Cowl Dents

Tylersilverjku

Tylersilverjku

Member
Unfortunately I think a lot of us can be a victim of the cowl dents right where the door swings open and the mirror hits! Mine has been bugging me a lot lately, makes it look very crappy and I can't put any stickers there. Real dilemma I know lol.

I haven't been able to find a replacement cowl (maybe I haven't looked hard enough) so is there one I can buy? If so from where?

Or can I get the dent out myself? Has anyone had experience with it?

Thanks for any help guys!


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catahoula

catahoula

Caught the Bug
Tylersilverjku said:
Unfortunately I think a lot of us can be a victim of the cowl dents right where the door swings open and the mirror hits! Mine has been bugging me a lot lately, makes it look very crappy and I can't put any stickers there. Real dilemma I know lol.

I haven't been able to find a replacement cowl (maybe I haven't looked hard enough) so is there one I can buy? If so from where?

Or can I get the dent out myself? Has anyone had experience with it?

Thanks for any help guys!


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
Click to expand...

Quadretec had cowl covers or you can get it PDR'd.
 
zimm

zimm

Caught the Bug
The painless dent people here in DC area want $200. They also said I'd get less than stellar results because they can't access the back of the cowl.

My jeep was 2 weeks old. I was installing the M.O.R.E. dead pedal, which required unhooking the door strap. The instructions said DO NOT LET DOOR SWING OPEN, which I did because I was in the garage and who would think gravity would swing it open slow motion style and give me one of my first "mods".

47FAF736-3EF9-4818-B410-ED7E7667DD43_zpsut1iiaex.jpg
 
SergJKURhino

SergJKURhino

New member
If you plan on wheeling any...more dents and scratches will be sure to follow. This little dent will be the least of your concerns. I say leave it and give a little validity to that Trail Rated badge it's next to.


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wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
zimm said:
The painless dent people here in DC area want $200. They also said I'd get less than stellar results because they can't access the back of the cowl.

My jeep was 2 weeks old. I was installing the M.O.R.E. dead pedal, which required unhooking the door strap. The instructions said DO NOT LET DOOR SWING OPEN, which I did because I was in the garage and who would think gravity would swing it open slow motion style and give me one of my first "mods".
Click to expand...

You know, with a dent that small, you can probably pull it out yourself and for cheap. They have great kits out there that use a glue to help grab onto the dent and you just pull it out. For something like what you have, I'd be you can get it 90%-100% good as new again.
 
DeJkUnlimited

DeJkUnlimited

Caught the Bug
I'm actually a PDR tech and that dent is nearly impossible to repair when it gets hit with good velocity/force. Well without fucking up the paint anyway which is the entire point of PDR. I see it all the time obviously. There's two main problems, 1) while there is access to that spot with the hood up, the frame behind that area isn't straight, so it's difficult to pry off of without the tool sliding out of place which can cause more damage. 2) the cowl metal is thinner than the sheet metal on the rest of the Jeep (or any typical domestic car) so anything more than a light tap will stretch the metal there. Stretched metal requires even more force to start moving things along and the paint will crack immediately. I've fixed a couple flawlessly but only from the lightest of taps. I suspect had there not been what is essentially a body line molded into the mirror arm the dent wouldn't occur so sharply and they may be more repairable. But that slight "body line" sharply creases the dead bottom center of the dent making a repair much less likely. I've been repairing dents for 18 years (this January) and for my $ there isn't a more difficult dent that occurs as frequently across the automotive industry.
 
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DeJkUnlimited

DeJkUnlimited

Caught the Bug
Also in regards to the glue pulling kits mentioned. That method could be effective with the lighter hits, but the quality glue kits cost as much or more than most PDR repairs. And a dent mild enough where the glue would work you may as well call an experienced PDR guy cause he can probably then achieve acceptable results using more conventional methods. Most glue kits have a "bridge" that pulls up on a tab (glued to the vehicle) while feet rest to either side of the dent. On thinner metals the feet tend to leave impressions while the tab is pulling causing even more distortion. There's also special slidehammers that can be used with glue tabs but these dents aren't usually the kind that I'd be reaching for that particular tool. Just my 2¢....:)
 
DeJkUnlimited

DeJkUnlimited

Caught the Bug
zimm said:
The painless dent people here in DC area want $200. They also said I'd get less than stellar results because they can't access the back of the cowl.

My jeep was 2 weeks old. I was installing the M.O.R.E. dead pedal, which required unhooking the door strap. The instructions said DO NOT LET DOOR SWING OPEN, which I did because I was in the garage and who would think gravity would swing it open slow motion style and give me one of my first "mods".

47FAF736-3EF9-4818-B410-ED7E7667DD43_zpsut1iiaex.jpg
Click to expand...

You scenario is typical. Most people don't know what will happen until it's too late. Usually it's wind that catches the door while the tether is unhooked and the cowls gets smoked.

I'm not sure if anyone notices, but in that very defined center, there is actually a horizontal crease about a ~1/4-1/2" long or so. That is where the cowl gets stretched. Your dent isn't the worst I've seen but definitely crosses that threshold where an acceptable repair isn't likely. I usually just avoid attempting the repair because I know what the results will be and I don't like accepting $ from unhappy customers.
 
AjayChan

AjayChan

Member
I tried the can of air duster and a heat gun trick. it reduced the visibility of the dent pretty well.

olllllllo
 
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