Dented rocker panel
 

I was walking to my car today and noticed this.
I have no idea when/what it happened, or how long it's been damaged. I can only assume that because it's been absolutely freezing cold in ontario, that it happened while pulling into a driveway where a snowbank froze over rock solid. The paint pressure-cracked and is exposing metal - meaning I've got to fix it ASAP. Not to mention that my OCD is kicking in real hard and it's tormenting =(

I've started emailing for quotes, but if anybody could fill me in on what to look out for in terms of workmanship for this repair, and what to avoid (i.e. drilling holes to pull dents) that'd be awesome.

For those in Ontario, I'm likely gonna go with Chipmasters Markham, due to their reputation and expertise in repairing these types of damages.
There's been a couple threads started over similar damage but OPs never followed up after their repairs.
Thanks, everyone!

http://s14.postimg.org/cz09cvffl/Photo0810.jpg


http://s14.postimg.org/frtgwwfs1/Photo0809.jpg



http://s14.postimg.org/hm6ben2sh/Photo0811.jpg

Man, I know the feeling...
I kissed a sidewalk while turning into a parking spot and this happened.

Not exactly the same damage since mine was more on the side but I would guess the price to fix is similar. I PM'ed you a copy of my detailed invoice to get an idea.

http://i.imgur.com/KpkqNSV.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/LQZjQm0.jpg

can i also see ur invoice my rocker is bent in too

OP, by judging from the small image, the shape and size and the location of that dent looks suspicious. It looks like someone was trying jack up your car and placed the jack wrong. I have a very similar dent, not as big as yours on my car, at the same location of the car, because i was stupid and didn't place my jack properly :p

ouch I have a tiny blip in mine nowhere as serious as you guys so I just did some touch up and said whatever for now lol

OP i almost bet you threw something up with the tire to cause that!

Same kinda thing happened to me. I was driving down a trader joes parking ramp that has a 90 deg right turn in. The is a curb that juts out at the corner of the turn.
3 buck chuck quickly became 1139 buck chuck.

http://imageshack.com/a/img834/9862/8vfa.jpg

Wow, seems like damage to that area is more common than I thought!
Im bringing the car in tomorrow for repair.. I wish I could wait till it gets warmer, but I don't know if the metal underneath has been compromised from the paint cracking, and don't want to take any chances. Luckily no there's no rust so far in spite of all the salt on the road.

To all the bodywork experts, would having this done during the cold weather (at least -7 most days) be detrimental to the longevity of the repair? Not like I have much choice, but just curious.

Cars are painted indoors... and usually auto body shops give a life time warranty on their work so I wouldn't worry on longevity.

You could always get TRD side skirts. They will cover all the above shown dents.

thought of sharing the same i think i belong.. i got 2 one on each side..

http://flic.kr/p/jHCRCu

How much did it cost? I scratched mine on a cement block getting into a parking lot the other day. I'm wondering how much it'll be to fix this thing.

PMed
My car will be completed tomorrow, but I might not be able to pick it up until the weekend. Will depend if I'm able to get time off work.
I keep getting a nagging feeling that I should have taken it to European Autobody (ferrari authorized) or Luxury autobody since they're considered the best in the area. I didnt think the area of damage warranted the price I'd be paying though.
I hope hindsight doesnt kick me in the ass =(

Report back on the state of the car when you get it back :)

Well that would also make the portion of the car closer to the ground and increase the chances of it happening again :(

just be more careful next time i guess.. i learned the hardway.. tried using "Pops a dent" just threaded the whole thing and still cant make much of a difference.

Will check on some local garage here in Dubai for a better dent removal.

As promised, here's a followup of my repair!

The entire odeal was quite stressful..cars and OCD don't mix well (actual OCD - not just figuratively speaking, lol) but because I seriously fixated on this subject for a week straight, but I did learn a lot.

I hope that this little guide would help other owners looking for info about dealing with this type of damage.

If you had damaged your rocker panel,
Firstly, assess the damage and look for any paint cracking, or scraping of the rock guard that might have exposed any metal.

If any metal is exposed (like what happened to me), it's best to get it fixed asap. Wash the area with rubbing alcohol cover exposed metal with touch up paint until you can bring it in.

