My first attempt at using a stud welder ended with a dent the size of a dinner plate

Honestly, I figured I'd save some time on a door ding repair on my buddy's '04 Camry. I watched maybe two YouTube videos and thought I had it down. Nope. The first tab welded on perfect but when I pulled it, the whole dent got way worse because my slide hammer angle was totally off. Ended up with a crater that took me 45 minutes of hammer and dolly work to fix. Lesson learned: practice on a junk panel first, not someone's daily driver. Has anyone else had a straight forward tool backfire like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

noah_chen174d ago

My buddy's '04 Camry, huh? That reminds me of the time I tried to fix a dent on my own '97 Civic with a can of spray paint and a bondo kit from AutoZone. I figured a little body filler (like, half the can) would smooth out a crease the size of a golf ball. Yeah, I ended up with a lumpy mess that looked like a giant booger on the door, took me a whole weekend to sand it all off and start over.

gavin_reed4d ago

Yeah but you gotta remember bondo isn't really meant for dents that big, it's more for small rust spots or shallow stuff. A golf ball sized crease probably needed a slide hammer or at least some professional pulling before any filler went on. Live and learn though, we've all been there with those AutoZone DIY projects that didn't go as planned.