The darn West Texas weather caught up with me this weekend. Golf ball size hail got my SCrew.... beat the heck out of the hood and the roof.

Not many trees to hide under out here, but I did see a building I could get beside and gain a little protection. It was across a grass median that was fairly deep. The wife was with me and said "you can't get across that". HA... a quick flip of the 4x4 switch and across we went. At least i saved the side panels from the hail!

 

I feel your pain. I lost a vehicle back in 1999 to SOFTBALL sized hail. Talk about freaky. It sounded like bombs were landing outside and all you could do was sit and watch (and pray that one of those hailstones didn't make it through the roof). I've never seen such damage. If I can dig up some of those photos, I'll post them on here. The bulk of the storm hit where the bulk of the car dealerships were located. It was enough to make a true vehicle lover cry. The windshields were literally beat into the front seats of the vehicles. A wild sight...

Again, sorry to hear about the damage. I don't know the severity of the damage but, I was successful with my girlfriend's vehicle in getting a few tiny dings out with a SUPER hot day (95+) and some dry ice. (she only had a little larger than gumball size hail).

Just take the dry ice and cut off a tiny piece about the size of the ding and put it in the dent. Of the 22 dings that I identified on her Contour, I managed to get out 18 of them. It saved us having to file it on insurance and paying the deductable. Just a thought.

RP

 

RockPick,

Thanks for the advice. I'll sure give it a try. I've got about 30+ dents on the hood and more than that on the roof. Nothing to loose by trying. Maybe I'll have good luck since a "super hot" day here is closer to 105 than 95.

 

I've never heard of that one, could you tell me more?

I've got 2 small dings on the door of my SCrew that I'd love to get out. Could I just tape some dry ice on the dings? Does it hurt the paint in any way?

Thanks!

 

The dry ice will work on most of the smaller dings, but you might have to go to a shop that rubs the dents out from the inside to get rid of the bigger ones. My '97 Dakota was hit by hail a few years back, even put a hole through a vent visor. In the long run, it would cost as much to remove the dents on the hood as to replace it and have it painted. So for a few dollars more, I ordered an aftermarket hood with air scoops and had the body shop use it in place of a factory replacement. They had to rub out the dings on the roof, of course.
If the same thing happens to my s'crew, I have the Cobra hood in mind for a replacement.
Steve

 

Personally, I would try one of the paintless dent repair shops. I have had excellent results. I would assume there are some in Lubbock. I just completed an eight month business assignment in Irving, TX. There were several paintless dent repair shops in the Dallas area. On two occasions, I was caught in the Texas hailstorms. The first time, the hail was very small, no damage. The second time, I headed to the nearest Exxon station and parked under their canopy for an hour (yes, I did fill up my tank while I was there). Thank goodness I found cover for my F150, as the marble size hail damaged quite a few vehicles in the area where I was staying. I am now in California, so I do not miss those hailstorms! Guess I just have to worry about the earthquakes now.

 

CBechtel,

Watch out for those earthquakes!!! Yes, we do have some of the paintless dent repair shops. Glad you had good experience with them. The insurance adjuster took a look at by truck today. I'll be getting their estimate soon.

Thanks for the help!

 

Rob,

The dry ice just ultra-cools a hot surface rapidly and thus causes the dent to come out. It's certainly worth a try on your tiny dents. It, to my knowledge, doesn't hurt the paint.

Same thing happens when you heat something up on the grill inside those foil bags. Drip one tiny drop of tap water on the thing... it shrinks down to nearly nothing. It's just physics I guess.

RP

 

Where do you buy dry ice and how much is the stuff?

 

I may give it a try the next hot day.

 

Ironman,

You can get dry ice at most large supermarkets or Walmart. A good size chunc of it, about 6"x6" or so, will cost you about $4-5. And it will be much more than you need.

I plan on trying this in a few weeks. I'm traveling a lot in June and will do it on a hot day when I get settled back at home.

My insurance adjuster looked at my truck yesterday. Just waiting for his letter in the mail now.

 

I tried the dry ice trick.... little to moderate success. Body shop guy told me it's because of the aluminum hood, and thinner metal now used on the roof compared to older model vehicles.

I've got 44 dents on the hood, 47 on the roof, and a couple on the front fenders and one door panel.

I got my insurance appraisal and a 3rd party appraisal today on my hail damaged SCrew. One was $1900, the other $2700. The $2700 included REPLACING the roof panel. That scares me some. Seems like lots of chance of wind noise, etc.

I went to what appears to be a good paintless dent repair shop. He's been in business for a while and has good references from some local dealers and other people. His estimate was $1345. I'm getting the work done next week. This is the shop doing the work.... AS Dent Shop

Next weekend I'll post how it works out.

 

Scook,

Sorry the dry ice didn't work. Best of luck with the paintless dent repair guys. I've heard that they're god-like with their methods and that they do great work.

Again, good luck and I hope it all works out.

RP

 

I picked up my SCrew today for the paintless dent repair shop. They did a GREAT job. Removed 44 dents from the hood, 47 from the roof, one on the door, and two on the front quarter-panel. You can't see any dents or any signs of repair.

Guy at the shop said as long as the dents aren't too deep, they can take care of most anything. He also said it's more of an art than just a repair. As I've seen in other threads on here, experience means EVERYTHING in this business.

Only hitch I had were the backseat reading lights. They were coming on when the door was shut, and turning off when you opened any door. The guys at the shop and I dropped the headliner and couldn't figure anything out. I ran it over to my Ford dealer and they fixed it in about 30 seconds. Seems that when the dent shop put the headliner back up, they put the right light in the left socket, and vice-a-versa. Electrical guy at Ford said he'd seen this once before. It took him 3 hours to figure it out the first time. I went back by the dent shop and the guys were flabergasted! Sometimes it's just the simple stuff! HA!

Anyway, if you get dents or hail damage, I'd certainly suggest checking into a good paintless dent repair shop. The one I used here in Lubbock was AS Dent Shop

 

Scook,

EXCELLENT! I'm hearing nothing but good things about the paintless dent repair guys. I know EXACTLY where I'll be taking mine if the unforeseen happens.

Glad it worked out for you.

RP