Own an aluminum or steel garage door long enough, and you will eventually also own garage door dents. This is especially true if you have kids: soccer balls, baseballs, teen drivers and horseplay can wreak havoc on your garage door. Really if you look at your aluminum overhead door the wrong way it’ll dent. It doesn’t mean the garage door needs to be replaced but it will happen and overtime dents can become quite unsightly. They make your garage door look ragged and in need of repair or replacement.
Your home’s overhead garage door is an important part of your home’s curb appeal, and we all know curb appeal is a significant factor in the value of your home. Another more serious possibility is that the dents can interfere with the your garage door’s function, depending on their size and location. In these cases, failing to fix the dents may result in much larger (and more expensive) repairs. When your garage door looks kind of awful, what can you do besides take on the cost of replacing it? Remove the dents yourself! Here’s a quick do it yourself guide for repairing aluminum garage doors.
Repairing Dents on an Aluminum Garage Door
Fortunately, repairing dents on an aluminum garage door are an easy DIY garage door repair if you know this simple trick. Not only will you fix your garage door, you might also impress the neighborhood kids. This trick is science in action — a way to contract the deformed metal and repair your garage door. You’ll need:
- Lighter/heat source
- Aluminum Foil
- Compressed Air
- Work gloves
Before you begin, gently clean the dent and surrounding area on the panel and allow it to dry. Then, cover the dent with enough aluminum foil to press into the shape of the dent and still have some extra edge to hold it still without burning your fingers in the next step. Once you’ve done this, use your heat source to heat the area for about 60 seconds; you can use anything from a lighter to a blow dryer. Just make sure you’ve heated the area long enough that the entire dent is warm.
Remove the Foil and Use the Compressed Air Can to Expand
Next, remove the foil, and as quickly as possible, holding your compressed air can upside down, spray the dent for 30 seconds. You may notice some liquid coming out of the compressed air – be careful not to get it on your skin, as it can burn.
Once you’re done, you should see the dent slowly moving back into place.
Why does it work? In simple terms, metal will contract and expand when it changes temperatures. The lighter will heat up the metal and the compressed air will lower it with the freezing liquid. By nature, when you dent metal, you’re stretching it into a new shape, so heating the dent and then quickly cooling it causes a reaction that makes the metal want to return to its original form by contracting back to its intended shape.
Repairing a Dented Steel Garage Door
Repairing dents in a steel garage door is an entirely different process, but it’s just as simple.
With an aluminum door, you can pop the dent out and basically reverse the damage, but with a steel garage door you have to fill it in and patch the area with new paint in order to hide the damage. (After you fix the dented area, this might be a good time to improve the look of your entire door with a new paint job.)
This process is pretty straightforward and requires no chemical reactions. If you’ve ever had to fill a dent in your car, patch a damaged area of cement or fix a hole in drywall or plaster, this is essentially the same process.
You’ll need:
- Steel door or auto body filling compound
- Bucket filled with a mix of soap and water
- Sponge or washcloth
- Hose
- Fine grit/finishing sandpaper (400-grit is ideal)
- Rag, dry or very lightly dampened
- Putty Knife
- Primer
- Paint
- Sealant
Even the supply list tells you how straightforward this process is:
- With your bucket of soapy water and your sponge or washcloth, scrub the dent clean, being sure to remove all traces of dirt and grime. Rinse with your garden hose to remove the soap so you don’t leave a layer of film behind. Removing all debris and soap is much more important with steel doors since you’re applying a compound that needs to adhere to the surface of the dent.
- Allow the dented area to dry thoroughly.
- Sand the dent to roughen up the surface very slightly and then wipe away dust with your rag.
- Apply the filling compound to the dented area with a putty knife, enough so the entire dented area is filled. Try to make your initial application as smooth and flush with the undented surface of the door to make the next step easier on yourself.
- Wait for the compound to dry and then sand again until the filled area is smooth and level with the surrounding undamaged surfaces of the door.
- Apply primer. Since you’re dealing with a metal door that can rust, using a primer with zinc chromate in it is a good idea here.
- Paint to match the original color and then seal the repaired area with a weather and/or UV-resistant sealant.
Replacing a Dented Garage Panel Can Be a Quick Fix
If your dent is more than a few inches in size, there’s a good chance that you will need to have a technician inspect the track and garage door parts for other damage. The most common issue with a dented garage panel is that it becomes off balance. An unbalanced door can wear out the opener and lead to other problems.
Fortunately, this isn’t a serious issue if you take care of it promptly.
If the dent is significant enough that it has caused damage to several of the garage door’s parts or the garage door opener, however, you may want to consider replacing the door entirely. If you’re not sure, you can call a garage door repair company and describe the damage. Here at Sacs our technicians are always happy to offer you their expert opinion or come to your home to diagnose the extent of the damage and give their best recommendation.
Should You Replace Your Dented Garage Door?
If two or more panels are badly dented, rotted or corroded, you might be better off just replacing the door with a new garage door. Like anything else, garage doors will wear out eventually. If the door is badly bent by a car, for example, you should probably just install a new garage door. It will look sleeker and more professional than trying to fix each panel individually. A new garage door cost isn’t usually something a family prepares for financially, and it may not seem all that rewarding, but it will keep your home’s curb appeal attractive and keep your household running without any problems.
More good news about replacing a broken garage door is that new garage doors have one of the highest returns on investment for all home improvements: nearly 97% – virtually dollar for dollar. If the door is dented enough to be an eyesore and the tricks above didn’t do much, you should probably opt for a new door; It’ll be worth it in the long run.