How do I make Hail Dents MORE VISIBLE???

[Dave N]

That's right -- I want to make the hail dents on my truck hood as noticeable as possible, because I'm taking it in to the insurance adjuster on Friday. In the right conditions (halogen lighting, or the right reflection), I can literally see HUNDREDS of little dents, but the "commoner" will probably only see a handful (less than 10). I want my insurance to pay for a new hood, but I'm afraid that the adjuster won't go for it if he/she cannot see all of the dents.

I was thinking that making the hood as shiny as possible would make the dents stand out more, but after Blackfiring the hood last Sunday I'm not sure it made much of a difference (maybe even made them less noticeable). It's been raining nonstop here ever since Sunday night, though, so I haven't had very many good looks at it (no garage). I was thinking that maybe ABCing (stripping) the hood would make the dents more noticeable.

Opinions?

PS Yes, ice cubes and a hammer have already come to mind, but that wouldn't be honest, now would it?....

[Jngrbrdman]

Carnuba baby! Load that hood up with carnuba and those dents will drip off the car at the insurance guy. You want something as wet and reflective as possible to get those pits to show up better. good luck! If you don't have access to some of the finer waxes in life then head out to AutoZone and get some Meguiar's Gold Class. That should do the trick. You could probably get some Blitz at PepBoys too. That would work even better!

[Dave N]

That's great, thanks!!!

I'll probably put on another coat or two of BF Thurs night, and top it off with Blitz.

[rd_volvo]

All Right! I hate to do it but :

I'm going to really scramble your brain.

I found if you remove all your wax and have a clean slate
it really shows imperfections. So if you want, you can
Dawn one panel [maybe the trunk lid] and compare
the stripped panel from a waxed panel like maybe the hood.

If the waxed panel shows the hail damage better then you
can just go ahead and wax the trunk lid.

My 2

Just food for thought.

[Dave C.]

Originally posted by Jngrbrdman
You could probably get some Blitz at PepBoys too.

Blitz @ Pep Boys??? Say it ain't so!!

[SoTex]

If possible, Paintless Dent Repair is the way to go! That way you will maintain the factory finish (unless it's real old and oxidized or something).

Trust me, as a former appraiser, we are cursed with an eye for mismatched paint, hail damage, misaligned body panels, etc. The appraiser WILL see all the damage.

If a PDR guy does the repair, they will angle a flourescent light in order to make sure they get the panels perfectly straight. here in Texas I've had it done on two of my vehicles ('93 Infiniti G20 and '98 Ford F150), the results were AMAZING!

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

BTW, hammers chip the paint, hail never does.

I've got an unbelievable story I'll have to share another time regarding a guy hammering his vehicle trying to get $ from us.

[NY detailer]

Don't know if you know this but i am an insurance adjuster.
You can polish or clean the hood, but dont try to make the dents any larger or more visibile. I can tell the difference between a hail dent and a man mad dent. The best thing i can tell you is to clean the hood and get a car marker and circle each dent for the adjuster to see. That would make it stand out more. It depends on the adjuster if he gets you a new hood or not, PDR might be used then the hood will be repaired, it all depends on where the hail hit the hood.

[SoTex]

I agree with NY Detailer. PDR is not always the answer. If there is a large dent on a crease it's basically impossible to PDR, they would likely do traditional repair mixed with PDR. If there are enough large dents, they might have to replace the hood. If they are all small (half dollar or smaller) and there are not too many, repair is likely.

NY - do you agree?

Again, good luck. Regardless if the hood is repaired or replaced, make sure you find the best shop possible (look for a lifetime warranty on the paint).

[Deemo]

Dave,
Before I brought my wife's truck in for hail repair I waxed with Meguair's #26.
I woulda used Blitz but that would have been waste of good wax as they sometimes apply heat and it just would have melted away.
I think it helped a lot but I never told them I did it.
It also helped me assess their work which was great

[kellyrudnick]

Grab some neighborhood kids and invest in a basket of golf balls. Let the kids take turns whipping the golf balls as hard as they can all over your truck. Stop when you think enough damage has been created to maximize your check or the kids tire from throwing. Even if you don't fool the adjuster you will at least teach the kids a valuable lesson in insurance fraud.

kelly.

[2k2blackWRX]

magnifying GLASS

hehe

B

[Dave N]

Thanks for all of the replies, uhh, except that one about the golf balls...

Don't worry, ins. adjusters, I would NEVER try to defraud anyone (even an insurance company!). When I said "more visible", I only meant to ask if waxing or stripping would make the smaller dents easier to see. I would never enhance a dent with a hammer or anything like that.

My main concern is if the adjuster will consider the damage to be sufficient enough to warrant a new hood. Like I said, there are perhaps less than 10 dents that are noticeable under what most people would consider "close scrutiny". However, if I stand back a couple of feet and bob my head up and down while looking at a reflection in the hood, *I* can see tiny dents all over -- probably one per suare inch (if not more). Most people would probably never notice these dents.

Is it reasonable to expect an insurance company to replace an entire hood for the sake of these tiny hail dents that 99.9% of the public would never see? If the ins co won't pay to replace the hood, I'll will probably try to get them to cut me a check for whatever they think the damage is, and pay the rest for a new hood out of my pocket.

(Of course, I'll probably change my mind when I find out what a new hood +paint costs!)