How to Repair Dents on the Hood Caused by Stones?
2 Answers
The methods to repair dents on the hood caused by stones are: 1. Assess the depth and size of the dent. Since the car hood is made of metal, if a piece is chipped off by a stone and the dent is too large or almost penetrates the metal, replacement is necessary; 2. If the dent is not too severe, you can take it to an auto repair shop for fixing. Car paint repairs are calculated by the panel. Even if only a small part of the hood is damaged, the entire hood needs to be repainted. The repair process includes removing the paint, performing metalwork to flatten the dent, and repainting; 3. DIY paint repair. Since the hood is metal, if the paint is chipped off, the metal part may rust over time and even rust through, leading to water leakage. You can purchase a touch-up paint pen to repair it yourself.
Last time I was driving on the highway, a small dent was made on my hood by a stone kicked up from the car in front, which was quite frustrating. Since I'm a DIY enthusiast, I decided to fix it myself: first, I cleaned the surface and gently heated it with a heat gun (not too hot to avoid damaging the paint), then bought a dent repair suction cup tool to pull it out. The operation needs to be slow; after gently pulling a few times, the dent was leveled out, costing only a few dozen bucks with the paint intact. After the repair, I also applied a layer of wax for protection to prevent moisture from causing rust. The key is, if the dent is shallow, you can try DIY; just follow tutorials to learn. For deeper dents, it's better to let professionals handle it to avoid cracking the paint due to shaky hands. Regular car washing can also prevent stones from sticking. All in all, it took some time but saved a lot of money, and it felt quite rewarding.
