Dented rocker panel

[ZionsWrath]

Originally Posted by stevo_12v

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

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

[Acid18]

Originally Posted by ZionsWrath

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.

[daftpunk]

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!

[Apotheosis]

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

[Turbo95eg6]

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

[daftpunk]

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.

[sirsol66]

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

[chenshuo]

How much did it cost?

Originally Posted by daftpunk

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!

[Turbo95eg6]

Better pics of area washed and lighting?

[daftpunk]

Originally Posted by chenshuo

How much did it cost?

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!

[sklimo]

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

[Nassty]

Originally Posted by daftpunk

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!

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

[daftpunk]

Originally Posted by Nassty

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

PMed !

[kanundrum]

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