Hi folks,
Last night, my Camaro got into a debate with a concrete pillar in my parking garage. Needless to say, the pillar won, and left a basketball-sized dent in the rear fender. Since I'm a broke college student (again) I want to try to fix it myself. I think if I can get behind the panel with a rubber mallet, I could pound it out and make it look halfway decent again. The question is, how do I get back there? is it better to take out the inner wheel well shield or can I go in via the interior panel? Either way, a step-by-step walkthrough would be most helpful. Picture of the dent attached.

 

thats a bad spot. I'm not sure you can get behind that. everything i see says theres sheet metal on the backside. looks like a slide hammer job. don't think a suction puller is gona work.

 

Sorry but a bad bad spot. Maybe drilling some holes and using a slide hammer.

 

You MIGHT be able to reach down through the rear speaker hole and push it out. But that's a big might. A dent that big, I think I'd wait for the money and have a pro do it.

 

There are a few things to try. Check out PDR on you tube, there are some kinks on the edges that will be tuff. You could try one these and just return it the next day but you will need access to a compressor. Pneumatic Dent Puller

Most likely the job will end up needing sanded and pulled.

 

YOu have a really bad spot for a dent. There are 2 or 3 layers in that area of the car and the outer skin is what needs The most attention is not going to be accessable from the inside. As a body tech we would have more than likely just cut that area out and welded in a new piece, less labor and a better overall finish.

Massey

 

I would first try the dent puller Gorn gave a link to. If that doesn't do it, take the car to a paintless dent repair place (Dentbusters, etc.). I've had a couple of cars repaired that way, and those guys can do wonders at leaving a dent undetectable. If they can't massage it out from the back, they can use a dent puller which uses plastic glue on sticks. Then they apply a solvent that releases them. If at all avoidable, the LAST thing you want to have to do is bust through the original paint to make a repair. Can't tell from your picture however, but if the top and bottom part of the dent is a hard line crease where it cracked the paint, then a paintless repair isn't going to be totally invisible.