Large Hail Storm Got My J30 Today.

[alexhho]

I woke up this morning to a large hail storm in the area, and it got my car. I was surprised to only find about a dozen or so dents localized on my hood. There were no dents anywhere else. I knew that the J30 had pretty hard metal frame, but I was surprised that the hood is not made up of the same thickness as the rest of the body. Anyway, does anyone know how much it would cost to fix the 12 or so dents on the hood? They are realitively small dents. Is it possible for me to do it myself? I tried to get underneat it, but there is the burn proof sheet that is held together by a bunch of plastic buttons. I was afraid to remove these, because it doesn't seem like they will go back on after they are removed. They look like those snap-on plastic buttons. Where can I get more of these if someone here tells me that it's possible to fix the dents on the hood myself? Thanks, guys.

[NY94J30]

The hood on the J is Al, which I have been told is much harder to pull dents from, I think the malleability leads to metal memory.

Check out this article:

http://www.jag-lovers.org/xk-l....html

[Aus94Q45]

My brother's truck got it bad on the roof, hood, and fenders (100+ dings). One of the paintless repair shops said they could get them all out for $1600. I would think less than $400 for twelve. Fortunately, hail repair has come a long way in the past few years. You should be able to get them out and keep your OEM paint!

[lfootmatt]

My 97 Tahoe got blasted with baseball sized hail.

insurance insisted that I use dentbuster paintless repair. I fought to no avail. No way they could get them out (200+ dents hood, sides, and roof).

I do my own boat gel coat repairs and have an eye for the slightest imperfection. I'll be damned, but they got them all out and I couldn't see a single one!!! I can't argue with the results, and no I don't own or work for them.

I think they charge by the panel.

Matt

[alexhho]

Thanks for all the responses, guys. The J30's hood is so thin that I was hoping there's a way to removed the heat-protection sheet underneat it safely and try to get to the dents myself.

[alexhho]

Hi guys. I ran across this post while searching for a way to resolve the hail storm damage on my hood, and I was wondering if I can get your opinions on the matter:

"Not seeing the dent, it's a little hard to guess it, but I do have an idea here that might work. If the dent is smooth (no creases) you can try dry ice first. Get some pellet type dryice, good insulated gloves and put the truck in the sun to get it as hot as possible. Holding the dryice so the end of it is on the outside of the dent, work in a circular pattern (like a record player) to the center of the dent. The dryice cools the sheetmetal and sometimes will pull the dent out. I have had some good luck doing this with hail damage as long as no creases are present. Additionally it did not damage the paint."

[cweberj30t]

Hi guys. I ran across this post while searching for a way to resolve the hail storm damage on my hood, and I was wondering if I can get your opinions on the matter:

"Not seeing the dent, it's a little hard to guess it, but I do have an idea here that might work. If the dent is smooth (no creases) you can try dry ice first. Get some pellet type dryice, good insulated gloves and put the truck in the sun to get it as hot as possible. Holding the dryice so the end of it is on the outside of the dent, work in a circular pattern (like a record player) to the center of the dent. The dryice cools the sheetmetal and sometimes will pull the dent out. I have had some good luck doing this with hail damage as long as no creases are present. Additionally it did not damage the paint."

I don't think that will work with Aluminum.

[alexhho]

What's a dentbuster? Is that the thing you see on tv commercials? Does that stuff really work? Aren't there anyone here who specializes in body repair?

[maxnix]

Paintless dent removal is something that is learned over the years by a highly skilled individual. After watching my guys who have 6+ years experience, I can assure you there are no shortcuts to acheive the perfect results they produce.

[Q451990]

I agree... give your J it's best chance and don't try it DIY! I've tried to rub out small dents and dings in cars and brass musical instruments - never successfully. It's one of those few things (like carpet installation) that I won't try to do myself.

Heath

[alexhho]

Thanks, Brian and Heath. I appreciate hearing it from you guys.

[VimyJ]

Aluminum is light weight and doesn't rust. However, it doesn't have the elasticity of steel. The rest of your J's metal flexed with the hail but the same size stones on your hood left their impression unfortunately. It's just the nature of that metal.