The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk beginning hammer and dolly

I just got a hammer and dolly set and want to hit something, I was out at the truck today and brought home a hub cap. It has one GMC one that says chevrolet and 2 that have bow ties. I brought home the GMC, do you think this would be a good place to start removing dents. By the way they are chrome. Dave

The best place to start would be on something flat like a bed side. My truck was owned previously by a landscaper (yuppie name for gardener) and he carried a bunch of rocks in it. There were quite a few good dents. Using a hammer and dolly can be rewarding but you have to go slowly and lightly when doing it. If you are too hard you can stretch the metal. Try just to "massage" it with the hammer and take your time.
Doing a hubcap is possible but you might want to try a sandbag for a dolly especially if they are chrome.
A recent issue of Hot Rod magazine had an article on hammer and dolly work.

First you should read "the key to metal bumping" Printed by the Martin tool company.
And then I would not start on something that has any value to you.

The book is very helpfull and can be found new, perhaps in the Eastwood catalog??

The art of good body work isn't something you can learn by reading. You can read about it but it takes a lot of practice to do it correctly. Just remember that every time you strike hammer on dolly you are stretching the metal between which must then be shrunk. If you have an area tech school that has a body repair class I would strongly recommend taking it. If your hub caps are in resonably good condition I wouldn't touch them with your hammer & dolly.

Thanks Grigg for the book title. I put in an Inter-library loan request after I read you post. Amazingly the book is just one town over so my library should receive it within the next few days.

Thanks, guys, I agree I didn't pick the correct piece to start on I just noticed that the hub caps are a two piece affair.

Eastwood has the book mentioned above. It's less than $12. I checked Amazon to no avail. One thing I remember from my old body-working days is how easy it is to stretch metal too far. If you are working it and it's not coming around to what you expected then back off and re-think how you are approaching the problem. Once it's stretched then you are in for a lot more work.

I have the Covell video "Basic Techniques for Working With Steel". It's good.
Covell website
-David