Fixed a dent in my 2005 Corolla with boiling water and a plunger

My neighbor backed into my rear bumper last week and left a nasty dent the size of a softball. I watched a YouTube video where a guy used boiling water to soften the plastic on a bumper, then popped it out with a sink plunger. Tried it on a 90 degree day in Phoenix and it worked in like 2 minutes flat. Has anyone else had success with weird DIY dent tricks that actually worked better than expected?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryanrodriguez8d ago

Living in Phoenix you could've just left it in the sun for an hour and it probably would've popped itself out, but the plunger method is definitely more impressive. Honestly surprised the boiling water didn't turn your bumper into a melted mess before you even got the plunger near it. Did you try the vacuum cleaner trick first or just go straight for the full backyard mechanic experience? What's next, fixing your transmission with a rubber band and a paperclip?

umamoore7d ago

I get what you're saying about the sun trick, but honestly that only works if the dent is already hot and the plastic is still flexible. Living in Phoenix doesn't mean your bumper is going to pop itself out like magic. The boiling water thing isn't as risky as you think, you just pour it over the area and it softens the plastic enough to bend back without melting anything. The vacuum cleaner thing never works on bigger dents like this one, so I went straight to the plunger because it gave me more control. And hey, if a rubber band and paperclip fix a transmission, I'd probably watch that video before laughing at it.