Hey guys! I ´ve had a little bad luck on my way home from work today... Like 2 hours ago a "lady" deer decided to try a different corn field on the other side of the road when I was coming along , so I unfortunately hit her at about 60-65 mph... I´m glad nobody was injured, but looking at my trusty Chevy hurts badly. Now , I know I could just pull out the dents, straighten the fender and hood, primer, bondo, filler,paint... but not here,this car has like 95 % original paint ( only the roof has a thin layer of green paint over the factory white paintjob) and is completely rust and bondo free...Is there a method that allows me to get the metal back in shape without ruining all of the remaining paint? The car already has a few nicks and scratches, polished through edges, I just want to avoid a big primered area if I can... I would remove the fender from the car to get better access from behind, right? What would you do? I know it´s only a 4dr,and it´s not about value here, I just like it that way and I want to save as much of the original paint as possible...
Since the paint is still intact, I say it can be done. It will take a lot of care and be an otherwise slow process to bang out those dents. Yes, you will need to pull the parts off the car and remove the trim first. I'm not an expert in this field, but some thing with a large bearing area to spread out the blows needed to bend the metal back in shape should do the trick.
Can't be saved. The work required to fix that hood will result in damage to the paint. It's common sense.
I would try first to pull the hood and tilt the dented against something like a old mattress and then push the dent out, starting from the edges working toward the center or deepest part of the dent. Just try to roll the dent out. Even at that, most of the metal is stretch and would need a hammer, dolly, and file to make like it was. You know what you could do is find another car like yours, in the same condition, with the same original paint and color and swap him. But at the end of the day, do you want a hot rod or do you want a restoration work of art, and you know, you can't drive a restoration work of art to far.
I agree with "coconuts", it wont look perfect but, if ya can live with it get after it. You are the only one that has to be happy, besides it adds character. Tony
Totally doable. It won't be perfect by any means but the basic shape will be retained and you have one hell of a story to go with it. And as stated above, another original paint hood and fender will eventually come along and you can decide what to do then. Sent from my SM-N910V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The worse damage is confined to the hood,to repair the hood your gonna have to bite the bullet and pull it,I believe you can save the paint on the fender,it doesn't look too bad. I honestly don't think the repair can be done and save the original paint but it appears the hood is the only thing that will need painting. HRP
Rolling the dent in the hood out from the edges is a very good idea. I probably would have pushed it out from the center and maybe have stretched it even more. ..Thanks, this makes sense. The pass side fender has a horizonal kink between the parking lamp housing and the headlamp and a bulk outside. .. Maybe I will try to wedge a floor jack and a piece of wood between the a arm and the area were the kink is and push it back forward as good as possible. Then remove the fender and hammer and dollie it straight, maybe wrap both tools in duct tape to dampen the impact...?
A first class paintless dent guy might get it out most of the way, but it's stretched pretty good on the hood. Saving the paint while trying to do it with conventional tools and no PDR experience will be hard. At least the deer lady was kind enough to leave the grille, trim, headlight bezel, etc. intact.
I've seen the paint less dent repair guys do some amazing stuff. Like way worse than that is. Shop around and find someone who knows what they are doing. That is not one you want to learn on. I just saw a 50's original black paint bug that was wrecked in the late 60's have the way worse smashed hood and fender repaired with saving the original paint. Sent from my SM-G900T using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
DO NOT remove the panels till you do a "pre-pull". i think a lot of that will come out while still together. i would start by removing the chrome, trim and lights, grill. pull the front tires to gain access then work on getting it straight. BIG hammer and slide hammers, chunks of wood etc... to start. i have even pre-pulled stuff by chaining the dents to a tree and backing up.
As said, I would try a good paintless dent repair. At worst, a good body man should be able to get that out and do a blend. Now, I have to ask... What's for dinner? That deer would be paying for this one way or another.
I hate to break it to you but the the lacquer paint isn't forgiving to paintless dent removal. It will be cracked at every bend. Most will fall off when straightened. The reason it works on newer cars is that the paint is flexible. I know people will say they have seen it done, but in a couple weeks of outside storage you will see the rust at the cracks. There are guys on here that can fix that hood. I think you will probably could buy a new hood for about half of their going rate. It is stretched a lot.
And it's not just hood that has damage, but the pass. side fender, as well. Plus, the metal on the 55 is "thick skinned", while the new cars are "thin skinned".
Most other people were concentrating on the hood. I didn't even want to get into the fender. It will be pulled down in the headlight area. The whole front of the fender will have to be brought up. A challenge not impossible. Hard to get to look like the other side.
Mess up as little paint as possible to do the repair. Have the color matched and blend it in, You should only need to paint the front third of the fender and about the same on the hood. It will look just fine, come on after 61 years that ain't too bad.
Thanks for all your help guys, this goes a long way for me. Great help! Luckily the driver´s side fender wasn´t hurt at all, but I agree, the pass side fender was brought down some by the kink in between park lamp and headlight housing. I´ll keep you updated on the outcome... I have insurance and they will hopefully take care of the damage... we´ll see!
I am not a professional but I have pulled a few dents. If it were my car, I would try to push out the hood. Pull the hood off and put it on a soft surface (grass or mattress ) and carefully step on the edges of the dent. Work from the outside to the center. Good luck! Sent from my SM-G900V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Spend the `$14.95 (or whatever it is now) and get yourself a copy of The Key to Metalbumping I learned ALOT from that little book!
Imagine 29.95 to paint an entire car. How many cars did the average Joe have to paint to buy a new color tv?
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