Apparently, you will realize that aluminum or steel garage door installation are mostly effective and tend to last long. This is because they require minimal garage door maintenance as compared to the wooden ones. Despite that, this does not imply that they are free from dents. Actually, they can be prone to dents which can emanate from bumps, collision, play games from your kids using a ball and tapping from your bicycle or car.
When the dents are extreme, they can actually give your garage door or garage door opener an unattractive appearance. You may find yourself opting to replace the entire garage door though that may be quite costly. Before you could think of taking that step, you will realize that there are some techniques in which you can apply to easily eliminate such dents after proper garage door inspection. Actually this is much easier than for the case of garage door spring repair.
For you to undertake the procedure of fixing dents in your residential garage door, you will require the following:
1. A sponge
2. Aluminum foil (heavy duty)
3. Outdoor hose
4. A bucket
5. Compressed air
6. Standard lighter
7. Dish soap
Once you have assembled the above tools and components, here are the steps that you can take:
Step 1: Clean the Dent
The initial step is to fill the medium-sized bucket with clean water. You can then put some dish soap (about 1 teaspoonful) in the water. Using a sponge that has been soaked in that sudsy water, you can clean thoroughly the surface that had been dented until you have removed all the dirt particles. You can use clean water to rinse it and let it dry.
Also Read: How to Handle Garage Door Issues and Tips to Resolve Them
Step 2: Covering the Dented Surface
Once the surface is completely dry, cut some piece of aluminum foil that can comfortably cover the dented surface. Ensure that you have laid it well over the surface while holding both ends where you can easily reach them without discomfort.
Step 3: Apply the lighter on Aluminum foil surface
Using the lighter with a flame, you can pass the flame over the region where the aluminum foil is located. This activity can last for about one minute. Ensure that the heat is well distributed over the surface thus this will require you to perform the activity at a faster pace. You can then disengage the aluminum foil from the surface.
Step 4: Spraying the compressed air from the can
While holding the air can upside down, you can spray the dent surface with compressed air for about 30 seconds. Throughout the entire period, the can should be facing upside down to ensure that carbon dioxide (which is essential) to be released and facilitate removal of the dent.
Step 5: Waiting for the dent to pop back
With the variation in temperatures from carbon dioxide and lighter, after a couple of minutes(about 2 minutes), you will notice that the dented surface will pop back, Actually, the surface will appear as flat as it was earlier before the dent occurred.
In some cases, it might take quite some time before the dented surface eventually pops back. This mostly occurs if the dented surface was quite big. This can prompt you to repeat the whole process in order to ultimately remove the dent.
Dents should not deny you the appealing look of your garage door and that is why it is worth fixing the problem and save on cost.