If you have a steel garage door, you likely appreciate for being almost maintenance-free. However, steel doors take hard hits occasionally from falling objects, a vehicle, or flying baseballs, which make it look unattractive. This doesn't mean you have to do any drilling, or buy a replacement. Here are some tips to fix dents in steel garage doors without drilling.
The Hammer Method
A hammer and block of wood to flatten out dents behind the door. This method works by transferring force between the wood and hammer to flatten the dent. Set a wooden block on the part of the dent that sticks out if possible.
Start tapping from the inside of the door, and keep knocking in different until you flatten the dent. Don't use a standard hammer without a block of wood unless you want to make more damage. You may also try a rubber mallet without a block of wood.
The Heat and Aluminum Foil Method
For this method, you need:
- bucket of water and soap safe for steel garage doors
- tape
- safety gloves
- sponge
- hose
- a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil
- a heat source like a hair dryer or standard lighter
- can of compressed air (used for cleaning cameras and keyboards)
Clean the dented area with a sponge and soapy water rinsing thoroughly with the hose, and let it dry. Wearing safety gloves, rip off enough aluminum foil to cover the dent, and tape it in place. Move the heat source around the foil for around one minute being careful not use a high heat setting on the area.
Hold the compressed air can upside down, and spray the area for thirty seconds. The change in temperature should make the steel pliable snapping back in place.
The Auto Body Filler Method
Auto body filler is commonly used to fix deep dents in metal doors. For this method, you need:
- 80-grit sand paper
- 120-grit sand paper
- putty knife,
- paint, card board
- protective clothing
- auto body filler
Prepare the dented area by sanding it with 120-grit sandpaper. Combine enough auto body filler and hardener on card board, then apply the mixture with the putty knife smoothing and filling voids as you work. Let the filler dry, remove overfill with the 80-grit sandpaper, smooth the surface further with 120-grit sandpaper, and paint the repair with a paint made for steel doors.
These do-it-yourself dent repairs will make your door look new again without drilling or replacing. If you think the dent is too big for you to fix or none of the methods you try work, call a professional garage door repair service (or local suppliers like J & D Door Sales Inc.).
