While I am still a ways away from thinking about dealing with it, for future reference how big a can of worms will I be in when it comes time to fix this dent? Is it going to require complete segment replacement? I almost have the "it isnt broken dont fix it" mentality because it is more cosmetic than anything else (no leaks or anything thankfully).
Sorry to say....you are about 1000 dollars away from a good removal.....probably plus a fuel surcharge of some sort. If you can live with ripples and smaller dents....push it out as best you can from the inside.
I had the same dent on the front of my Safari, I've still got a matching one on the back!
The front was "easy" to fix. I went nuts for two hours with a cordless drill. Rivet carnage was everywhere. Lots of interior panels were removed.
I then palmed and pushed it up into place. It's not perfect, but I'm pleased with the results. It took about eight hours to refit the panels and clean up. This was using a phematic rivet gun.
Now the back one! That's a different story! I'll have to pull the bathroom to do that one. Looks like a couple of week job.
Good luck!
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DanB
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Always Looking for Pinball Machines!
Hi
I am in the same boat you are, and I'm going to try this technique this summer.
Somewhere on this site the owner of a similar dent used a hot glue gun and glued a bunch of 3/4 to 1" dowels all over the dented area as handles and slowly pulled from the outside of the dent and worked his way in to center. Similar to stud welding technique. Be sure to do it on a hot day or heat the area. He was able to remove a substantial amout of damage. He then used mineral spirits to remove glue residue. I have not tried this but it looks like a workable alternative to removing the bath area to get to the backside of dent.
good luck.
James
Hi
I am in the same boat you are, and I'm going to try this technique this summer.
Somewhere on this site the owner of a similar dent used a hot glue gun and glued a bunch of 3/4 to 1" dowels all over the dented area as handles and slowly pulled from the outside of the dent and worked his way in to center. Similar to stud welding technique. Be sure to do it on a hot day or heat the area. He was able to remove a substantial amout of damage. He then used mineral spirits to remove glue residue. I have not tried this but it looks like a workable alternative to removing the bath area to get to the backside of dent.
good luck.
James
The above technique will significantly reduce the dent but it won't get rid of any creases. There are 2 commercial versions of this technique Ding King and Pops a Dent. Some people also use auto body suction cups.
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Are birds ever free from the chains of the skyway? BD
Here is a link to the sticky sticks approach. Thanks to Doorgunner for the name sticky sticks. I haven't completed the last big dent and play to post more detailed info when that is done.
The last one is giving me more trouble because someone tried to straighten it with the suction cup method, did not know what they were doing, and made it worse.
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Royce (K0RKK) and Karen AIR# 3913
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