Hail Damage

jcclark

jcclark

Oldtimer
So what's the best way to fill a lot of small dings on a large surface
like a hood or roof panel when you don't want to replace the panel?
I was thinking a poly primer like Slicksand but another forum
recommended against that. I don't know what the alternative
would be. Maybe spot putty on the entire panel?:cool:
 
JC, I have the same problem on my 68 camaro. The panel in front of the trunk had hail damage. I filled it in with a bazillion coats of Epoxy. Not sure if Its correct or not, but couldn't think of anything else I would want filling it. I shot double coats let it sit for 3 days or so and blocked them out. Took 3-4 weeks and probably 10 or 12 coats. I'm a newbe, so it was kinda fun and good practice. I'm looking forward to the answers to your question and hoping no one chimes in saying that the epoxy was a bad idea...
 
I was thinking about getting one of those doohickeys that hot glue a stud to the paint and use a little threaded contraption to pull the hail dent out in a nice controlled fashion. I think that would go a long way to reduce the amount of spot putty needed if the biggest one were fixed that way.

I've used a full skim of Evercoat 416 putty in the past.
 
How big are the hail dents-dime,nickle,quarter, golf ball?...Glue pulls can work well but if there's a lot of them you're going to be there awhile, I'd buzz it down a bit with 120 on a DA and see what remains, if there's small ones left scuff up the shiny spots and shoot a couple coats of slicksand, block it stepping the grits down to 320, seal if with epoxy-then paint. I've never had any problems using slicksand or featherfill on a hood for stuff like this-pretty much the same as using polyester glaze.
 
Feather Fill G2 is your friend here Jim ole buddy!!.. I love that stuff!!!
 
They're very small, like a small door ding, problem is,
there's a bunch of em. Maybe around 50 on the trunk lid.
Hoods got em too.
I just bought a new Finishline 4 gun because it came with
a 2.2 tip. G2 Featherfill sounds like the ticket.
Oh boy-more sanding:D:D:D:D

(I'm not a painter, I'm a sander)
 
anoter way of doing it

If the dents are fairly small,you can use a very small ammount of heat to pick up the lows. I have a small oxy/acetylene torch that I BARELY heat the low (couple hundred degrees ) and you would be amazed what i will do. I have even heard of old time bodymen using a magnifying glass to heat out hail dents. I have never tried the magnifying glass but it is worth a try. It is based on surface tension differential. roof.jpg

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roof2.jpg
 
I took over 80 dents out of a ford truck roof one time with a torch, body file, and a wet rag. Two coats of primer, one round of blocking and it was ready for paint. But what a charred mess it must have been inside between the inner and outer roof-that was the last time I fired up a torch for ding removal. Circle the dent with a welding torch tip then the outside of the dent will start to rise-circle the flame into the center of the dent so it rises up, let it cool a little and it will pull back down, then one swipe with the bodyfile while it's still a little high and a quick quench with a wet rag and the ding is gone. Ding up some old panels and give it a try-but the backside coatings will be ashes.
 
I truly think you could get some noticeable results on a painted surface with a magnifying glass without paint damage. I'VE read a few articles by tmtechnologies that have talked about it." can show you how the Texas dustbowl Depression-era metalmen lifted out hail dents without a sound." Im assuming this is how they did it.
 
I kind of like the idea of a solar powered repair procedure. Talk about green, who needs waterborne when you have a magnifying glass? :D
 
Pulling this old small ding pulling thread back up. Anyone ever try a vacuum powered puller​??
Just thought of the vacuum idea & figured they might exist, which they do. Doubt they do much of anything to 20 ga steel, but may be useful to the late model paper cars.
 
jlcustomz;n81852 said:
Pulling this old small ding pulling thread back up. Anyone ever try a vacuum powered puller​??
Just thought of the vacuum idea & figured they might exist, which they do. Doubt they do much of anything to 20 ga steel, but may be useful to the late model paper cars.
Click to expand...

I seen one in use, didnt impress me but that might have been more because of the skill (or lack thereof) of the operator. Glue tabs work real well as does the heat method with the new induction heaters that are out there.
 
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