Beast o Bodmin
Banned
beat it out with all fixinks removed or nick one off another landy like the pikeys do.
What Bob says .. use a hammer and form behind the panel .. likely to take a lot of time and practice to get it spot-on, but it's amazing what can be achieved to get it looking 'about right' very quickly .. 
Be careful though, try and force aluminium too far and it'll split, move it a little at a time.
Be careful though, try and force aluminium too far and it'll split, move it a little at a time.
Beast o Bodmin
Banned
...warm it with a hair dryer too....
The big dents do pop out easy, it's the smaller creased bits that need the work. Using proper planishing hammers and blocks/stakes makes the job easier ... but reasonable results can be done with almost anything.
Missing Link
New Member
Being considerably less "springy" ally won't pop like steel. Also as it is softer it is better to work it with softer tools such as wood and hide as far as possible. Hard tools will easily mark the surface so should be a last resort and be very clean faced.
One engineer on aircraft I worked with kept bits of leather belt to tape on before using steel planishing hammers.
One engineer on aircraft I worked with kept bits of leather belt to tape on before using steel planishing hammers.
Beast o Bodmin
Banned
Alloy is not too hard to boss..
Its quite maluable and you can move it through its self like bread dough.You can thicken and thin metal by moveing it like a waveform through its self.Try with some lead sheet first.Its good to learn on.
...the more ya bweat it the more brittle it becomes and may crack,gentle and paitence is the key.
Its quite maluable and you can move it through its self like bread dough.You can thicken and thin metal by moveing it like a waveform through its self.Try with some lead sheet first.Its good to learn on.
...the more ya bweat it the more brittle it becomes and may crack,gentle and paitence is the key.
rustyrhinos
Well-Known Member
I am not panel beater by any measure...but my stepdad has straightened out his fair share of dents on land rovers and he has sugggested a few things to me in the past so going on what I can remember of that.
If possible can you remove the corner strips? (the angle part on the edges) - I think as these are quite thick it would make it easier to straighten things out? Take lenses off obviously!
Then I have been told that you need heat to bend the aluminium nicely. It's going to kill you paint though! A tip I have been told is to cover the area in soap until the soap goes black...that is when the aluminium will be at a sufficient temperature to bend.
If possible can you remove the corner strips? (the angle part on the edges) - I think as these are quite thick it would make it easier to straighten things out? Take lenses off obviously!
Then I have been told that you need heat to bend the aluminium nicely. It's going to kill you paint though! A tip I have been told is to cover the area in soap until the soap goes black...that is when the aluminium will be at a sufficient temperature to bend.
