If you've ever dinged your car—or worse, a friend's or parent's car—and caused a dent, you know how expensive it can be to fix. A two-second mistake can end up costing hundreds of dollars, but you can save yourself repairs costs and a headache with just a couple of household items.
What You'll Need
Luckily, if the dent isn't too nasty, you can probably fix it in just a few seconds. You'll need the following:
- a hair dryer (or heat gun)
- can of computer duster spray
Step 1: Heat Dented Area
Take your hair dryer and start thoroughly heating the dented area. Do this for about 20-30 seconds. If you're using a heat gun, be careful to not damage the paint. Use a circular motion to make sure the full area is heated through.
Step 2: Spray with Computer Duster
Immediately after you've heated the dented area, spray it with the computer duster, but make sure to hold the can upside-down. This will cause the CO2 to release super-cold—you may want to consider wearing gloves.
Step 3: Watch & Wait
Once sprayed thoroughly, just sit back and watch. You should be able to hear the metal popping, and in a few seconds, you'll see the dent release back into the normal shape. Bam!!
For more info, check out the video below from Larry Dorf:
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59 Comments
Tried this and it really works, what a great tip, and saved me ?53.65
good
that work for any size dent? or just big ones?
The simplest tricks are always the best. A
Just sent my lease van back 4 days ago and Citroen want to charge me nearly ?500 for dents and scratches (Bandits) Why didn't I discover this last week. Dang Nammit!
Question is... why'd you return it with dents/scratches?
Where can I buy this liquid carbon dioxide can in U.S.?
At Wal-Mart Dick
Where can I find this Wal-Mart in the U.S.?
walk to any major street corner....look left....look right.....lol jk....go to walmart.com or something for locations
buy it at costco or staples
it's used to clean keyboards and computer innards
I'm guessing you can do the same thing with a flat piece of dry ice although the spray would be quicker.
thats amazing, nice video!
That was cool. You should add it DOESN'T cause any damage to the paint, but that was a really helpful tip.
NICE FIX
does it work on both fiberglass & steal cars
& also i got a bigger wider dent will it work (about a foot & 1/2 wider)
if yuou have a big dent use the basketball trick 1. deflate a basketball 2. put it in between the dent and the frame of the car 3. inflate the ball until the dent pops out I just did this today and it works really good then I used the compressed air to get the smaller divets that were left
anyone who has done this, please post. want to try but scared to damage paint more.
doesn't damage paint at all
FYI, those cans of air are not filled with CO2, but with fluorocarbons.
does it work on plastic bumper dents or just metals
i think it was out of sight! thanks so much.
It would only work on metal. metal expands and contracts. plastic just melts and cracks.
How to change the front brake pads on a Honda Accord
Clearly you have never heard of 'thermoplastics'.
Its amazing would like 2 try it.Can any 1 tell me how much vl tht liquid carbon bottle cost ?
can you get that liquid carbon in the uk. i have a small but deep dent in my bike tank . i would like to try it out if anyone knows if its any good for dents like that please post.
@funboy yes go to your local computer store and ask for compressed air in a can
Funboy...try Maplins...they'll have it, or any computer repair shop. It'll only be a couple 'O' quid.
does it work on small sharp dents? please let us know.
@madmarv it worked for hail damage on my hood and quarter panels on my 95 avenger coupe and if you have seen hail damage they are small sharp dents
nice one zeldaman1
This method does NOT work for small dents.
CO2 or Freonspray should do the job, but whatever you do just don't tell greenpeace :-P
I got a dent about the twice as big the size of a softball. It is located on the the driver site rear bumper. Can i use the same method?
driver side* ....
wow
does this work for small dents..like hail dents?
couldnt get it to work on my car think maybe my hair dryer not hot enough or somthing
scam.... it doesn't work don't waste your time you might damage your car. fixing a dent with hair blower and co2 simply doesn't work, it will mass up your point. and this video is not clear enough to show there an actual dent on an actual car.... simply don't waste your time if you want your dent fixed get to a body shop or buy a dent popper off ebay for $10.
didnt work on my buick tried small and large dent on hood waste of money
Woooow! Will def be trying this!
hmmmm..... must try on door dings. Lousy parking lot bandits!
¦¦¦¦¦? DO NOT TRY AS THIS METHOD LOOSENS THE METAL AND CAN EASILY DENT AGAIN
does compressed gas duster work?
so i've tried this like three times to get small dents out of my car above the driver door seal and haven't had any sucess. is there a specific way to do this? like do i need to heat the outside of the dent and freeze the middle?
Depends on the size and severity of the dent, I imagine. If the body you're trying to fix is made of fiberglass or plastic, this method won't work. Only if you're working on a metal piece.
So about 6 months ago an angry kid threw a brick at my car on the passenger side and left scatches and a brick dent on it. I never came to the thought of fixing it because of money expenses. Do you think that if I tried this methood it would really work? Please answer me back...
will this work for a dent near the headlights you think? my dumbass sister ran into our fence and dented my mothers van. We need to fix this SOON! She doesnt know :p.
tried this on my 2010 gmc truck. dent right before back tire. did not work. URGH!
my whole front end is wrecked into the driver's seat, will this work?... lol
nah just kidding, no really kidding....
I'm gonna try this - its worth a try i guess
does this work on older cars with metal fenders or just plastic? and will it work on bowling ball sized dents?
Does it work on smaller, quarter sized dents?
Where can I go to buy the can and what do I ask for
Great!
My can of compressed air says it can explode if you turn it upside down. Help?
It's funny to me to see so many comments about a can of compressed air! And so much worry if it will work or explode ECT.
Hasn't everyone seen the cans for cleaning computer keyboards ? It's a can of air! Walmart, office supply stores, paper fax & copy stores, grocery stores in office supply isle, ECT
Also I'm thinking it's OK to spray upside down long enough like shown in video and not having it explode * I'm not saying it can't explode ! I'm also not telling anyone to use in the upside down manner as discussed here, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK ! For your safety & your property damage I am not responsible!
So many concerns if it will work on this size or that.... What's the deal ? Try I before paying expensive shop to do & if it doesn't work then the (?) $5 air can & your hairdryer isn't a big loss. If I was so worried i could even see testing this method on a scrap junk car part first that way I know what to expect. SERIOUSLY ITS NOT ALL THAT SERIOUS !! but just in case if makes u feel better I'm sure you can obtain some explosion safety gear too JUST TO BE SAFE! but seriously it is smart to always be safe and protect yourself accidents do happen, better safe than sorry!!!
Now i can't wait to try this out for myself I really am amazed at this trick and how simple and fast I worked !!
I have a dent on the back of my trunk (plastic), how can I repair this?
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