Mehr’s Garage Doors has been a trusted garage door repair business in St. George, Utah for over 40 years, so we’ve seen our fair share of dented garage doors.
When fixing a dent, the first thing you should do is carefully look at the harm. First, we look at the dent’s size and location. Is it a small ding or a big dent in the size of a car?
It can be harder to fix dents near edges or gear like pulls and hinges.
Next, we check to see if the dent is hindering the door’s regular operation. Is it still easy to open and close? At what point does it catch or stick? It’s important to ensure that a ding hasn’t moved the door or broken any mechanical parts, even if it seems like a small dent.
Because garage doors are so complicated, a problem that only looks cosmetic could be a sign of more severe damage deeper down.
We look for any other signs of wear or damage on the door besides the bump. Are there several dents?
Is there a paint that’s come off or been chipped? Are there any parts that are missing or broken? Let’s look at the door to find the best way to fix it.
You can do simple things to fix the dent, but if the damage is very bad, it may need more intensive work from a professional or even a whole new panel.
Our skilled technicians know how to find the problem and offer the best way to fix it because they have done it many times before.
After figuring out the damage to your garage door, the next step is to get all the tools and materials we’ll need to fix it. We always start at Mehr’s Garage Doors by getting cleaning materials.
A bucket of soapy water and a big sponge or soft cloth will be used to clean the dent well and eliminate any dirt, grime, or other obstructions to the fix.
To fix small dents in metal doors, you should have a can of compressed air, a lighter or heat gun, and a sheet of aluminum foil on hand.
These will be used quickly and easily to pop out the hole with heat and compressed air. We’ll also need a rubber hammer, a block of wood, a putty knife, fine-grit sandpaper, and auto body filler or patching compound if the door is made of steel or the dent is pretty big.
These tools will be used to tap out the hole from the inside. The damage will then be filled in and smoothed out.
Finally, we ensure we have primer and touch-up paint that match your garage door so we can finish the repair and make the fixed area look like it was always there.
These things are always ready for every job because our repair trucks are fully stocked. By preparing everything before we start the fix, we can quickly get your garage door to look great again and with little trouble to your day.
We always take the time to clean the dented part of the garage door well before we try to fix it. This is an important step that you should always take. We make a bucket of warm, soapy water and scrub the dent and the area around it softly with a big sponge or soft cloth.
There should be no trash, grime, cobwebs, dead bugs, or other junk on the door, and we want to eliminate it all.
When you clean the door, many important things happen. First, it gives us a better idea of how bad the damage is.
It can be hard to figure out how to fix a dent when dirt and grime cover up its actual size and depth.
Second, the surface must be clean for any fixing materials or fillers to stick well. If you try to repair a dirty door with repair material, the two will not stick well together, and the fix will not last as long.
We scrubbed the area with soapy water and then rinsed it well with clean water to remove any soapy residue. Then, it was either left to dry naturally or cleaned with a soft, clean cloth.
After we fix it, the door will be as effective and last as possible because we took the time to clean and dry it properly.
Every job at Mehr’s Garage Doors is done right, and it always starts with a spotlessly clean area.
We often tell people to try the compressed air and heat method first for small dents in aluminum garage doors. To restore the smooth surface of your door, this straightforward method can be surprisingly effective at popping out minor dings and dents.
To begin with, we cut a piece of aluminum foil big enough to cover the dent. Then, we put the foil over the hole and pressed it firmly against the door’s surface so it fit the shape of the damage.
Next, we warm the foil for about a minute with a lighter, a heat gun, or some other heat source. The key is to use steady, even heat that doesn’t make any spot too hot.
The aluminum foil evenly distributes the heat to all parts of the dent. After heating, we quickly remove the foil and hold an upside-down can of compressed air over the dent to spray it.
The upturned can send out a quick blast of cold air that makes the metal shrink, often poping the dent out from the inside.
We love this method because it’s quick, simple, and doesn’t need any tools or supplies that most people already have at home. It works best on dents that aren’t too deep and haven’t creased or ruined the metal too much.
We can always try a different method if the compressed air and heat method doesn’t fully get rid of the dent. But this is often enough to make a garage door look brand new without having to make any major fixes or buy new parts.
When steel garage doors have dents or dents that are too big for compressed air to fix, we use filler compound, which is a more durable option.
You can use this thick, putty-like material to fill in and smooth out holes in all metal surfaces. First, we put on safety gloves and lightly scuff up the dent with fine-grit sandpaper. This makes it easier for the filler compound to stick to the metal.
Next, we follow the directions on the package to make a batch of filler compounds. To activate the filler, we generally mix it with a small amount of hardener paste. With a putty knife, we take a small amount of the mixture and press it hard into the dent.
Then, we spread it out to cover the whole damaged area. The goal is to fill the dent too much, so the filler rises slightly above the door’s surface.
We use progressively finer grits of sandpaper to sand the filler compound down until it is flush with the garage door.
This can take several hours, based on the filler compound type and the repair depth. This thorough, slow process needs to be done with care. We are patient and check our work often until the filled area is level and smooth.
Last, we primed the fixed area and painted it to match the rest of the door. With the right tools and attention to detail, a skilled expert can make a filled dent almost invisible.
This will make your garage door look brand new again. At Mehr’s Garage Doors, we’ve been fixing steel doors with great care for decades, so yours will look brand new for years to come.
We love showing our customers how to fix dents in their garage doors, but we also know that there are times when it’s better to let a professional do it.
If you notice a big or deep dent in your door, if it has caused other damage like cracks or bent panels, or if you’re unsure if you can fix it safely and correctly, you should call Mehr’s Garage Doors.
Over more than 40 years in business, our team of expert techs has seen and fixed every type of garage door damage.
We know the problem and have the right tools to help us figure out the best way to fix it, whether removing a dent or a more complicated repair job.
Repairs can usually be done in just one visit, so your door will return to normal with as little trouble as possible in your busy schedule.
It can be stressful, take a lot of time, and even be dangerous to fix a badly broken garage door. Garage doors are big, heavy machines with many moving parts that are under a lot of stress.
Trying to open or close a broken door forcefully or messing with broken springs, wires, or tracks can hurt you badly or damage your property, which can be expensive. It’s not worth the risk.
Your satisfaction and safety are our top goals at Mehr’s Garage Doors. Our team is always ready to help you if you’re unsure if you can fix your garage door safely or if you’d just like the peace of mind from knowing the job was done right.
For over 40 years, St. George has turned to us as their go-to garage door pros because of our friendly, professional service and unwavering quality. Let’s use what we know to help you.
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