The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Paintless dent repair

Anyone had experience with paintless dent repair on the thicker metal our trucks are made of?

A friend told me it didn't work and that the dents had to be fixed a la old style...some with a small hole drilled and a slide hammer with screw tip to pull them out and body filler to smooth. Some of those areas can't be fixed any other way. Sorry to hear that.

If there's an access hole close to a dent that can't be accessed directly with a hammer and dolly, use something called a "pick tool" to push most of the dent up close to level where some careful massaging with a smooth faced body hammer can be used to minimize the distortion. Be aware that a dent of more than a very small size will stretch the metal, making it difficult to put it back into its original shape without "oil canning"- - - -popping in and out with a slight push on the dented area.

Here's one example of a pick tool. Most well-equipped body workers would have an assortment of lengths and shapes, and sometimes it was necessary to drill a hole from the back side in double pamel sections close to a dent to use the tools. They're not just bent pieces of round stock- - -the good ones are spring steel.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/403531763396?

Like a lot of other skilled trades, body workers who actually know how to straighten dents and metal finish their work are a dying breed! Now it's "cut, spot weld, and slap on the Bondo"!
Jerry

I tried paintless dent repair on some of the dents in double wall structure. Didn't work worth a darn. The glue-on tabs wouldn't stay in place long enough to move the metal.
I finally borrowed a stud gun and pulled out a few dents that way.
My opinion - don't bother trying paintless dent repair on anything but the tinfoil they make modern cars with.

I watched a guy who knew what he was doing make some amazing paintless hail damage repairs on a very fine paint job. Fascinating to see.
I would recommend you look for a guy who does it full time. They generally will come to you. I guy who does it all the time will let you know about if the steel is too thick. I'm thinking that if the hail dented it, it ain't as thick as you think. These round trucks get a lot of their stability from being round. Kind of like how an egg shell, as fragile as the shell material is, holds up pretty good for what it is.

considering just hail damage my local shop had a fellow come work in their shop after a pretty rough hail storm. My wifes car took a beating but not enough dents to total or do panel replacement. The "guy" even dropped the headliner to get to the dents. I was totally shocked at the job done. Drove the car for several years and you could never tell where a hail hit it.

Check out some videos,I watched a few a year or two ago it is interesting .The tools are expensive and I remember that they used a line light that showed lines on the vehicle and when the dent was pushed out the lines evened out indicating the dent was out.

I also had a good experience with a knowledgeable and skilled paintless dent repair shop. My wife's Cadillac, 1995 DeVille, suffered hail damage on nearly every panel. Reynolds collision center in Oklahoma City repaired it. This was about 6-7 years ago. I sold the car earlier this year and I was never able to find any evidence that there had been hail damage after they finished. It wasn't cheap, $750 as I recall, but the quality repair was excellent.

Mark

Kevinski, I have watched several videos and am amazed at the results they get.

Mark, I will check into Reynolds Collision Center. So far most don’t want to do “older vehicles” due to the thicker metal being harder to massage.