Big dent in door

[Robinbrum]

I'm trying to think of a cost-effective way to fix a dent in the rear passenger door of my K12. I have tried dent pullers and glue sticks which were absolutely useless. The latest tip I tried was to inflate a football in the gap between the rear door panel and bodywork. Unfortunately the ball burst and made no impression on the dent. I think I may need to use a stronger football as this one was very cheap plastic, but I'm still not optimistic it will do the job.

I tried using a rubber mallet from the back although the position of the metal frame makes it difficult to hit the crease in the right places, and it just seems to snap back into the position.

I'm beginning to wonder if this dent is just too big to repair or "patch up" and that it might just need to be completely replaced. With this in mind I have identified a door from a scrapyard to replace it. Only problem is it will need a respray and I have been quoted a minimum of £200 which I can't really afford.

For a complete novice, how difficult is it to physically replace a car door and will it affect the central locking? It is completely the wrong colour (purple) for my light blue Micra, but I would worry about that afterwards.

I'm enclosing a couple of photos of offending foot. Any advice or suggestions would be very welcome.
Thanks in advance,
Rob

 

[Robinbrum]

I'm trying to think of a cost-effective way to fix a dent in the rear passenger door of my K12. I have tried dent pullers and glue sticks which were absolutely useless. The latest tip I tried was to inflate a football in the gap between the rear door panel and bodywork. Unfortunately the ball burst and made no impression on the dent. I think I may need to use a stronger football as this one was very cheap plastic, but I'm still not optimistic it will do the job.

I tried using a rubber mallet from the back although the position of the metal frame makes it difficult to hit the crease in the right places, and it just seems to snap back into the position.

I'm beginning to wonder if this dent is just too big to repair or "patch up" and that it might just need to be completely replaced. With this in mind I have identified a door from a scrapyard to replace it. Only problem is it will need a respray and I have been quoted a minimum of £200 which I can't really afford.

For a complete novice, how difficult is it to physically replace a car door and will it affect the central locking? It is completely the wrong colour (purple) for my light blue Micra, but I would worry about that afterwards.

I'm enclosing a couple of photos of offending foot. Any advice or suggestions would be very welcome.
Thanks in advance,
Rob

offending door* no idea why it came out as foot!!!

 

[FinnishCoffee]

That’s not a dent, that door is done for.

Usually when you buy a door from a wrecker it’s been stripped of parts and you will need to transfer everything from your old door into it. Replacing the door should not be too difficult, but will need some patience and time to get it right.

I would look around for a door in the right colour, light blue K12s seem pretty common.

 

[novocaine]

the frame will also be buckled, new door is the only cost effective solution for that as Coffee rightly says. Stop trying all the viral tiktok hacks that don't really work and buy a new door from the scrappy.

If we were talking about a 40-50 year old classic I'd be telling you how to pull the dent out and spoon the surface back to something close enough to straight that a think skim would see it right. We aren't though, so I won't bother.