PSA: skip the fancy dent puller and try a dry ice trick instead

Had a nasty hail dent on a hood in Kalamazoo last Tuesday and none of my slide hammers would grab it right. I saw a guy on YouTube use dry ice to pop it from the back and figured it was snake oil but it worked in under 5 minutes. Has anyone else had luck with the ice method or am I just getting lucky with shallow dents?

3 comments

3 Comments

claire_grant341mo ago

Yeah, you're probably right about it being for shallower dents. I tried the dry ice trick on a really deep door ding on my old F-150 and it barely made a difference. The metal was stretched out too much for the shock to pull it back, I think. For small hail-sized stuff though, especially if the paint isn't broken, it's honestly magic in my experience. Just make sure the metal is cold enough and you hold the dry ice on there for a solid 20-30 seconds, not just a quick tap. Your mileage may vary but for the cost of a block of ice it's worth a shot before you break out the glue puller.

the_tessa1mo agoTop Commenter

Oh man, @claire_grant34, you just made me feel way better about all the dents I've probably made worse with dry ice over the years. Guess I'll stick to the shallow stuff and stop pretending I'm a DIY body shop pro.

karenb971mo ago

Oh wow, I had the EXACT same experience on my old Tacoma! Deep crease from a shopping cart, dry ice did NOTHING. But for those little hail dents where the paint's still perfect? Total game changer. I actually used a rag soaked in water to press the dry ice against the metal, gave it a FULL 30 seconds, and the dent popped out with a loud crack. @the_tessa don't beat yourself up, we've ALL been there thinking we could fix deep stuff. For the shallow dings it's honestly the best ten bucks you'll spend.