dry ice dent removal

[irishblessing]

has anyone ever tried it i have a couple little dents i dont want to pay 100 bucks to remove i was wondering if this would work?

 

[superdave1984]

You mean heating the sheetmetal then shocking it with the dry ice? I've seen it done with small non creased dings but not on anything bigger than a parking lot ding or something. It takes practice to keep from burning the paint.

 

[irishblessing]

no ive seen videos of people just rubbing dry ice on dents and they popping up
i guess some of the chemicals in the dry ice make the metal tighten up idk

 

[daniel3507]

from what i have heard you let your truck sit in the sun for while on a hot day and then use the dry ice.

 

[LittleHorse]

from what i have heard you let your truck sit in the sun for while on a hot day and then use the dry ice.

this is the way I've heard of it done...



btw, it's got nothing to do with chemicals. It's just the natural thermal expansion and contraction of the metal. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and when you have a dent, the metal is taking a longer path metaphorically speaking. So when you shrink it by drastically cooling it down, it will try to shorten up that path and become straight.

That's the theory behind it anyway. I've never tried it, but if it works out for you let us know, I've got a dent in my motorcycle fuel tank that would be perfect for it. I just haven't had the time to find dry ice. Back in OKC they sell it at walmart, but in this town it's harder to find.

 

[irishblessing]

so if i were to try this would it screw up my paint at all?

 

[Hazmat Ranger]

Little Horse - try a place that sells beer, wine, spirits - that is where I got some to remove that nasty sound deadener from floor boards.

I have never tried the DI on dings, but have heard that you should let it sit out in the sun - summer time is best - then take a piece of the DI (wearing gloves) and rub it onto the ding - it should just pop out due to the metal shrinking as mentioned. Do a write up on it with some pics or video . . .

 

[irishblessing]

its not to hot today but i think i might try it i dont have a camera right now but i can tell you guys if it works or not

 

[Hazmat Ranger]

Extension cord and your hair dryer or mom's, wife's, girlfriend's, life partner's - LOL just trying to cover ALL the bases . . . the hair dryer will not get hot enough to damage the paint, but may help it some.

 

[irishblessing]

i might try that if i were to use a hair dryer it would probably be my mothers hair dryer lol

 

[LEVE]

It does work. But then so does "Paintess Paint Repair." The newer cars have metal so thin that it's easily worked back into shape if there's no crease in the dent. You can usually get behind the dent and work it out. Google the process, it's really kind of fun to do.

 

[LittleHorse]

It does work. But then so does "Paintess Paint Repair." The newer cars have metal so thin that it's easily worked back into shape if there's no crease in the dent. You can usually get behind the dent and work it out. Google the process, it's really kind of fun to do.

paintless dent repair is an easier option if possible.

In my case the dent in the fuel tank is too low to be reached from the cap, especially with the tunnel cutout for the frame top tube in the way.

Also on cars with double layered roofs and hoods where you can't get behind the dent....in these cases and mine, dry ice would be the only paintless option.

 

[paxlineman]

sounds like a cool idea let me know if it works

 

[twinky]

If there not creased i just use a plunger
It really works.

 

[irishblessing]

If there not creased i just use a plunger
It really works.

well for the most part it does work
i found it works alot better for smaller size dents (smaller than a quarte)
but you can use it for larger ones it just takes longer and sometimes they do go back
my recomendation for anyone trying to do this wear gloves and use tongs to hold the ice they are going to freeze the tongs then circular motion around the dent
it shouldnt screw up your paint(didnt with mine and mine is 13 years old)
if you have problems dont blame lol

and like twinky said if there not creased