Dry Ice Dent Removal

Did you ever wondered why dry ice works for removing dents? It is simple molecular physics. The car metal cover is a solid which is composed of different molecules. If the molecules are provided with heat, they start to vibrate. As the vibrating motion increases due to the heat, the metal expands.

However, if you cool down the solid molecules of the car's metal, these molecules will contract and pull out the dent. The ice cools down these molecules, and makes the metal contract, thereby pulling out the dent.

Dry ice is actually solid carbon dioxide (CO₂), which is used as a cooling agent. It is also known as cardice or card ice. It can be very low in temperature, like even less than -100°F. The ice cannot be in liquid form, as it changes from solid, directly to gas form. This property of a substance is called sublimation.

You can buy dry ice from any grocery store. However, you need to be very careful while handling it. It can cause serious injury to the skin or other living tissues, instantly, so it is important that you handle it with great care. Always make sure that you have put on safety gloves.

Clean the area where your car has got dents and small dings. This will help to see the dented regions of the car clearly. You should also get rid of any loose paint or rust, as it might prevent the cooling and contracting of the metal.

Take a hair dryer and heat the dented places in the car body. Make sure you heat up the dents, and a few inches area around it. This will make the molecules of the metal vibrate, and thus expand the metal.

Now, make sure you have your safety gloves on. Wrap a damp shammy (soft suede) cloth, around the dry ice. This helps to prevent any scratches on the car paint.

Keep pressing the dry ice on the dents of the car for around 1 minute. Also, rub it around the areas of the dent in a round hand motion.

The previous step will make the metal contract, and will thus pop-out the dent within a few seconds.

This way, you can remove all the small dings and dents in your car's body. If it doesn't come out in one go, try the whole treatment again.

If you have small dents or dings in your car body, you can do the car repair using the household plunger. The methods works due to a suction created by the plunger. Smear a little amount of petroleum jelly around the rubber rim of the plunger, for preventing marring and forming a good seal.

You can also buy the special plungers or PDR tools from the supermarket, which are made especially for pulling out car dents.

This method can take around a minimum time of just 2 minutes. Clean the dented car surface, and heat it with a hair dryer for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Now take the air duster, and hold it upside down. Spray on the dented surface.

Dent removal using dry ice is cheap and easy to perform, you just have to be extremely careful while handling it, as it can stick to your skin, and peel it off.