Roof Dent at back

[Pride&Joy]

Any suggestions on this dent? Would this be a candidate for pulling? Also, I've spend quite a while removing the red vinyl letters and a Wally sticker. Any suggestions on removing the ghost images? I used an Iron and wet towel, goo gone, dawn detergent and water. I scrapped the vinyl and adhesive with a plastic "bone" tool.

Thank you!

[Countryboy59]

Body shops use a system where they tack weld nails on and use then to pull the dent, and hammer/dolly the dimple. I've used this on steel car bodies but not sure if there's a similar technology for aluminum. Then grind off the "nub" and polish the panel.

Maybe there's a light or vent on the inside you can remove and get to that with a rod? Just push gently and don't try to "hammer" it out.

Metal work is an art. I got pretty good at it but never messed with aluminum.

A suction cup's not gonna get that out.

[Wingeezer]

I don't have a lot of experience with this, but I did manage to pull out a couple of dents in our end cap with an automotive type suction cup dent puller and it looks to me as though that could help in your case. If it did work, you'd likely still see some evidence where the pound of impact seems to be near the front edge of the cap - may not be too visible from the ground though.

The tool I had was just a suction cup about 8" diameter with a cast aluminum pull handle on it and a vacuum release button. I likely got it at Harbor Freight or similar - had it for years.

I believe Harbor Freight sell a more elaborate one for maybe $100 or so. It incorporates a suction cup where the vacuum is developed with an air compressor /venturi, and and a dent pulling sllde hammer fastened to the suction cup - allows you to affix the suction cup then use the slide hammer to pull the dent. If I had your situation I'd be looking for one of those! I'd probably try using it gradually working in from the edges of the dent to the worst area.

Maybe someone with more direct experience will have better suggestions!

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by Countryboy59

Body shops use a system where they tack weld nails on and use then to pull the dent, and hammer/dolly the dimple. I've used this on steel car bodies but not sure if there's a similar technology for aluminum. Then grind off the "nub" and polish the panel.

Maybe there's a light or vent on the inside you can remove and get to that with a rod? Just push gently and don't try to "hammer" it out.

Metal work is an art. I got pretty good at it but never messed with aluminum.

A suction cup's not gonna get that out.

I think that similar to stud welding arrangement you mention for steel, there may be similar devices that use studs with small pads on that you affix to teh surface with hot melt glue. Maybe a youtube search would give more info on that.

[kdickinson]

If you just want to pull or push it out so it less obvious then I'm sure with enough patience and muscle you could make it look a little less like a dent. To really fix it and make it look smooth it is best to replace the panel with a new part.

For the numbers I have tried all sorts of things and they are still shadowed into the surface with little to no result. These include all range of polish products, slightly abrasive products (used very sparingly), steel wool (super fine 000), the aluminum polish that comes with applicators that are soaked in a solution that is supposed to remove anything from an aluminum surface, goo-gone and on and on. No luck. The reality is it is not really removing something from the surface, it is that the decals have changed the color of the metal itself. I still have the original WBCCI membership number but really don't want the big red numbers on the front and back anymore. I am thinking that the only next step is to use a high speed polisher and you know how that goes - it's like painting one wall in one room with all the best intentions, then the adjacent wall screams to be re-painted then the next room and pretty soon the whole house is painted ....

[capitybill]

I can get you a good deal on some body putty !

[dfschultz]

I had a dent similar to yours, maybe not quite as large. Someone told me to pack the dent with ice (I put the ice in a zip lock bag) works best on a hot day, and let it set awhile, then I took a toilet plunger and pulled the dent out, it worked super. You can't even see where the dent was. You might give that a try. Dry ice might even work better. Good luck!

