[INDENT]03-06-2011, 02:21 PM - chromal - What Grinds My Gears

Leaving a business and finding new dents and dings on the side fenders or doors of my Mazda3 waiting for me in the parking lot. Twice in the last month. What is wrong with people?[/INDENT]

I was pretty heartbroken about this whole thing, and it's taken me this long to get around to really dealing with it. I park outside the Columbine 'Music Go Round' used instrument store head to head with a big "badass" 4x4 pickup. I come out, the pickup is gone, there are three other cars around the Mazda, and there's a fhuge DENT in the TOP of the driver side front fender. I'm so upset, I actually proceed there in the parking lot to pop the hood and pop the worst of the dent out by reaching in under the hood between the headlight assembly and fender, and pushing it back out.

As it stands now, if you look at the photos, you can see two small dents. The original formed a line between the two and was maybe 1" deep.

I'm just wondering how I can deal with this. The finish still looks good, so I'm hopeful that it might be as simple as removing either the fender liner or front bumper to get access to the backside of the dents, and then just brute force them out with pressure.

Anyone got experience with this sort of thing? How can I restore the smooth gloss lines in the shine and get the last signs of what I assume were a malicious intentional act out of my fender? In the right light, you can't even really see it up close, much less from a distance, but if a long angle of sun hits it and casts them into relief, it's impossible to miss the dents for their shadows.

You might be able to try the hair dryer and compressed air dent removal method on the first one. Can't tell too much on the second one.

Dents by Hand
http://www.dentsbyhand.com/

They made my car look like new and my dents were worse than yours. All in a matter of minutes.

Also, there is another member on here (sadly, he doesn't post anymore, I guess he had some issues with other member(s)). Chance is his name. He had a thread that was bumped recently about some of the paint work he does, and he can also do body repairs (not sure to what extent). My bumper is actually in much worse condition than that, and I sent him pictures and he said he would more than likely be able to fix it. If you find his post (or any of his posts), his phone number is in his signature (only sure fire way to contact him since he doesn't check the forums anymore).

I've not tried it, but I've heard ok things...

You might try the "Paintless Dent/hail damage" crowd.

I saw the Dry Ice thing work too.

Can you get to the back side of the dents? You may be able to work them out with your hands.

rx-7 chris wrote:you may be able to work them out with your hands.

twss

bellalyssa wrote:twss

noice! Speaking of, Will Ferrel is going to be starting in 'The Office' this week

Seriously though, take your car to 'dents by hand' It won't cost you more than 100 bones, and your car will look like new.

bellalyssa wrote:twss

hahahaha

Number2 wrote:Seriously though, take your car to 'dents by hand'

Thanks for this recommendation-- finally got in touch with them. Turns out, they have an associate in Bailey, CO, who is going to make a house call to help my MZ3 this coming Saturday, barring bad weather (since I've no garage or even awning to park under).

They gave me an extremely reasonable sounding estimate and after speaking with them, I'm both impressed and confident I'll be very happy with the end results. I'll be sure to post a follow up once they are finished, fwiw.

Michael Hand of Dents By Hand had referred me to Mike Dunst of Dent Mirage, a mobile dent remover out of Bailey, CO (he does also work in and around Denver). He treated my MZ3 with the same care and consideration he might an expensive vehicle, and kept at it long after I was completely satisfied with the results. He went at it with a remarkable spirit of patience and persistence.

He came to my house, but found it difficult to work on the white MZ3 under a bright open sky, so we went to his place and, parked in his garage next to his nearly pristine (un-restored) white '65 Chevy Impala, he did impressive work on the fender, as well as three door 'dings.' I cannot recommend him highly enough.

Looks good man! I'll keep that address for reference in the future.