Fixing a dent with hot water: Does this car hack really work?

Cape Town - Have you ever suffered a fender bender? A small dent to your car that you're sure just needs the right  amount of pressure to pop the damaged panel back into shape?

DIY car hacks are prolific on YouTube and social media. A clip that's resurfaced on Facebook has a driver using boiling hot water to fix a dent.

Does it really work?

Veteran vehicle specialist, and owner of AutoWizz, Moinuddin Gaibe, says the hack can be effective at remedying a shunt but adds that it's not as simple as it appears in the video.

He says that readers should be wary as you could give yourself third-degree burns not to mention damaging your ride.

Watch the clip below: originally posted on YouTube

Gaibe says: "You have to pour the boiling hot water until the plastic of the bumper (or panel), becomes malleable at which point you need to apply a cold cloth to cool down the material to maintain the desired shape.

"This means you might not always get it right as apposed to popping the dent out by hand via the other side of the panel - you could even make it worse if not careful. The guys on YouTube videos make it look a lot easier than what it really is."

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Autowhizz specialises in car audio, vehicle security and also body repairs and spray-painting, so he knows all about fixing up dents and bad vehicle smashes, though Gaibe says he wouldn't recommend the 'quick-fix'.

He says: "I wouldn't recommend it as each vehicle has different materials or grading of plastic. where it could possibly work on one car, as in seen in the video, it might not work on another due to the specific plastic panel/bumper.

"One type of surface could react negatively to the high temperature of the water."

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