Small dent? New panel?

[sumsmug]

Hi All

browsing through the forums, it seems that most dents in the endcaps need new sections (at great cost). So I'm assuming the dent in this airstream is no different... however, I can hope that there is a less expensive alternative, like sucking out the dent, or beating it out from the inside. Has anyone tried this with such a dent?

This is a '89 excella 28 ft.

Cheers

SumsMug

[Foiled Again]

Your dents don't look too bad, though there is a crease in the one in the middle of the segment so it may have stretched the metal.

I'd say, get the hair dryer, the plunger and the glass pulling suction cups and have a go - gently and slowly. If you don't feel confident to try it yourself, find someone who works on airplanes - they can do wonders with aluminum.

You probably won't get it perfect, but surely there's room for major improvement. If you USE an Airstream it will never stay "perfect" so even if you have a few scratches or a small ding left over, who really cares?

Paula

[silverleeper]

Hi Sumsnug, It looks like the small lower dent could be pulled with a plunger with some success. The large one looks creased, a little more difficult. Maybe someone else has some ideas on that one.

[Aerowood]

I had good results working out a bunch of dents from the inside with this tool. Do not ever put a hammer to the aluminun as it will only make it worse.

[Alumatube]

I think it was Terry (overlander63) who said he had good success with rolling a partially deflated basketball on the dents from the inside (after removal of the inner end cap, of course). If you search you might find that thread (I'll have a look to see if I can).

Sorry about your dents! We have some pretty hefty ones in our moho endcap as well, from the previous owner.

Susan

[CamperRepair]

Take the inside apart,hammer her back out(dead-blow hammer)

[thecatsandi]

You can probably push it out from the inside with a roller (see previous post). A significant amount of work. It will not completely dis-appear. the metal is already stretched beyond its initial forming.

[raveson]

A few years back, had a dent wisard fix the same type of dent on my then 66 landyacht. Worked great! The dent guy drilled a hole in the window frame and used his tools from that point only. When completed, he pluged the hole with a cap. The dent was 98% fixed within a hour or so.

[GStephens]

I'm afraid you won't have much luck in removing either dent. The lower one is on a support (see rivet line). That support will have to be repaired before anything will align back up. The upper one is creased. The crease will never come out no matter what you do.
GStphens

[HiHoAgRV]

I'm with Aerowood, If you can get to the inside roll it out. I made a similar roller from a worn out skate board wheel and did my Banana wrap last weekend. Roll in small sections and start at the edge working the dent around it's perimeter toward the crease. It may only get 95% of the dent out but it will look 100% better.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by sumsmug

Hi All

browsing through the forums, it seems that most dents in the endcaps need new sections (at great cost). So I'm assuming the dent in this airstream is no different... however, I can hope that there is a less expensive alternative, like sucking out the dent, or beating it out from the inside. Has anyone tried this with such a dent?

This is a '89 excella 28 ft.

Cheers

SumsMug

Those dents can be rolled out, but then that's what they will look like too.

To get at the back side of those segments, you will need to remove the headliner, and a few more things with it, just to gain access.

Andy

[wkerfoot]

Originally Posted by Aerowood

I had good results working out a bunch of dents from the inside with this tool. Do not ever put a hammer to the aluminun as it will only make it worse.

Aerowood,

Where can I buy this tool and what is it called?

Bill

[sumsmug]

Thanks all

We will give it a go next week, and post pictures of before and after (if not too gruesome)

Regards
SumsMug

[InsideOut]

Originally Posted by sumsmug

Thanks all

We will give it a go next week, and post pictures of before and after (if not too gruesome)

Regards
SumsMug

Oh come on! We wanna see the gruesome shots too!!!!

If for no other reason but to show us what not to do ~ have you seen some of those "inadequate tow vehicle" threads? Talk about gruesome...

Shari

[juel]

Does anyone know about the success of removing a rather long scratch down the side of an AS? It's kind of blackened with age, but I'm wondering if it will become less noticeable when the trailer is polished using balrgn's formula. I have a dent in the rear upper street side too; however, I'm sticking with the firm belief that it gives the trailer character. Also it may make any dents I put in it less noticeable.

[Aerowood]

Originally Posted by wkerfoot

Aerowood,

Where can I buy this tool and what is it called?

Bill

I made the tool, so I guess you could call it a Kiprollertool. It is basicly the contoured "anvil" or the top roller of an English Wheel. It has two radiuses on the roller, I was in a hurry to make it and got one radius smaller then the other. It was supposed to be the same but it still works fine. As Andy states it will not be perfect, but the big dents will look 95% better. I took out the smaller dents and creases with perfect results. The biggest problem I had was gitting in a hurry and pushing to hard. I took alot of dents out and I Challange someone to find all that I removed. It worked alot better then I expected. If someone wants to critique the results they need to have their checkbook out, and ready to buy.

Kip