I have numerous small dents on my cab roof including an "oil can" spot. I am semi skilled with a hammer and dolly but don't know if I want to tackle this job, to me it looks like the entire back half of the cab roof will need body fill. Will I regret even starting, should I leave it or take it to a bodyshop? It was cleaned to bare metal and then sprayed with epoxy primer. That is another question bond over the primer or back to bare metal?
For the spots that you can't get to the back side with a dolly, a pin welder and pulller can get the low spots pulled back up. If you're not willing to invest in the tools and learn to use them, it may be better to take it to a body shop that still does metal working as opposed to slapping filler on. IMO, body filler for more than minor imperfections is a route to a result you won't be happy with.
Search for some Posts by MPandC and do some reading on metal repair.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Just an option, the roof of my '53 had several small dings, from living a rough life as a farm truck. I decided to just leave them. Not a show truck, not a perfect paint job, but good enough for my purposes. I looked into body work, and decided that it would cost so much that I would end up with a truck I was afraid to drive and use. I look it the same way I look at all the wrinkles on my face, they're not imperfections, they're signs of living.
Tim
I am currently digging back in to a 1953 3800 (one ton) with a nine foot bed. I've owned it since 1979, and drove it until 1982 (or so). My wife got me involved in restoring it back in 2002, got the body removed and the frame redone, then things came up. Now I am retired and starting again. If anyone is interested I have photos on Imagur ( https://timwhiteblues.imgur.com/ ). I live way back in the woods in the Ozarks on 40 acres at the end of a 2 1/2 mile private road.
Got any pictures of the damage? Likely that the dents have pulled crown out of adjacent areas, resulting in the loose panel and hence oil can. If this is indeed the case you would want to fix the dents first and in most cases it will fix the oil can by default. Pictures and/or a video of the oil can cycling would help in pointing you in the right direction. Here's some other discussion on oil canning:
I got my courage up and started fixing my roof got the dents within 1/8 inch and fixed the oil can spot, sometimes I avoid a job for awhile then when I get into it, it's not that bad. I am going to try to post pictures and a video. Thanks for your help.
I had like 30 little dents on the back of my cab above the top of the bed, where people had pitched stuff in and missed over the years. With the help of an assistant you can get a hammer and dolly and go to town. Get them close, mine were all less than 1/16" then recommend using a filler made by Evercoat called rage extreme to skim in the low spots. This stuff you can sand after 20 minutes and it sands easy-much better than regular bondo. Then I really liked the 3m guide coat. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tes-05861/overview/ It is pricey but one of these can do your entire truck, you will quickly find the lows when you start sanding, then get back with more rage extreme. Every application things get better in a hurry, before you know it, you can prime a cherry panel. You can do it, dont sell yourself short unless you dont have the effort and will power in you. Steve
Last edited by sstock; 03/28/201812:20 AM.
1953 Chevrolet 3100 261 cu inch, sm420, 3.55 rear, torque tube still,omaha orange, still 6 volt, RPO green glass, side carrier spare, all done In the DITY Gallery Video of the 261 running
1964 GMC 1000 305 Big Block V6, sm420, the next cab off restoration
I had many many dents in mine. Same thing, farm truck, hard life. I bought stud welder studs at harbor freight and tacked them in with a mig welder. then used a slide hammer to pop them out. Not in paint yet, but its smoother than it was!
