Diamond Plate Dent

[FrankieSaysRelax]

My daughter, God bless her, accidentally just tapped the left corner of my TT and put a two foot, top to bottom, one foot, side to side, dent into my front diamond plate rock guard. To me, it feels and sounds like plastic, not aluminum. Is it in fact plastic?
I was wondering if there is a quick and dirty way to pop that dent out, like with one of those dent puller glue kits I’ve seen on line? Or is this a big job? It’s not even a six month old trailer, and I hate to think of driving it like this next spring.
thanks,
frank d.

[JFlightRisk]

Our TT is 10 years older and has an aluminum diamond plate. We haven't been up close to the newer units to see if they changed material. I would guess it's still aluminum.

[craigav]

Perhaps a picture or three would help with brainstorming some thoughts. I have repaired dents with the glue stick dent pullers (mainly hail dents) and I pulled what appeared to be a fairly large dent on my Chevrolet Sonic door simply using a suction cup... which I suspect may not work so well maintaining a suction on diamond plate.

Regarding the diamond plate, you can find different size sheets of it for sale on amazon and ebay and certain websites that are almost exclusively into that business. The aluminum diamond plates are able to be made very thin, so thin in fact that they roll it up and ship it in a rectangular tall box. I had purchased some for a section of my shop wall and it was easy to use.

As an example, not necessarily a recommendation.

https://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-Diam...5059354&sr=8-3

[FrankieSaysRelax]

Pictures to follow tomorrow. I am almost positive this product is plastic and not aluminum diamond plate. Thank you folks for showing an interest in my dilemma.
frank d.

[kirkelli]

you could always heat up something like a center punch tip and find an an inconspicuous spot or area and see if the hot tip penetrates. If it does, it's plastic..

[Route 66 Traveler]

My trailer is a 2017 StarCraft (with Jayco part numbers) and the front “ Diamond Plate” is actually painted plastic. If you push on it hard enough you can push it inwards.

There are some tricks body shops use to fix the dented plastic bumper covers on cars and trucks. Search YouTube and you might find a solution to your problem.

When I bought my trailer I questioned the use of plastic…less weight was the answer.

UPDATE: Just searched YouTube myself…

https://m.youtube.com/results?sp=mAE...lastic+bumpers

[bucko]

I'd be suprised if it was plastic, as a dent the size you described would have cracked plastic I'd think.

Also, because of the diamond plate patterns in it, it will be very difficult to pound/tap out the dent and get the diamond patterns looking decent.

[ARoamer]

A 1 foot x 2 foot dent will likely have the wood behind it damaged also (if there is any!) you may want to have a look inside.

[16WhiteColly]

My 2016 TT has a plastic diamond plate. There is a wall plate inside that you can remove to look at the wall framing. Although the diamond plate is rounded, the inside panel plate may not be.

[FrankieSaysRelax]

Originally Posted by kirkelli

you could always heat up something like a center punch tip and find an an inconspicuous spot or area and see if the hot tip penetrates. If it does, it's plastic..

Originally Posted by Route 66 Traveler

My trailer is a 2017 StarCraft (with Jayco part numbers) and the front “ Diamond Plate” is actually painted plastic. If you push on it hard enough you can push it inwards.

There are some tricks body shops use to fix the dented plastic bumper covers on cars and trucks. Search YouTube and you might find a solution to your problem.

When I bought my trailer I questioned the use of plastic…less weight was the answer.

UPDATE: Just searched YouTube myself…

https://m.youtube.com/results?sp=mAE...lastic+bumpers

Originally Posted by bucko

I'd be suprised if it was plastic, as a dent the size you described would have cracked plastic I'd think.

Also, because of the diamond plate patterns in it, it will be very difficult to pound/tap out the dent and get the diamond patterns looking decent.

Originally Posted by ARoamer

A 1 foot x 2 foot dent will likely have the wood behind it damaged also (if there is any!) you may want to have a look inside.

Originally Posted by 16WhiteColly

My 2016 TT has a plastic diamond plate. There is a wall plate inside that you can remove to look at the wall framing. Although the diamond plate is rounded, the inside panel plate may not be.

It’s definitely a plastic facsimile of diamond plate. It seems many trailer mfg’s use this product as a rock guard wrap for its lightness, even more so than aluminum.

It is supposed to be around 64degrees here today, so I think I may have an idea to pull/pop the dent out when the plastic warms up. I will document the event with pictures for your(humorous)entertainment!😹

[bucko]

Fingers crossed for a successful repair!

[FrankieSaysRelax]

So I have a brainstorm last night that some really sticky duct tape would be strong enough to pull the dent out of this very thin and flexible plastic diamond plate rock guard.

How wrong could I be…because not only did the tape barely stick(industrial strength duct tape), the hot glue from a glue gun and dent puller kit barely stuck either!!! It crystallized and pretty much fell off the trailer. The glue stuck really good to the dent puller attachment. Took a quarter bottle of alcohol to clean the pieces of glue residue.

It’s like a giant slab of Teflon. 😂😹😂

[EJH]

Try a heat gun while reshaping the plastic panel from the backside (assuming you have a way to access the back - might need to take some of the screws/panel off?). I have had success repairing large dents in plastic auto bumpers with heat and gentle massaging back to shape.

[FrankieSaysRelax]

Originally Posted by EJH

Try a heat gun while reshaping the plastic panel from the backside (assuming you have a way to access the back - might need to take some of the screws/panel off?). I have had success repairing large dents in plastic auto bumpers with heat and gentle massaging back to shape.

If I can access the spot from under the bed I may have a way to get to that frontal area. But I remember it was sealed, but I don’t remember if it is just with wood screws. A project for another day.😎.

[muckinfuss]

Thank you for sharing your misery. I'm sure to be more careful up front from now on!

[FrankieSaysRelax]

Originally Posted by muckinfuss

Thank you for sharing your misery. I'm sure to be more careful up front from now on!

You know how it is…the first ding, scratch, dent in anything new is always the hardest to get over. I’m sure many of the seasoned folks here are having a good laugh at my expense over such trivia. As they should!

[muckinfuss]

I think you're right in line with the majority of owners. Every edge lift of a decal, scratch on a door, etc......you get the picture.....each one is like a stab from your grandmother's sister's long hat pin.

[kirkelli]

Originally Posted by FrankieSaysRelax

So I have a brainstorm last night that some really sticky duct tape would be strong enough to pull the dent out of this very thin and flexible plastic diamond plate rock guard.

How wrong could I be…because not only did the tape barely stick(industrial strength duct tape), the hot glue from a glue gun and dent puller kit barely stuck either!!! It crystallized and pretty much fell off the trailer. The glue stuck really good to the dent puller attachment. Took a quarter bottle of alcohol to clean the pieces of glue residue.

It’s like a giant slab of Teflon. ������

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Attachment 79075

No wonder Jayco went with Plastic Diamond Plate.. The stuff is cheap. You may as well replace the whole sheet for $75 Bucks.
https://www.amazon.com/Black-Diamond...5147343&sr=8-8

[norty1]

How about a Good Sam sticker over it?

[mikeplaneguy]

Originally Posted by FrankieSaysRelax

You know how it is…the first ding, scratch, dent in anything new is always the hardest to get over. I’m sure many of the seasoned folks here are having a good laugh at my expense over such trivia. As they should!

When I bought my new truck, one of the mechanics at work was checking it out, he said "nice truck!" Then he handed me a hammer and said "go ahead, get it over with, it might as well be dented by you."