Help me with a strategy on where to start banging on this 1960 Chevy fender. I’ve read The Key to Metal Bumping and understand last in first out. I know it’s all being held by the crease. Do I work the crease or the soft low stuff leading to the crease? I started with the soft low stuff on a different fender and now have oil canning. I think someone put a ratchet strap around the front clip and crushed the fenders.
I am fortunate to have learnt form some highly talented metal guys. The most pivotal fundamental shaping metal for me was understanding 'shrinking & stretching'. That is what I think of predominantly. The rest is skill, technique, practice, having the right tools etc
Well, that sucks. I think you're going to have to use some force to push that inward dent (crease) out and then you can start working on the creases from shallow to deep. Since it's not on a car and you can't use a Porta power, I would use a block of tapered wood and a BFH to knock the deep part out. Nothing else is going to move until you unlock that. Just try to not add additional stretching. YMMV.
If you are comfortable with welding, I'd slice that crease right down the middle. Work both adjacent sides, then weld it up. That looks like it stretched things. Now you not only have the debt fighting you, but also extra metal.
I second cutting the body line through the crease, much easier to work out the rest and weld will shrink some of the inevitable stretch
Personally, I would not start by cutting it. If you have any stretch, you can always heat shrink it out with a torch or shrinking disc. Those look like nice parts. Keep them that way. Go slowly and don't hammer on dolly and create further stretching. Put a sandbag under it and work it out from the backside against the sandbag.
Ive become a big fan of starting by pushing out the dent with a jack and a shaped wooden block if you have access inside the car. I had a tree limb fall on one car's roof and I used a floor jack and a 4x4 with a rounded end to get most of it out before hammers were even deployed. A hydraulic press could possibly work for smaller parts off the car. But I know you have the car in the shed, so start by bolting it on the car, take the wheel off for access, and see if you can push in the opposite direction it was formed. You may have to tap from the top if/once the car starts to lift off the ground. Once it is mostly out then use hammers and dolly but avoid the ringing bell sound as that is the sound of stretching which leads to the oil canning, then when it is close one can employ slapping spoons with a dolly and a bulleye pick to refine if you want it no filler perfect. This guys early videos from about two years ago are more how to and full of great tips for working dents and cracks with simple hand tools (later videos are more "watch me work" style): https://www.youtube.com/@CarterAutoRestyling/videos
Fix the rough shape first before you worry about fine tuning the small stuff. I’d turn it upside down and cradle the outer edges of the dent between wood blocks. Then use another strong wood block as a chisel and hammer it down into the ridge to begin pushing the ridge out where it belongs. Hopefully the cradle will take the force of the hammering and keep the unaffected parts of the fender safe. And hopefully the wood chisel will not stretch the bent portion any more than it is.
I agree that pushing the deep part out would be the start, while stopping during this at times to work the high edges of the crease down. A thousand words would just be an overview of trying to explain the process. I suggest watching good metal shapers and seeing how it's done. Kyle at www.youtube.com/@CarterAutoRestyling/videos does some pretty great stuff using minimal tools but as he shows, it takes talent, knowledge and 'feel' to know how and where to bang. You can search for other videos and find the person who makes the most sense to you.
Thanks for the ideas. It had never occurred to me to cut. I think I’m going to push it out with wood and try cutting as a second option.
I'd pop that out using a piece of steel plate maybe 3/8 thick, 3-4 inches wide/square and a hammer. I'd round the edge of the plate with my grinder. lay the fender in the dirt and pop it out from the inside. once that is back in shape the other parts will fall back much closer to where they are supposed to be. then use standard hammer & dolly techniques to get the rest. it MAY still need a slice to get it to go where it belongs. that repair is much simpler than it would first appear you should read the key To Metal Bumping more than once
Mount the fender on the car. Apply generous pressure to back side of the deepest dent. Gently tap the the high spots around the outside edges of damaged area. it will magically slowly unfold in the reverse of how it was dented.
Wack or push this area out first I’d wack it with a block of wood and hammer. This old metal is EZ to work. It’s gonna stretch in a place or 2. No reason to cut with access from behind Or bolt it back on and push from the inside It’s just metal. You can break glass. You won’t break this fender
Thanks again for the advice. I didn’t want to start banging on the wrong spot. I got it roughed in and then got rained out. It’ll probably be next weekend before I can mess it again. I feel like I’m off to a pretty good start.
Really glad you got it moving in the right direction! The 'cut it' guys scare me. Fully finishing a weld is harder than just working the metal for most.
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