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pulling dents from hail

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J

jayhawk

Jedi Warrior
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My TR 3 has major hail dents (or dents from major hail). The dents are at least 20 years old and I wondered if there is a shade-tree method for pulling the things out. I've tried the little rubber suction thingy but it didn't even budge them. I don't need to have them perfectly pulled because I'll still do the sanding/filling to smooth it so it looks nice but wondered if anyone had a suggestion or had experience?
Pete
 
From my limited experience I find that one a panel is dented your options are limited because the metal is stretched and shrinking it back is an artform I never mastered. Plus cars like yours have some real metal in them so they'll tend to be a bit obstinant.

My suggestion is to buy a sand bag from Eastwood company (or make one - Eastwood's are slightly high )and turn the hood over on it and try to gently beat the dent back out as best you can untill it's just shy of level then fill with a minimum of filler and finish - heres a link for the beanbag

https://www.eastwood.com/jump.jsp?itemID=492&itemType=CATEGORY&iMainCat=489&iSubCat=492

Check out some of the other metal working tools featured - thet're a bit pricey but the sure do have some neat stuff - I bought a hand flanger which makes panel repair/replacement much easier and the results much more attractive.

Best of luck!

Bob M. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif
 
You could do it the normal way, with a body hammer and a dolley, but put a cloth or something over the car as to not crack the paint off. I did it today at the shop, and it works well if you have a good eye and some patients. And you don't have to spend much money for the hammer and dolley.
 
[ QUOTE ]
You could do it the normal way, with a body hammer and a dolley, but put a cloth or something over the car as to not crack the paint off. I did it today at the shop....

[/ QUOTE ]
Webb,

You rock!

It's awesome to see a teenager pick up a hammer and dolly to finesse sheet metal. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

The stereotype seems to be that young people these days only bang on keyboards and press stickers on cars. It's great to find that craftsmanship is still alive and valued.

Pound on dude!
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif


PC.
 
Small shot bag, and a nylon teardrop mallet. Just go slow, and don't try to pound the dent out all at once. Little taps, and frequent checking. A good light to sight across the dent, and some light finger work to see if you can feel the highs and lows.
I love doing stuff like this!!

Jeff
 
Try one of the paintless dent removal guys. I thought that it was all voodoo and snake oil, but a coworker have very good luck with one of these guys after a hail storm in Houston a couple of years ago.

The comment about the old steel being stronger than the new stuff may have some merit, but I have to dings on the Healey that I have thought about letting them have a go at. I understand the rate is usually about $50 a dent so small jobs.

Patton
 
[ QUOTE ]
Try one of the paintless dent removal guys.

[/ QUOTE ]

They are good but can be expensive. I had three crease type dents removed from on top of my Mini fender. He worked on these at my place. Drove up in his truck. I left him there and when I came back it was all done and he was gone. I expected to be able to see something indicating where the dents had been but there was nothing. Checked it in bright sunlight, at all angles. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

If I wanted to show someone where they were today I could only say somewhere on top of the fender but I am not sure where.
 
You guys are right about the strength of the metal.. must have been some pretty good sized hailstones to begin with.I've worked with MG hoods and this is another animal. I attempted earlier to pop one out by removing the grille and pounding upwards while holding a pad over the spot on the front apron. Nada. Couldn't get a good whack at it with my mallet so I know I'll have to remove some pieces and work at it from the inside. I will check out the dent guys, however-- there are a couple that are right over the cross pieces in the trunk. Thanks for the suggestions.
Pete /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif
 
One of the nice things about doing body work on the older cars such as the TR3 or a Bugeye, is that you actually have enough material to work with to do metal finishing, rather than get it close and fill it. When I did the body on my GT6, I wound up with about a teaspoon of filler in it.
I think you could probably stick weld some of those panels!
I saw a Miata this past weekend that had gone through a hailstorm, and it looked like a golf ball.

Jeff
 
Years ago I had the roof of my Honda Accord dimpled by hail. It was repaired using an oxy-acetylene torch to pop each dimple out. Of course, the roof required refinishing afterwards.
 
Rick-- was the torch used to soften the metal or did it literally pop out with heating cooling process?
 
If paint isn't a concern. A friend of mine, his grandfather was an old body/paint man from way back (we are talking about working for Hudson, Packard, Chrysler) he used an oxy-acetylene torch to get the spots red hot then immediately put a cup of ice right on the spot. He also used a shrinking hammer on some spots.
 
I'm unsure whether it was a 2-step process involving rapid cooling of the dimple after being struck by the torch. I would ask a local body shop about the procedure.
 
Years ago(20+ years ago) when I worked at a used car lot, we had a "Paintless Dent Removal" guy come to the lot to fix up our dinged, and dented inventory.
He used a heat gun to heat up one side of the body panel, right where the dent was. Then he would put Dry Ice on the opposite side of the panel and the dent would pop back into shape.
I really don't know much about the technology of paintless dent removal, but I'm sure it has progressed a great deal since those days. I would think the newer methods would be better.

Just my 2¢
 
Stinky,
That thing with the dry ice and heat gun is actually really good, if it works. Because metal contracts win it cools, and expands when it's hot, that should work great! But if the metal is creased I don't think it would do much good.
 
Forget paintless dent repair, it can only be done on cars a few years old with NO repaints. If the dents are large enough to have streched the metal, they may have to be pulled out with a stud gun(which does minor shrinking too). If you are really planning to DIY ,I would have the worst hits pulled out by a pro. You will save yourself a ton of time and grief for a few $$
MD(mad dog)
 
[ QUOTE ]
Forget paintless dent repair, it can only be done on cars a few years old with NO repaints.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not to argue but I have witnessed it done on newer cars and I had two of my older cars done, both having been previously repainted.

Why " a few years old"? and how old is "a few years". I don't understand why it would make a difference if it is1 year old or 4 years old.

Bruce
 
Bruce, the statement may be related to the fact that newer cars are made of much thinner sheet metal than our "classics".
Jeff
 
If you are filling and sanding, these dents must be at least 1/8" below the undented surface. Try latching on to a "pin welder" and tack the pins on the center of the dent. Use a slide puller to gently pull the dents to within a 1/16th from the surface. Fill, sand, guide coat, prime, and paint.


Jim
 
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