I am an idjit, officially

[rallybug]

So, having been driving Harvee for barely a month since Colin helped me get him running, I went to gas up to see how he was doing economy-wise.

I turned into the gas station, then towards the pumps and had a brainfart, turning in too quickly:





As you can imagine, happiness did NOT ensue..

Still, good job there are guard posts there, rather than me taking out the pump itself, I suppose. The red paint is from the post, rather than the underlying Brilliant Orange. The green paint that the first owner put on in the 80s or 90s appears to have been pretty good quality as it hasn't come off.

So, I may have to learn how to remove dents

I now bow to the inevitable taking of the mickey.

At least Harvee is still running well, and we might even be able to get in one camping trip before the season closes.

[Boxcar]

Mmmeh. Sorry.
They are called "Bollards" in architectural circles.

I once crashed (ok rubbed)my Ford Econoline into The 75 Westy. Now the Econoline is gone.

Good luck with dent erasing. You seem very good at getting ! them

[hercdriver]

This is your friend.



Pull the big stuff out with the puller and go thin with the body filler. =D>

(BTW it's called a stud welder with a slide hammer.)

[Amskeptic]

This is your friend.



Pull the big stuff out with the puller and go thin with the body filler. =D>

(BTW it's called a stud welder with a slide hammer.)

We got a hack write-up here on simple hack body work by the local hack.
Colin

[69doublecab]

IF and a big IF, you can reach the back side you might just get most of that out with PDR.
PDR is the greatest skill. One must actually work the dent back out from the inside, working last to first in undoing the damage. You have to use shiny ball tipped tools and gently and repeatedly push the metal past the original position till when you actually get the metal warm. The subsequent cooling will then shrink the metal slightly. And apparently this even works on aluminum.
There is a youtube video out there where a guy removes a dent from a Vintage Ferrari and leave it perfect. If he did not get paid $15k for that hour he was being too timid.
There is a lot to learn and one must go slowly and in logical manner. Absolutely necessary to be able to see metal move as you work it. To this end, they have special lights and clamp on targets with parallel lines that will reflect on the metal surface.
Especially if you are working on original paint, it seems the best approach to cause the least additional trauma in making the repair. Even if it turns out you need to make some paint repair, as in your case.
Al Brase

[69doublecab]

Oh, BTW, I've done the damage part also. Only 25 years driving them and still I do not swing wide enough!
Still, I did have some driving experience driving an old Corvette. In that car you can reach out the window and touch the tire also. But it it is the REAR tire, not the front.
Al Brase