What is the correct way to remove a dent of this size? Should I "dolly off" on the inside, and raise the outer edges of the dent, working towards the deepest part of the dent, or hammer/raise the dent out from the inside, gently.
You might need to post some shots from a bit further away. We have some seriously good body men on here who can actually do repair work and not just custom work and maybe they will chime in. At least you have real metal to work with.
You will get a hundred different opinions on how to go about this. If it were mine, "disclaimer" here, to answer your question. Yes to both. Hammering on dolly will stretch the metal though, so you gotta be careful. I would, if i could reach the back of the panel, apply a slight amount of heat to the outside of the dent itself, either with a heat gun or propane torch. I would not use acetylene. Take a shotbag and hold it over the area and either use your rounded dolly to bring it back out to sea level or a round body hammer would work. Once you have your basic shape back, then carefully work it "off dolly around the edges." The dent , by then, will show you what it needs. Sand and apply a coat of grey primer and block it for high and low spots. Don't get in a hurry, that is a 4 hour dent for me.
That piece of metal is VERY strong, being in a tight curve like that. I would use a dolly on a post, and hammer as much of the dent up from the bottom. Then finesse it with hammer and dolly from the top. You could even round off a piece of hard wood, and do the initial bumping.
I'm just an amateur, but I'd go with off dolly hammering around the edges, carefully bringing it all back to the proper level a little at a time. Which side the hammer and the dolly goes on would more be a matter of access - hammering on the inside would seem best, but much harder.
Yep, tap/push it up from the bottom, right in the center of the crossways crease. Once that is really close you will need to hold the dolly underneath as you tap the ( edges of the crease downward. As you know don't use too much pressure when hammering those ( spots into the dolly. Just use glancing blows to gently reform those high points down.
@RMONTY Order this book, it has detailed instructions and can serve as a reference point on how to handle the dent you have there and alot of other techniques related to what folks like us do. My brother bought me a copy a couple years back, very informative reading. Sent from my LM-Q720 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
push from the bottom, with a 2x4, contoured like the fender, gently while slowly tapping on the creases at the top.
Bump from the back side with a piece of wood if possible. Then hammer and dolly. If not accessible from behind, a stud gun type puller could be used. I like to use shrinking discs to finish up metal work. Look one of those up and check it out. You always have the old drill a hole and yank it out method. Not my favorite but it’s very traditional.
I just got some slapper spoons so I can massage some dents and wrinkles in my hood. Watch some youtube videos on the subject. Yes to a little heat, yes to the 2x4 contoured to the fender to apply pressure to the dent center from underneath while you work the edges from the top, yes to the shrinking disk. It is just metal, is not very smart but it does have a good memory, all you have to do I remind it where it belongs.
With that gauge of metal there will be more than "gentle" required. You also have some secondary damage a few inches away from the crease to straighten. As said previously move the damage up from below and count on having some stretched metal to shrink. Good thing is there doesn't appear to be any signs of previous repair work often showing as severe grinder marks which translates into thinned metal. That is a no no because it means you would be working with gauge of uneven thickness. The thickness of the original pristine metal gives you substantial material to work with.
It has some stretched regions. So a bit of shrinking is part of bringing it back. Youtube has some skilled demonstrations, based upon earlier posts. Good luck, pics will inform us if you can.
I would use a stud gun and weld pins toward the crease in the dent and use a slide hammer to pull SLOWLY while tapping down on the outside edges. As someone stated once you start, the metal will show you where it wants to go. There will be many opportunities for hammer and dolly along the way.
He might be referring to: The Key to Metal Bumping Paperback – January 1, 1953 by Frank T. Sargent. You can get it at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Key-Metal-Bumping-Frank-Sargent/dp/B00CC3N0JG. Very expensive, at $98, possibly look in other places for it. I don't remember spending that much for it. It is a relatively small book, but excellent. It contains theory that applies directly to what you are doing. From what I understand it is one of the landmark books regarding removing dents. don
Well if you want to be early sixties traditional get a trowel and about a quart of bondo and go to town! But seriously I wish everyone would refer to a body hammer as a "tapper" so that when using them they would tap rather than hammer...
As seems to be the norm here, many good ideas. If like most of us you have an old hood, fender, etc. not of any value laying around, mimic the dent, and put your chosen method to practice, after some confidence in your ability, apply it to the actual piece from the car you're repairing. Good luck.
God, please don't pay that much for that book. You should get it but it's available from Eastwood for 15 bucks. By now, you have figured out there is more than one way to skin a cat. Just ask a question on the HAMB and you will get a bunch of answers....some good, some not so much. You just have to guess which are good and which aren't. https://www.eastwood.com/key-to-metal--book.html
sometimes one hit with a heavy hammer can fix something with less damage than a bunch of little taps....the trick is knowing when that sometimes is. to the op; I don't think there should be much shrinking needed, the stretch can be "lost" in that bulbous panel.
Good point but I was indicating as a general rule. I'm with the camp that says give it a good bump from behind. It may just pop back into shape. A contoured piece of wood or a rubber mallet...
^^^ Unfortunately, there isn't a ton of room to give it a good smack. I bumped it on the inside with a rubber mallet as hard as I could, and then raised it on the inside the best I could with a cheap ass body hammer, then went at it with a cheap ass dolly and the cheap ass body hammer. So far, so good. The hammer and dolly dont know they are cheap asses. I think with a little patience this will turn out well! I can't really detect much stretched metal there. It is in really good shape as far as not being rusted inside or out.
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