[Rhinno]

I had a very similar dent, and found two ways to fix it.
1) Use the suction cup method already suggested. Mine needed a little more, so I used #2
2) Push it out from the inside. On my 2007 27FB it was relatively straightforward to cut out the back of the overhead cupboard -- there is no inner aluminum panel so you can directly reach the outside. Do this with care using an oscillating tool and you'll be able to fit the panel back in. Then use your fist to just push out the aluminum skin. Do not use any sort of hard tool -- it will ding the skin. Relatively easy to do.
Result - not perfect, but a whole lot better. Your picture looks to me like an ideal candidate.

I've been meaning to post pictures, but short of time today. Contact me if you need more information.

[Aunt Bea]

Use lacquer thinner to remove the ghosts. It will also take the clear coat off if you are not careful.

[TG Twinkie]

Look for my thread on removing a large dent with an inner tube, A piece of plywood and a shop vac.
For a dent the size of yours it will probably take a 20" or larger inner tube.
The small crease in the front may not go away but I think you would have success with my method.

[Bill M.]

Where the dent is I suspect you can pull it enough to do. I do not think any thing but power polishing will remove the ghosting from the numbers. I just live with mine. I cued a $60 suction cup pulled from Harbor Freight that works on a compressor and it worked okay.

[68 TWind]

Might try something like this:
https://www.seasucker.com/collection...m-handle-black

[mmcgue]

Go to a local body shop and ask for a source to buy adhesive pulling attachments. They are readily available. If there is no creasing of the aluminum then finding the "center" of the dent will be the trick. You may have to make several attachments and pulls. If there is creasing, which is really stretching of the metal, do the best you can and live with it or replace the panel.

Try WD-40 on the adhesive residue. Any residual "ghosting" is probably due to the reaction of the UV inhibitors in the clear coat and is permanent (much like the patina in faded wood). DO NOT use lacquer thinners as previously suggested unless you feel "really lucky" or are very good with a spray gun and clear coat!

[369goose]

Worth a try...

https://youtu.be/ILVWPzO_swY

[Seagars]

I did the shop vac trick

[Melissa Lee]

You do not want to take a chance of removing your plastic coat on the Airstream, unless you want to do the whole trailer, and polish. I have tried all of the above mentioned ways to remove ghost images with not much luck other than polishing, and then it is a real paine. Just put a bigger sticker of your choice over the area.

[Rgentum]

"Body shops use a system where they tack weld nails on and use then to pull the dent, and hammer/dolly the dimple. I've used this on steel car bodies but not sure if there's a similar technology for aluminum. Then grind off the "nub" and polish the panel."

______________________

There are similar ways with aluminum: Go to Amazon & on its website, do a search for Super PDR. You buy a glue gun and glue sticks and plastic "stubs" that you glue onto the aluminum, let it harden a minute or so, and then use any number of methods to pull the aluminum out. Although I did buy one of their puller tools, which I did use, most of the time I simply attached a vice-grip pliers to the end of the stub and pulled, gradually. The trick, I believe, is not to try to connect a stub to the crease. Instead, connect the stub to an area just inside of the deformation --- do this many many times, going around & around the deformation, gradually moving towards the crease, and by the time you get to the crease, the deformation should be largely gone. I've done this several times and it works although it's not perfect. For perfect, you'll need to replace the panel, but using PDR and being patient will get you a long way.

[sidburgess]

It's all fixable. https://youtu.be/9moYO-WWhaQ

Can you remove the plastic interior cap (if you have one)?

[3wd67rg]

Chris pulled our dent out with a plunger. I have also heard of using dry ice, please use leather gloves.

[guskmg]

Don't use any steel wool. If you go through the clear coat it will turn the bare aluminum surface black. Use aluminum wool only. On the crease, use freezing around the near dented area to shrink the aluminum. Dry ice or compressed nitrogen will help shrink the surrounding metal and pull the dent. Just hints. Other than replacement, you need an English wheel to completely remove a dent. They reverse the stretch that formed when the dent happened. The wheel re-stretches the end cap as Airstream did when they produced it during manufacture. If there is a slight crease left when you finish use a dolly and tap very lightly with a body hammer and rag stretched over the good surface.
guskmg