If not, consider whether you want to get it fixed at all because the repair will almost always be detremental to the original integrity of the metal in that area.

Paintless dent removal is impossible in the rocker panel of this car. The fix typically involves grinding the area down to bare metal, welding some sort of stud or fixture in place to aid in pulling the dent out with one of many methods (such as a slide hammer or pull bar) to pull the dent as much as possible, before finally smoothing with filler and refinishing. Filler is unavoidable as far as I know, so it is absolutely imperative that the prepwork be top notch to minimize the use of filler. Shops may also suggest patching the area with a new piece of metal, but avoid this if you can.
Some shops may also drill holes into the rocker, either to access the panel from the inside or to fix a screw as a stud- avoid doing this at all costs!

While looking for shops, ask these questions:
Do they plan to pull the dent or weld/patch the rocker?
Are they going to drill holes?
What pulling method they will use?
What Dent pulling techniques/equipment they will use?
How far up they will blend the paint?

Dent pulling systems that shops typically use include:
Stud/pin welding -Welds pins into place for slide hammer/leverage pull by hand
Weld-on slide hammer - Welds end of slide hammer into place for pull by hand
Bolt welding - Welds a bolt into place for pull by hand
Washer welding - Welds washers into place for uniform pull by "bear claw"
Straight washer Welding - welds "straight" washers into place for uniform pull by "bear claw"
Wriggle wire - stitch welds a piece of zigzagged wire into place for pull by "bear claw"

The downside to these methods is that the welding may burn off the galvanizing from the back side of the metal. Methods with the smallest contact points are less damaging to the metal - however, I assume that methods used is subjective to area/type of damage.

Before dropping off your car, remember to:
Wash and inspect the car's condition
Wrap small towel over shiftknob (had bad experience with a mechanic scratching up my shiftknob with his ring)
Request that the car not be washed except where necessary for repair
Request that they make sure to mask the underside of the car (a lot of shops don't do this
Ask for a tour of the shop - make sure it's clean, and equipped with a spray booth
Ask to see some finished work - make sure finish is up to your standards

When picking up your car, remember to:
Ask how the repair went - how much of the dent they were able to pull? (request progress photos if possible)
Bring a flashlight halogen, like maglights work best
Knock on repaired area to check for overuse of filler
Inspect repair for quality, orangepeel, wetsanding marks, buffer trails, etc
Inspect molding/trim for overspray
Inspect the rest of the car for any scratches/damage

It's best to point out any issues on the spot to avoid any diffculty later on!



...Jeez, this is getting long
I will post about my repair experience when I get home from work!

If you don't mind me asking, how much did this run you? I just had a nightmare this morning when I pulled out of my parking lot and instantly slid into a ice/snow wall.. It sounded terrible like hitting a curb.

Luckily the only ding was the rocker panel pushing in about the middle of the door.. It looks very similar to yours.

Thanks

In for results. And I thought my rock chip from the winter storm was bad...

Sorry for the delay, but here's the (100% honest) followup of my repair!

After doing some very thorough research, and getting quotes from the most reputable shops in the area* I decided to bring my car to Chipmasters Markham. They were the the most reviewed shop out of the list, and in spite of a few negative reviews, still had a very good +/- ratio. They also claimed to specialize in micro-painting or spot blending, which greatly influenced my decision. I brought my car in on the saturday and asked all my questions and voiced my concerns. The shop owner, Ron, was very nice, professional and accommodating. I was still nervous about going with that shop, but he assured me that I would be happy with the result and that it would look as good as new. The car was to be ready for Tuesday.

I booked the tuesday off ahead of time, but unfortunately the car wasn't ready. till wednesday. I wasn't upset, though, because I surely didn't want them rushing the job. But since I couldn't get any more days off, I wasn't able to pick it up until friday.


Friday finally comes along, and tbh, I was nervous as hell. I've had some bad experiences with shops in the past, so I couldn't help but stress myself out with all sorts of "what if's." After getting to the shop, and upon close inspection of the repair, I was pretty relieved. The paint match was perfect. There was no orange peel, and the blending work on the panel was seamless as well. There wasn't a hint of overspray anywhere, including under the car. The chipguard was repplied straight and uniformly. The panel, slightly flared from impact, was straightened to perfection. Ron informed me that the dent had pulled out very well, with the exception of very minor ripples, which was smoothed out with a miniscule amount of filler.

