Hail

[kswelsh]

We recently had a terrible hail storm come through our area. My Airstream suffered some hail damage to the roof and the three panels above the front window. Will some of these dents pop out when the weather turns hot? Someone told me that dry ice can help pop some of these dents out - is this true. I really wish I was fortunate enough to have a garage for my AS.

[dznf0g]

I have read that dry ice has no effect on aluminum, like it does on steel.

Inland Andy always says the sun will eventually take out hail dents....but I don't think so on the modern aluminum alloys. Sorry for your damage, but I fear panel replacement is the only way out of this one.

[dwightdi]

Bismarcks in the stretched formed hemispheres will be less likely to recover. The aluminum is softer there, so it can be stretched. I have used a Dent King (about $20) to pull out some small hail dents. It is not perfect. Some will recover naturally, when temperature cycled. If no stretching has occurred, a vacuum cup can sometimes helps, with a little rubber hammer on the crease line. My experience is with older units from the 60's and 70's,