pulling dents out of cars Page 7

Small dents in plastic bumpers can often be coaxed out with hot water and a plunger—unglamorous, but so is a trolley kiss in the Coles car park.

On metal panels, warming the area with a hair dryer and then chilling it with compressed air can pop shallow dings, and glue-pull kits work if you’re patient and tidy. If there’s a crease, stretched metal, cracked paint, or the dent sits on a body line, call a professional paintless dent repairer before you make it worse. Always check for bracing and wiring behind the panel, and be gentle—modern panels are thinner than your excuses. And if in doubt, get a quote; it’s usually cheaper than repainting your “learning experience.”