There were some very minor issues - there are some very very minor wetsanding marks in the area of repair. Because it's the rocker panel, You'd never see em unless you're right up close with a flashlight. I also tried to stress my level of attention to detail with telling them not to wash the car (except for the area to be repaired) but I think that they had missed the point after taking a snowbrush to my car and drying the water off the unwashed car with a shop rag. Therefore, some marring and swirling was induced, but I assume that this is nearly unavoidable with any shop, and nothing a detail job can`t fix.

Overall, the quality repair had for the most part, met my standards and I'm happy!
I would say that the repair job itself, is a 9/10. If anybody is in the GTA and looking to repair the same stype of damage, you can trust chipmasters. Or go to Luxury Autobody or European Autobody and let me know how it goes, cuz I'm curious!


*Best shops around Toronto/shops I got quotes from

European Autobody - Supposedly the best, ferrari/maserati authorized. Very few detailed reviews on the net, yet there were a still couple negative ones. Also very, very expensive.

Luxury Autobody - Very recommended on a lot of forums, yet there are almost no reviews available online. The shop looked very legit though. Price above average.

Chipmasters Markham - Very well reviewed, especially by RFD (however, I had trouble trusting their judgement completely..was RFD, and not a car forum after all) Very fairly priced.

427 Auto Collision - Supposedly one of the best in the GTA. No reviews available online however.. They also wouldnt get back to me through email, F them.

Fix Auto (Mississauga North) - Well reviewed, prices slightly above average.

http://s27.postimg.org/dr5y5v55f/IMG_0020.jpg

Glad you were able to get it fixed! These cars really need side skirts to protect the rockers to at least some extent.

How much did it cost?

Better pics of area washed and lighting?

PMed, and sorry about the crappy pics! It's been so slushy around here, there's not much of a chance to take a proper picture. But It's pretty much good as new. The paint matching is perfect and the wetsanding marks are only visible if I shine a halogen light at it. Although I'm sure that the chip guard texture isn't exactly like OEM, I wasn't going to go between the two sides of the car to compare them, lol!

Could you PM me the price?? I got ding in same spot on Monday

Thanks for all the info

Can you PM me how much as well?

I just noticed a small dinger with a nice patch of missing paint :cry:

PMed !

Con-census on this is that it can't be PDRd? Dented mine autocrossing and hitting cones at like 60mph sideways lol

Ya, PDR requires access to the inside and the rocker panel is an enclosed box.

Just the rocker panel at the rear. Happened at NCCAR too!

why is everyone being so secretive about the cost of repair? I don't understand

http://s29.postimg.org/jeuy8h0vr/20150413_182459.jpg

Not sure if this helps

Holy crap what are those cones made of? I get the cars are built light but geeeeez.

Mine was last year, rocker panel in the rear passenger, spun out chasing those seconds off the clock... lol

Still haven't gotten mine fixed though! It's been my battle scar.

hahaha Going sideways at 50+ will do that!

Video of it!

[ame]http://youtu.be/VLBKgNjohxs?t=41[/ame]

Just following up with the repair. After just over a year, I'm very disappointed to say that it doesn't look like the repair has been holding up too well.. There is a good amount of paint lifting off of the gravel guard in the area of repair. The refinish is also covered in pinholes, that I had initially not noticed. And there is what appears to be bubbles forming in a small portion over the gravel guard as well. Praying it's just paint lifting and not rust from a crappy repair!!

The repair work is lifetime guaranteed and I'll be bringing it back this weekend. The thing is, I'm not sure whether to take them up on it, or try a new (better rep) shop altogether. I'm willing to pay again if it means it will be fixed properly this time, but most people (including the new shop I'm considering) thinks I should give them a second chance. Ahh dunno what to do!

Pics to come when i get a chance.

Any update? I was looking to get some similar damage repaired.


Thanks

I did the exact same thing last night :( could you tell me what the cost was to fix it for you?

I got a quote from a place that painted my front fender well last year after debris blew off my neighbors roof deck. I paid $500 for that. They wanted $900 for this and it was only under my front fender not down the side. Gotta pull the fender off to get to it, paint, blend, etc.