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Old 04-21-2014, 08:15 AM   #1
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1993 34' Excella
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This dent was bothering me

When we purchased our Airstream it had a dent in the top back of the trailer that looked almost like it was hit hard with a basketball. I was able to reduce the size with some suction cup pullers but couldn't get the rest out.

So, I looked into Paintless Dent Removal (PDR) tools. I was able to pick up a puller, PDR adapter, and glue tabs for less than $100 off of Amazon. While it's not a perfect repair I am happy with the results after less than a half hours work.





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Old 04-21-2014, 08:21 AM   #2
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Nice job! I'm wondering about polishhing that area. Will it collapse under slight pressure? How about drilling a small 3/16" hole in the inner fiberglass and injecting Great Stuff. Maybe that would give it some support if you decied to polish it.
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Old 04-21-2014, 08:22 AM   #3
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Nice job!! It doesn't get any better than that!
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Old 04-21-2014, 08:26 AM   #4
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Good job! Looks like maybe someone stepped on the end cap - not a good thing to do I gather.

I found a similar but smaller dent in our AS after we bought it (used). Not isible from the ground, but I still wanted to deal with it.

It was somewhat smaller than yours and I was able to pull it out with an auto bodywork suction cup that was about 5" diameter. You can see only the slightest trace of it now.

Brian.

PS - are those stick on puller attachments hrs to get off after? Seems to me I have sen some that use hot melt glue. In the auto body shop industry I believe they sometimes weld small studs onto the sheet metal, grip them with the slide hammer to pull, then grind them off after.
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Old 04-21-2014, 08:36 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JimCat2000 View Post
Nice job! I'm wondering about polishhing that area. Will it collapse under slight pressure? How about drilling a small 3/16" hole in the inner fiberglass and injecting Great Stuff. Maybe that would give it some support if you decied to polish it.
Don't inject an expanding foam. It would have to push against something and that is the inner wall. And there is fiberglass insulation between the inner and outer walls too.

Bad idea, ask me how I know.... LOL. Well, I was new and younger then. At least it was not an Airstream.
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Old 04-21-2014, 09:02 AM   #6
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thanks for posting. I have the exact same dent. I guess I will be looking at tools on the web now.
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Old 04-21-2014, 10:55 AM   #7
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It's not perfect, there are still a couple low spots and a couple of dimples from where the puller tabs attached. I might go back and work on it again but it got the majority of it out.

The puller tabs do attach with hot glue, you can get special PDR glue but I didn't and decided to give regular hot melt a chance. I first used some low temp hot melt glue, that didn't do anything and I had to switch to normal hot melt. I was able to remove the remaining hot glue with a heat gun and plastic scraper.

I couldn't say about polishing the area, not something I am going to undertake because I don't feel like polishing 34' of aluminum.

The brand of PDR adapter is Wurth, so are the PDR tabs. I had to go to Lowes and pick up a screw to connect the puller to the adapter. It was metric, I think 8 x 1.25.

-Alden
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Old 04-21-2014, 12:22 PM   #8
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Here is how I dealt with a roof dent (when I had the interior walls removed).
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Old 04-21-2014, 12:57 PM   #9
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Good job I need to try that on some dings .
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Old 04-21-2014, 01:40 PM   #10
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One thing I should mention, I saw a youtube video where the guy went low tech. he took some closet dowel rod pieces and put a couple screws in them so he'd have something to grab onto. He then used hot glue to attach them to the dent and just pulled using his hands. Did a pretty good job too. So if you have a spot you want to try it on you could give it a try without much investment. Of course I saw the video after I ordered the tools that I got (that's ok I like buying tools).

-Alden
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Old 09-02-2014, 12:51 AM   #11
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Has anyone used a Dent Doctor for a small dent on their roof....the company removes dents from vehicles we don't really want the hassle of replacing a whole section of the roof ... Thanks for your input
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Old 09-02-2014, 04:45 AM   #12
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The problem with Dent Doctor is that they push from the inside, and there is no way to get to the outer skin from the inside without removing inner panels or drilling holes in them.
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Old 09-02-2014, 11:59 AM   #13
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Awesome thanks
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