this section off my parts car and transplant it. I hope to have time to try this approach this coming week-end.

I will cut out the transplant pieces off of both cars and do the grinding for fit, then have a pro welder drop by and work his magic. My advantage though...I have a welder and the pro is a good friend of the families so should be nothing or next to nothing to have him weld it in.

My .02 worth

michael

KLR

Both the OP's dent and the one above are in a very bad spot. PDR won't work there. You'd think you could access it from the back and pound it out, but it's not the case. If it were an insurance repair at a reputable body shop, they would cut the panel out and replace it (cut would be on the seam above the reverse/turnsignal lenses and below the outside edge of the tail light). They would then paint the back of the car and blend across the quarter panels (i.e., paint about 1/3 of the car). Sounds nuts given how modest the damage is, but that's what they do.