how hard is it to learn how to use a hammer and dolly to fix and pound out some major dents?

first try on a car you don't care about

i've looked, but where i am i don't have easy access to other cars. my neighbor said he would do it for me but its been three months now and i'm getting restless. repairing seems to be much cheaper than replacing since its the fender.

Got pix?

It's not that hard, but you need to know something about metal stress, (where to hit the metal in relation to the dent valley and ridge). Metal stretches more often than not when you have a dent of any major size. The metal "bumping" if done properly will help to minimize the stretch and even shrink it if done properly. Old school body guys were artists when it came to this technique. Now days its cut and patch as no one wants to spend the time with the dolly and hammer. Eastwood has a video If you are interested and I believe that there is some stuff on YouTube as well

that is too much damage to just hammer out. you need a hydraulic jack to get it pushed back into shape and then use a hammer and dolly to get flat. word of warning, it is easy to stretch the metal using a dolly. Dont expect to get it back to flat metal, you will use filler on this dent.

thank you for the input. i know that filler will definitely be needed, my main goal will be to get it mostly fixed and able to put a headlight back in so i can drive it.

A scissor jack (like the one in your trunk) works well for pushing things out. Go slow, think about it. Wooden blocks, little hammering, creative dolly's of all sorts. SHouldn't take much effort to start making huge improvements. Think about how the dent got there, push things opp of how they happened. Pictures!!! I want to see the progress.
Keith

excellent advice, magic. when removing a dent, try to figure out how the dent was produced and try to reverse the process. with this car, it is obvious what produced the dent, the hard part is reversing it. remember with any jack, you have an equal and opposite force on the other end of the jack, so be careful where you place the back end of the jack. heavy plywood and 2x4s are great for spreading out the forces.

thanks for the advice, that's what i'll do. hopefully if i get it mostly fixed my neighbor will come at least show me some techniques. he was a body man and used to use a hammer and dolly a lot. i bought a harbor freight kit so he had something to use. i had contacted a few shops and got a really good deal but my neighbor said he would do it. i had used a bottle jack to get a little bit of the dent out but was worried it would cause more damage than good so i had stopped.

One back-yard tecnique I use in "reversing" the damage is use the car's pwer to do it. Drill some hole in the front there by the headlight, build some sort of device that can be secured there, go find a tree or other unmovable object. Chain to tree and to damaged area. Back up slowly, BANG---see how yo did. Really crude, but it really works.
Be creative, you will be suprrized. keith

majicwrench wrote:One back-yard tecnique I use in "reversing" the damage is use the car's pwer to do it. Drill some hole in the front there by the headlight, build some sort of device that can be secured there, go find a tree or other unmovable object. Chain to tree and to damaged area. Back up slowly, BANG---see how yo did. Really crude, but it really works.
Be creative, you will be suprrized. keith

I would never do something like this... lol! The risk of ripping all the fender is very high and moreover you'll find your already damaged part with some 2+ holes in the headlight area! That's REALLY crude!
I can only recommend to use the car jack as someone else suggested before, did it once on a friend's race car and worked pretty well. It's all about being patient and using some molded piece of wood. Filler will be your best friend after the first big repair.

Riccardo

Yeah I pondered posting the "chain and big tree" trick, but I have used it for decades, and it works. Your mileage may vary.....
Keith

majicwrench wrote:Yeah I pondered posting the "chain and big tree" trick, but I have used it for decades, and it works. Your mileage may vary.....
Keith

In Italy we say "La pazienza è la virtù dei forti" that means "Patience is the virtue of the strong"...
be gentle with a jack and the big part of the damage will go back in shape with no issues. It takes time but it's not risky at all (you can stop whenever you want).
I guess you need some experience for doing a thing like the "chain and tree" trick, a bit too much reverse and you're done!

Riccardo