Dent removal...

[Jared129]

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).

[Melody Ranch]

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.

[DanB]

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!

[The Flintstones]

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

[Jared129]

Wow, those are definitley some nifty ideas worth trying...maybe I will get adventurous ssoner than later with it... Thanks everyone...

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by The Flintstones

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.

[Royce]

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.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/498500-post11.html

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.

[Pepsi]

I wanted to check out the sticky stick idea. But the link would not work...

I like the suction cup idea. They can be moved around and taken on and off without trouble or mess.

Nothing wrong with character wrinkles. that is unless you are a wrinkleaphobic. I have a freckle faced 1975. rock dings everywhere. At first I considered replacing the panels and / or pounding out the dents.

I'm gonna just have a spray on bed liner put over the ding zone... They can curve it to match the lines of the trailer, they have different colors to choose from. Looks good and works like a rock guard. Same price too. But the aluminum guards will have the same problem, they will dent up in no time...

[Mike Leary]

Originally Posted by Jared129

big a can of worms will I be in when it comes time to fix this dent?

What, a tree fell on her?

[slvrlng]

Try this site. The things work! And you can do really small dings.
www.dentfix.com;)

[Jared129]

I am not sure what happened.....the wifes grandparents were the po's and unfortunately they have long since passed away....