garage door repair in huntington beachFixing a Dent or Getting Garage Door Repair in Huntington Beach

No one likes having a dent in their garage door. Not only does it look bad, but it can lead to future damage such as rust and other problems. While you might be able to leave minor dents alone, you should repair dings and dents as soon as you can. Sometimes dents can be fixed on your own. Other dents might require a more professional touch with garage door repair in Huntington Beach. This will help you determine if you can fix the garage or not.

Garage Door Materials

Before talking about how to repair garage door dents, it’s best that you know which materials suffer from dents most often. As you might be able to guess, metal dents more often than other materials. Garage doors made from aluminum and steel dent more often than PVC or wood.

Surprisingly enough though, this is also a good thing. Aluminum and steel also happen to be easier to repair. If it’s a minor dent, then you can use one of the methods described below to fix the dent. Dents in PVC or wood garage doors are often much harder to fix because the materials aren’t as malleable.

Hammer Out the Dents

If you are facing a small dent, then you should be able to hammer it out fairly easily. This is easiest with aluminum doors because they are the softest, but this can be done with steel as well. You will need a mallet and wooden block for this to work. You don’t want to hammer the garage door directly as this might lead to further damage.

Wash the dented area first with soap and water. This makes it easier to see the dented area, and it also prevents dirt from lodging into any cracks that may have formed. Go to the opposite side of the dent and place a wood block against the surface. Use the mallet and hammer the dent out.

Go light at first. You don’t want to form a new dent by hitting the block too hard. Use a few light taps and see if the dent is gone on your precision garage door. If not, then adjust your force as needed until the surface is flush. It’s easiest if you have someone on the other side that can tell you if the dent is disappearing.

Fix Dents With Suction Cups

This is a technique commonly used on cars, but it works equally well on garage doors. If the dent is smooth and round, such as from a ball or similar object, then a suction cup might be exactly what you need to repair your precision door. Since this is most commonly used on cars, you might need to get the suction cup from an automotive repair shop in your area.

Start by washing the area with soap and water. Not only does this remove any particles that might be in the way, but this also gives the suction cup a better grip on the garage door. These suction cups have a handle that you can use to pull the dent out.

Simply push the cup into the garage door. Make sure the cup is firmly attached. Use the handle to pull the dent out. You might need to do this a few times before the metal responds. If any small dents remain after you use the suction cup, then consider the mallet and wooden block technique to get those out.

Hot and Cold Reactions

This method is a little more involved than the other ones. Instead of hitting or pulling on the material, this method involves using hot and cold temperatures to force the metal to move and react. Metals are known to change their shape when rapidly heated and cooled, which can be used to remove small dents.

You will need some supplies before using this repair method. You will need aluminum foil, a lighter or other heat source and some compressed air. Make sure you have all the supplies before starting because they will be used in quick succession.

Like with all the other methods, wash the dented surface first before starting. Let the garage door completely dry. Any residual water might disperse the temperature, so it’s important that you wait.

Place the aluminum foil over the dented area. The sheet should be large enough to cover the dent. Use your lighter or other heat source to heat the foil for 60 seconds. Remove the foil and then immediately spray the dented area with compressed air for 30 seconds. You might hear a loud pop as the metal shifts to adjust to the changing temperature.

It’s important to get the timing just right for this to work, and this might be difficult if you don’t have much experience with DIY repairs. You may want to consider garage door repair in Huntington Beach if this isn’t working.

When You Need Garage Door Repair in Huntington Beach

The methods described above can help you fix many minor dings and dents in your garage door, but you might be wondering when you need more professional help, like Irvine garage door repair services or garage door repair in Huntington Beach, depending on your location.

The first thing to consider is material. All the methods described above work on metal, and they work especially well on aluminum. If you have a different material, such as PVC or wood, then you should definitely consider professional help for your garage door in Orange County or any other area. These materials are much harder to work with.

Some dents are so bad that they prevent the door from properly opening and closing. If that is happening, then you don’t have a DIY job on your hands. This means you need to replace the panel or even the whole door. That should be left to professionals to ensure that the job is done quickly and accurately.

If there are very deep scratches in the material, then you will also want professional help with your garage door. The problem is that fixing the dent won’t be enough. The scratches will still be there. This can lead to rust and other problems. It’s often best to replace the whole panel. A professional service can help you do this.