Best way to fix this dent

corvette8n

corvette8n

Well-known member
my '41 coupe was like this when I bought it, what's the best way to fix this dent, I have about 8oz. of paint given to me by the previous owner. I'm not sure I have the talent to pound it out myself. The picture doesn't show it well but it is about the diameter of a tennis ball and at least 1/4 in deep.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    28.9 KB · Views: 282
If you can get your hand in behind it pound on it with dolly with a greater curve ,or call the mobil dent guy ,Ted
 
It will pound out with hammer an dolly but it will need some shrinking to take out the stretch. That type of body work will make a larger spot due to the heat it will need to shrink it. I like to keep any filler to a minimum on my stuff but its not my car. Some folks will beat it out part way and fill the rest.
 
Those Mobil dent guys will just "massage" that dent out. It is amazing how well a good massager can work a dent out, without a hammer or dolly.

I forgot what one of my grade school teachers told me, (more than once)---
Don, put your mind in motion before putting your mouth in gear!!! LOL
 
Last edited:
It's "patina". I take stuff like that to a good body shop, though these days that will probably cost $500. But then, I hate body work and am not good at it.
 
Those mobile dent guys may not be able to fix it. The metal is too thick. Called one to fix a dent in a '41 that I owned and try as he might he couldn't move the metal. Not saying it isn't worth a try, but I wouldn't expect great results.
 
If you really want to fix it and have access to some body tools. Work the dent out as much as possible. Then use a thin coat of filler to finish it off or if you're really good some high build primer. No matter what it will take just a very small amount of filler to finish it off. Check out some you tube videos for how to instructions.
 
I'm not sure what the gauge used was in 1941 but it is likely 22 gauge (US Standard Revised gauge). This would be .030" thick. A very shallow dent can be massaged out at that thickness but not so much in a compound curve area like that. That dent looks to be a relatively easy fix from the photo but in a compound curve area like that, the metal is highly stressed. A person can try pushing from the back side with a crown dolly but I think it's going to need more than just a push. Those rounded fender areas are strong stuff and don't flex much.
 
I know it might be regarded as a sin, but if you really don't want to
use body work tools you could use just BONDO , glazing putty
and high build primer to repair it. Then paint. Today's BONDO is
far superior to the 1960's stuff. Years ago I had some dents in a car that
I wanted fixed quickly and used some bondo up to 1/2 inch thick.
It never fell off or cracked and you couldn't tell by the look.
Not bragging. Just saying.
 
You tube is your friend. Trying to blend the paint will be the hardest thing to do so if you have enough paint I would also paint the entire fender as noted above.
 
Dent Dr. for sure. make sure the paint is Goldilocks warm (not too hot... not too cold). We had a new Lexus with hail damage so bad I thought it would need a new roof panel and hood and trunk. probably a hundred or more boo boos at least. When he was done not one remained except for one that was so slight we thought it was there from the factory so we gave him the benefit of the doubt. Gotta get the right Dent guy ...some of em' run from the tough dents.
 
Here Ya' go, all fixed, and the only way you'll get it done using a computer.:)
 

Attachments

  • dent.jpg
    dent.jpg
    91 KB · Views: 52
If it was on my car, I would move the metal out with the right dolly and tapping around the edge with a hammer. You never want to hit the metal real hard or you will just make things worse. As mentioned above once dented, the metal has stretched and needs to be shrunk or there will be too much metal there to go back to the original shape. I have had real good luck with a shrinking disk that goes on a grinder. It heats only the high spots and doesn't do as much collateral damage as using a torch. It looks to me to have a fair amount of stretching so will require multiple tapping and shrinks. With patience you should be able to get it to only needing some pourable glazing putty and high build primer before paint, probably no more the 1/16th thick.
 
Last edited:
Try massaging it. You can't make it more dented can you? Most likely it will get closer to correct.

Watch some Paintless Dent Repair videos on YouTube and then give it a try. I agree. Needs some heat from a heat gun. Not to hot to burn the paint, but not cold so the metal doesn't move. Maybe heat from behind.

If you're considering going to a paint and body shop ultimately, why not try to see how far you can get yourself. You might get it close enough to a point that you can live with.

I kind of agree with the patina comment. Will spending $1500 on something like that give you $1500 worth of happiness? Maybe you can live with it and it's something to talk about at car shows. You can smile knowing you have $1500 in car parts money in your pocket.

Oh, also, do you have insurance? You pay a lot in insurance to be there for when your car gets sick. That's what insurance is for. Fixing things on your car. Maybe time to get some of those hard earned pennies back.
 
Modern car steel is thinner now so they developed ways to harden the thinner steel to get a fair dent resistance. This makes spot repair a bit easier since the metal actually gives pretty well if you can push on it from behind. It is kind of springy like though. Heating and rapid cooling with dry ice has a shrinking affect that works better on it than on the old thick draw steel used back in the day. A person might be able to get it to move but it won't be like the the steel or aluminum on a modern vehicle.
 
corvette8n said:
my '41 coupe was like this when I bought it, what's the best way to fix this dent, I have about 8oz. of paint given to me by the previous owner. I'm not sure I have the talent to pound it out myself. The picture doesn't show it well but it is about the diameter of a tennis ball and at least 1/4 in deep.
Click to expand...

There are guys who call on large auto dealers and body shops that can
remove a lot of small dents with out repainting. I had some done a few
years ago and you can't see where the dents were. G.M.
 
What some of the guys above are saying is correct. PLAN A: Call up your local Ford dealership and ask for either Service, or the Body Shop(If they have one). Ask them for the number of the guy they use for PAINTLESS DENT REMOVAL. Once the dent is removed properly, you can process the paint damage yourself if you have that skill.

PLAN B: Take the car or remove the fender and take it to a body shop who can scan and digitally match the paint and have them use traditional body shop methods to restore the damage.
 
My son doing a sill ,you can get it matched by a scan or code matched ,PPG 2 K .You have a chrome strip to mask to .You can also use blending clear in a rattle can to disperse the over spay at the join ,Ted
 

Attachments

  • Noel Niel_3571.jpg
    Noel Niel_3571.jpg
    66.4 KB · Views: 45
  • Noel Niel_3572.jpg
    Noel Niel_3572.jpg
    76 KB · Views: 41
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top