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My cousin swore by using a heat gun on a dent and it went so wrong
So my cousin, who is not a body guy but is always full of advice, told me last week that I should just use a heat gun on a small dent in a quarter panel to pop it out. He said, 'Just get it real hot and tap it from behind, it'll go right back.' I was working on a 2018 Camry for a local guy and figured I'd give it a quick try on a shallow crease. I heated the spot for maybe 30 seconds and gave it a light tap. Next thing I know, the paint blistered up in this perfect circle about the size of a baseball. It went from a simple PDR job to needing a full spot repair and repaint. I mean, the metal didn't even move. I had to tell the customer and eat the cost of the extra work. Has anyone else had a well-meaning tip from a non-pro totally backfire on them?
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riley_miller2524d ago
My uncle tried that same trick on his truck door a few years back. The paint cracked like an eggshell. What actually worked for me on a small dent was using a plunger on a warm day, not hot, just normal warm. You gotta wet the rim and the paint first to get a good seal. It popped a shallow dent right out on my old Civic without messing up the clear coat. Heat guns are just too risky on modern paint, it's not worth it.
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