Hot Rods Metal Gurus... I need help

Well

I have been accused of being dumb but not that dumb! (Just for clarification dumb means to be unable to speak which I rarely am.)

 

[QUOTE="31Vicky

Your biggest hurdle will be seeing what's high and what's low to the original metal.
Get the fenders perfectly clean or as close as possible both in and out.
Hit them with a thin coat of primer.
Lightly start to block sand them, just a few even swipes evenly over the entire fender.
The first places the primer sands off are your highest high spots.
Begin there with a plan making them go down. A flexible straight edge will help you greatly in developing that plan[/QUOTE]

That first sentence is where the real problem lies. The old primer trick is a good reminder. I guess the soundest advice is yours. I know the e wheel would have to be on very low pressure but the big fear is overdoing it and causing more grief. Doesn't the physicians creed say something about, "...first do no harm."? Same applies here. Thanks.

 

You could use an english wheel or plannishing hammer but you would hav to have little to no pressure.

To reverse the damage you want no contact. When the dents happened they more than likely caused an arrangement problem not a surface area problem unless there is light stretch.

English wheel, planishing hammer, hammer on dolly, slapper on dolly (plannishing without a wheel or mechanised hammer) are all forms of stretching.

What you want to do is hammer off dolly work. If you think of the dent as a bowl support the bottom of the bowl having a dolly of similar contour to the fenders repair area. Now lightly hammer the edge of the bowl. It is important that you not hammer hard enough to cause dents along the rim / outer edge of the damage. You can also bump the bottom of the bowl again not hard enough to cause a dent or more damage. Work back and forth between the bottom and rim and you should slowly see the center being coaxed up to the original shape. My preferred method for these type of repairs is a properly contoured dolly and a slapper i msde from a piece of scrap hardwood.

Once you are about 90%+ complete you can go to a file and continue to work the area still working off dolly raise lows tap highs lightly file to check progress. I prefer to use some 180 on a piece of aluminum here then transition to a body file for the last couple passes.

Once the the surface has been returned to the original shape it should not need further work. If for some reason the repair area feels high then tou may need to shrink a little which is where a shrinking disk might come in handy but if you are unfamiliar with how to work one properly the disk can cause more damage than good.

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