I've got two 55 f100 doors I am about to install, but before I do I need to try to remove the huge (about 15") oil can dents in the center of each. Decent doors but Of course someone did someone a favor and had them sandblasted before I got them and here we go. I have a torch and some basic hammers, read a lot about shrinking these dents, but not sure how to proceed, I just want to get them to quit oil canning, then fill with a reasonable thickness of mud. It's not gonna be a shiny, high maintenance piece. Heat it in the middle or sides, cool it with a wet rag?
Sorry but I am not at my shop. Again.... the oil can dents are about 15" in the center of each door about 1/2 deep "innies" in that you can pop in and out through the access panel inside the door.......they pop back out where they are supposed to be, but easily pop back in.........
I usually heat spots about 1 1/2 inches apart with a small torch tip but others might have better ways.
Not the edges. You now have too much metal for the door edges, if that makes sense. Depending on the damage, some pros will try to spread the door by grabbing the edges with a pulling fixture. That is done if the door was hit, and the edge got pulled in. Try some heats in the miiddle, enough heat to make steam for starters. Not easy to learn, unless they were small oil cans, IMO. I might be tempted to buy a shrink disc for that type of damage, because random sheat shrinks all over, could get it looking pretty bad.
almost red? in the center? across the center? at the edges? in it's popped out position(back in place)? then cool it with a wet rag? Remember I just want it to stay out-close to oem, not dolly it to no bondo perfection thanks
I played with an old door I had, with pretty much the same deal you have going on. It is hard as hell, I have respect for the metal wizards working that stuff out. I keep trying and watching what is going on, we'll all figure it out some day. Good luck, and like said above watch what you heat and shrink, it can definitely get ugly fast! I know.
No access to a shrinking wheel any time soon, How about a totally worn out flapper disc with no grit, I have noticed how they start to get hot but do nothing to the metal(but get hot) and Do you always cool it to shrink it?
I'm about to head to the shop and fire up the torch ! Any last minute tips, besides don't do it? Because I always do it- f&*k it up then fix it or sometimes even succeed the first time!
if sand blasting caused the damage then more shrinking will not fix it it may need to be stretched with hammer and dolly work.sometimes damage from a sandblaster will give a false stretch look.
Not trying to hijack this thread but....is there a "bodywork/paint" group on the HAMB like there is for some other specialty aspects of car building? Back to the topic at hand. Ron Covell told me many years ago to try to envision how the damage was done originally and the work it out by going backwards. Last to first, so to speak. Oil cans are tough because oftentimes there is no really obvious damage...dents, creases etc.. Just too much metal (stretched). What caused the metal to stretch? Has the shape of the door frame changed, moving extra material to the center of the door?
I did a bit of shrinking on a rear panel of my 62 Town Wagon,just used a small butane torch and a wet rag, just took a deep breath and dove in and gave it a try . I was amazed at how fast it worked,you can actually see it shrinking,kinda hard to describe but the metal just kinda flows. That said I think it's a scary thing to try!!
pop up the loose areas and put 3/8 in red spots and hammer and dolly then splash with cold water until done mark and plan your areas use a straight edge to see what you are doing dont do this helter skelter or you may habe a real mess
If you pop the dent out, (back to stock look), try some hammer and dolly work around the edges of where the dent was to make it stay put. There is oftren a very small "ridge line" at the edges of the dent. Put the dolly on the inside and make it ring from the outside.
Thanks, almost enough info to dive in helter skelter, no ridges just "one(in each) big warpy oil can dent". Kinda like the cricket clickers we used to have as kids...and in that old war movie, "The longest day" I think
What Ole Don is saying is if you pop the dent back in and feel for the ridge line... its there believe it. Hammer and dolly like he said. I would use a small butane or propane torch instead of oxy. But if thats all you got then do it. Just be mellow and like another HAMBer said mark your area of work Good luck -Shiny
Well I'm back from the shop, got the oil can out of one door. Now I gots me a big sack-a-walnuts! I would have loved to have had these doors before they went to the "sandblaster" .......come to think of it, I have seen a bunch of panels ruined by blasters over the years(...not saying all blasters are bad but most specialize in powdercoating frames and such) oh well
Hey 54, Shrinking doors onna '53-'56 F-ee can be some real fun given their almost dead flat thru the center of the door skin, that and the small access hatch don't help much for doin any real metal work. The good news is they're made of good, thick old world steel I can't say whether the damage was caused solely from blasting, or old damage without a picture, but her's how I'd fix them........... Once you've tried to hammer flat each of those high areas , using both on & offdolly techniques, and figgered that what you have is really stretched metal, pop out the areas that will flex, and mark eack one with a felt pen. This will make of them easier to see once the torch is lit! Now look at each stretched high as much like a wagon wheel with the centre being the highest point above the panel. With a toe or heel dolly, and a round faced bumping hammer ready, light the torch, and with a netural flame, heat a small dime sized area in the centre of the stretch to a cherry red heat. With the dolly held firmly against the back of the stretch, land your first hit dead centre, ondolly, make other hits, again ondolly around the spokes of the wheel, with a kinda slapping blow always kinda directed towards the centre of the shrink. Once you've gone around the shrink with your blows, run a damp rag across the shrink, and watch what the metal does. Do some more on & off dolly work, and continue to straighten the surrounding metal. After the metal cools off, check your work. If you find more shrinking is necessary, make your future shrinks small ones, but continue to check your progress, until all of the ''floppy'' metal is tight. You can also shrink with a dead/worn grinding disc, and heat the metal to only a bleu heat, use a real shrinking disc with the correct grinder, use a stud welding gun with shrinking tip or a " cold '' shrink which is done with a pick hammer & small dents directed into the hollow of a general purpose dolly. This last methods is '' pure butchery '' but gypsy & puttyflinger " bodymen'' use this method all the time Rotsa ruck, and go slow & easy on those doors! " Humpty Dumpty was pushed "
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