review of the Somoniz Pops-A-Dent

[tuscarora dave]

My room mate ran his uninsured harley into my car some time back. This Easter my brother gave me a Simoniz Pops-A-Dent kit. I normally don`t mess around with as seen on TV kind of stuff. My scheduling got all messed up this week so I had some free time and decided to give it a try and give a little review with photos.

Here`s the kit being reviewed.

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/005.jpg

I have never tried any PDR work before so the results are definately lacking.
Here`s the dent I worked on.

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/001.jpg

I started by setting up a little work station so I didn`t have stuff rolling down the driveway and in to the road.

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/006.jpg

I layed out the contents of the kit on my little table and cleaned up the dented area to be worked on.

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/007.jpg
http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/008.jpg

The dent is kind of 2 dents inside a big dent, where the bike hit the car the metal is scraped and it is also stretched. I do intend on replacing the door but was attempting to make it more tollerable for now. Here is a few pics of the scraped and stretched metal.

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/009-1.jpg
http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/010.jpg

Ok all set to get started so the first thing was to plug in the hot melt glue gun and load the glue stick. The kit instructions say to allow the glue gun to preheat for approximately 5 minutes.

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/013.jpg

All heated up so here goes the first pull. The instructions say to be sure to fill the holes in the pull tab with the hot glue and to put a generous amount of glue on the face of the pull tab and then stick it on the dent and wait 3 to 5 minutes for the glue to cool down before pulling. The instructions say to not let the glue tab glued to the car for more than 8 minutes.

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/015.jpg
http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/016.jpg

The instructions say after the glue cools for a few minutes to install the flex bridge device and simply screw the knob down until the glue releases from the paint.

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/019.jpg
http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/021.jpg

Well it seems that just cleaning the area with APC isn`t sufficient as the first pull came off easily without pulling any part of the dent.

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/022-1.jpg

At this point I thought to clay the dented area with Clay Magic Red to ensure that all the wax and sealant is removed and cleaned with APC again. After claying the area I peeled the glue off the pull tab and reglued it making sure I placed it in the center of the stretched area.

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/031.jpg
http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/024.jpg
http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/027.jpg

It seems that claying isn`t working either so I lightly wet sanded the area where I need to glue the pull tabs.
Well I found that the flex bridge tool made a new dent for me to try to pull as I tightened the knob down. This pic is after wet sanding and after pulling the dent that the flex bridge tool made.

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/055.jpg

First the glue wouldn`t stick at all now after wetsanding it is sticking too good but it is working now to pull the dents out. I used a little Prep-All to remove the residual glue after making the remaining pulls. I didn`t want to make any more dents so from here on out I screwed the knob on just a few threads and just pulled outward on the flex bridge with my hands.

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/056.jpg

The kit came with 3 different sized pull tabs and the 2 larger sized tabs both broke.

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/036.jpg

I was still able to use the broken pull tabs. I had a few other areas to pull in addition to the large dented area.

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/037.jpg

Overall i would say that the Simoniz Pops-A-Dent kit is consistant with most other as seen on TV items. It doesn`t really work as directed without causing more damage to the thin metal on todays cars. Now I have to take into consideration that the particular dent that I worked on with the stretched metal was just not the type of dent that the Somoniz Pops-A-Dent was designed to pull. I think this kit would work well for smaller easy to pull dents.

While the door panel on my car is still an eye sore, I think it is better than it was before I tried out this kit. I may in the future pull the inner door panel and try to work the rippled area from inside with a screwdriver handle or some other tool I can fashion. Here are 2 pics of the results I ended up with today after polishing out the sanding marks. Thanks for looking, TD

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/067.jpg
http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/068.jpg

[jtford95]

That is alot better, but I don`t think it is intended for dents that big. I have used that system and it worked well. On a half dollar sized ding. May be check with a PDR person.
Good try, It does look alot better. Joe

[JaredPointer]

For a gimmicky-type item such as it is, it appeared to hel pout. The door looks a lot better than it did in the befores.

[Mr. Clean]

I agree, though not the exact results you probably hoped for, from what I can see it is an improvement.

Thanks for the review.

[Ron Harris]

Nice write up.

We use the glue pull method every day at the shop. Not the Bridge method. We have a tool called a mini lifter and the old fashioned slide hammer.

[Dtrick.22]

At least it got a little better...I`ve found that if the panel feels plastic or fiberglass, it works better than a on a metal panel..

[cartoysautospa]

we have used this method before on some dents that are un reachable, but generally the results are poor.

[Beemerboy]

TD...I`m not surprised that this thing really didn`t work...but the table setup looks like something from a operating room....good job!!

[slowride66]

Do the "Camel Wides" come with the kit?

Can I order a Marlboro Version? :yay

Nice Report.

SR66:bigups

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/007.jpg

[tuscarora dave]

I placed the Camels there for Ronkh`s enjoyment. Though now I hear he quit smoking.:bigups

[Bunky]

At Autogeek`s Detail Fest, the PDR used a similar tool to remove a couple of dents not accessible from rear. He ended up pulling off the paint too. It was a repainted car so I suspect it can vary.

[David Fermani]

Nice writeup. No need to replace the door or re-skin that one. A Body Shop can easily repair it with very little filler. You made it 10 times better.

[MrWillsi3]

Pretty good all things considered:bigups...sometimes you get lucky with those little `as seen on TV` goodies..but not usually lol.

I had 2 questions.

First.what did you do to your room mate after he hit your car with his bike!

Second...is it just me...or did your car kind of look like it had been in a Western movie and attacked by little toy indians with suction cup arrows in this picture :rofl

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/tuscaroradave/pops-A-dent/037.jpg

[gordondi]

Nice thread ! That anti-dent kit appears to be a nice option for the minor dents that we suffer normally due to high traffic these days . And It shows nice results on that car for denting out the door.
Auto repair reviews (http://www.rankmymechanic.com/)

[CEE DOG]

Nice writeup TD!! :autopia: