Plastic bodywork dent repair

If you have dent in a plastic body panel on your vehicle, before you call a bodyshop, you may want to try this simple trick to help 'pop' the dent back out yourself. If there is no sign of cracking around the dented area, this indicates that plastic material is fairly pliable, and with a little help should spring back into its original position.

First clean the bumper with a very mild solution of washing up liquid and water to remove any road deposits. Rinse off with clean water and allow to dry thoroughly.

Get a conventional hair dryer and adjust it to a high heat, and holding the hair dryer at least 30cm away from the dent, move the dryer in a constant circular motion whilst following the general shape of the dent.

Keep this motion going for about 5 - 10 minutes. Do not be tempted to try and 'speed up' the process by getting the dryer too close, the object is to gently warm up the plastic, not melt it!

After 3 or 4 minutes, get a RUBBER ended hammer and very gently 'tap' around the edge of the dent. After a period of time the vibrations caused by the hammer should hopefully encourage the plastic to restore its original shape and pop back out by itself.

If this does not work, and you can reach behind the panel, you could also try tapping the back of the dent lightly with the hammer. If that does not work then it's time to contact one our quality approved repair centres!

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