Flattening air cleaner nut dent in hood

C

CJK440

Promoted Users
I have a mid 70's camaro hood, it looks like the hood was interfering with one of those cast air cleaner wingnuts because there is about a quarter diameter witness mark where its been rubbing and it left a bulge, not your typical stud ding. This is in an area with no bracing even close. Its also barely reachable for myself to get a hammer and dolly on it, and there is a shallow body line running down the middle to make things even worse.

I'm not an accomplished metal worker. How can I get this bulge down or at least a tad bit subflush so I can smooth it out with a little filler? Many years ago I tried the heat and quench and ruined a hood so I am gun shy here (but think I might have used propane instead of oxy acetylene). I have typical hammers and dolly's and even a stud welder which I read is an option but looking for something that is least risky. Is this a good application for a shrinking disc???
 
CJK440 said:
I have a mid 70's camaro hood, it looks like the hood was interfering with one of those cast air cleaner wingnuts because there is about a quarter diameter witness mark where its been rubbing and it left a bulge, not your typical stud ding. This is in an area with no bracing even close. Its also barely reachable for myself to get a hammer and dolly on it, and there is a shallow body line running down the middle to make things even worse.

I'm not an accomplished metal worker. How can I get this bulge down or at least a tad bit subflush so I can smooth it out with a little filler? Many years ago I tried the heat and quench and ruined a hood so I am gun shy here (but think I might have used propane instead of oxy acetylene). I have typical hammers and dolly's and even a stud welder which I read is an option but looking for something that is least risky. Is this a good application for a shrinking disc???
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Contact a paintless dent repair tech. They might be able to help.
 
Do you have a shrinking tip for your stud welder? A good first thing to try if you have one is a small handheld shotbag. Hold it under the high and lightly tap the high down. The bag allows the hammer to actually shrink it down some. It is easy and relatively foolproof as long as you don't hit hard. Just tap it.
Link to some on ebay. You would want to get one with shot in it. If not you would have to source some lead or steel shot and sew the bag shut.
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If you have a shrinking tip for your stud gun, take the gun and first locate the high point of the bulge. Then zap it on and off, less than a second. Let it cool on it's own. Check with your hand on your progress. Repeat if necessary (it will be most likely). If you are careful you can lightly tap the area with a hammer immediately after you hit it with the gun. Lightly tap nothing more. Keep checking your progress. You can highlight it by sanding the area with a block.

Last would be the torch. If you have a torch you can do the same as with the shrink tip only using the torch. Don't quench it. No need. Use a welding tip and pinpoint a small area. As the metal starts to blue (no need to get it cherry) stop and lightly tap with a hammer. Let it cool naturally and check your progress.

Remember with something like this, small steps no big actions. Lightly tap with a hammer. No quenching, small areas at a time.
 
That brings back memories. I must have fixed 50 or more on second gen Camaros. I agree with Chris although I use a heel dolly that fits the shape and a few accurate soft hits with a pick hammer will bring it to where you want it. I repeat "a few accurate soft hits". ~BOB
 
If you wanted to try a shrinking disc, I would recommend not using the commercially available steel ones. You can make a mess with one of those and they are hard on the metal. Instead take a 5" air sander and a phenolic backing pad (usually comes with those sanders) and run over the high with that. Try not quenching and let it cool naturally. If that doesn't seem to have much effect run a damp rag over the area after the next pass.
If you don't have a phenolic backing pad, you can use a dull grinding disc flipped over so the backside is making contact. Make sure the disc is dull and it doesn't hurt to dull it further by running against something. Then flip it over and run the backside against the high.
 
Big hammer and a block of wood. Oh wait, sorry, wrong answer :) Least risky would be a hammer and dolly, but the stud gun could be used on the bottom of the hood. Weld a stud and use the weight of the slide hammer to apply pressure while tapping the top.
 
If its a bulge I assume its stretched, and the stud gun with shrinking tip is excellent for this because it is so precise, in location and amount of shrink. The amount of time you hold the trigger determines the amount of shrink. Practice first. As Chris said, the disc can possibly make a mess and harden the metal. You may notice a difference in the way the metal works after using the shrinking disc on it.
 
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an old bodyman once showed me how to use a magnifying glass to remove hail dents . believe it or not it worked pretty good .
you can tap it gently with a hammer but it's already stretched so go slow .
 
DanMcG said:
If the metal does harden, is there a way to bring it back to a workable state?
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On a panel like this not without making a bigger mess. In general though if it has been hardened by quenching, you would have to anneal it. Meaning heat it to something between blue and cherry and let it cool naturally. Not something you would want to do a hood like this.
 
Can you post a picture or two of the affected area? I like to sneak up on a repair like this by using a method that is slow and methodical. Like using a body hammer and donut dolly or small shot bag. Light taps with the hammer and closely monitor the progress, accuracy and finesse is key here.

If heat is necessary (last resort) I would use a dent puller with heating tip as Chris’s suggested.
 
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