No matter how carefully you drive, it isn’t always possible to avoid car dents and scratches. From a runaway shopping cart in the parking lot to a hailstorm, it can sometimes seem as though the world is conspiring to give your car scratches and dents. We’ve come up with some of the ways that you can deal with minor car damage, and how you can know when it’s time to call your Mini dealer.
What Can You Do About Car Scratches and Dents?
Knowing Your Car Dents
It’s important to understand the different sorts of dent that you might encounter before deciding on a course of action. These include:
- Dings, small indentations with a depth of less than half an inch
- Round dents, large shallow compressions
- Sharp dents, deeper indentations that taper into an inverted point
- Creased dents, the result of a sharp impact that drags against the car
Dealing With Dents
Once you’ve identified the type of dent, you’ll be better equipped to find a solution. Some of the solutions that you might use are:
- Suction to pull out the dent
- Paintless dent removal, where the dent is pressed outwards from the inside
- Heating and cooling to “pop” the metal back into shape
- Packing the indentation with filler after sanding down the affected area
However, consider your own expertise and the extent of the damage carefully, as it’s better to schedule an appointment than it is to risk less protection in the case of a crash, further damage to the paintwork, or long-term problems like rust. The smaller and shallower the dent, the easier the fix and the less likely that there’ll be further problems down the line.
Solving Your Scratches
Scratched paintwork might be more serious than it first appears, as it protects the metal frame of the car. If this is exposed to the elements, it can oxidize with moisture in the air and start to rust.
“Swirls” are scratches that are caused when pieces of grit get stuck in the cloth that you use to clean the car. If these are shallow, then scratch remover can be used to even them out. A scrape or scratch that exposes the paintwork might be fixable with a scratch and paint restore car kit. Your title document will give you the specific color of your car’s paint so that you can match it exactly.
Call Your Mini Dealer
If you have the tools, the expertise, and the confidence, then you can fix minor damage yourself, but don’t run the risk of making the problem worse. If the metalwork of the car is exposed, misshapen, or punctured then it’s often best to seek professional help so that the car can be carefully reshaped, the composite behind the panels restored, and the clear coat and paint reapplied.
Scratches and dents on your car can be annoying, but they don’t have to mean that your car is permanently blemished. Schedule an appointment at Tom Bush MINI, where our expert technicians will soon have your Mini back to its very best.
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