Body panel repair

[tx99gtp]

All of my fenders have some amount of damage to them and I was hoping to get some feedback on what appears to be repairable vs scrapped/replaced. The front fenders look terrible to me, but I'm not an expert in body work. And by repair I mean patch panels or other metal work - not just filler.

Please let me know what you think.

RightFront


LeftFront


RightRear


LeftRear

[jackson]

Originally Posted by tx99gtp

All of my fenders have some amount of damage to them and I was hoping to get some feedback on what appears to be repairable vs scrapped/replaced. The front fenders look terrible to me, but I'm not an expert in body work. And by repair I mean patch panels or other metal work - not just filler.

Please let me know what you think.

RightFront


LeftFront


RightRear


LeftRear

bunch of work , I could fix them. but if it were my truck I would look for some better fenders mho

[mongocanfly]

all fixable...you start swapping fenders around and you'll start regretting it..

[b-mac]

This:

https://www.harborfreight.com/body-a...-pc-63259.html

+ Patience...

[MARTINSR]

It is SOOOOOOOO easy to fix those old fenders! Dents like that are SOOOOOOOO easy compared to a late model car, omg it's fun! I wouldn't think for a millisecond to get repro new ones, omg GAG ME. The repro new ones are more work to fit than those are to repair!

They have full access from behind, hell I did stuff like that on my truck when I was 16 years old, the first metal I ever hit with a hammer was on fenders like like.

Just start studying and learn a little bit from videos and such that are around and you will do it yourself and be a friggin stud!




Brian

[dwcsr]

Those are actually in pretty good shape.

Get yourself a hammer and dolly set and a shrinking wheel on it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8cruauERmI

tap out the dents and run them over with the wheel.

If you can wait two weeks you can bring a fender by and I'll have Jacob show you how to use it.

[tx99gtp]

Thank you all for the advice and encouragement. Body work has always been intimidating but now is the time to learn! I picked up a hammer and dolly set this evening and will start reading and watching some videos. Thank you guys for the links.

Dave, I might have to take you up on that when it come to the wheel. You explained the idea which was very helpful. After some reading/watching I may contact you. I need some time to learn so 2+ weeks is no worries. Thank you!

[gigamanx]

Originally Posted by b-mac

This:

https://www.harborfreight.com/body-a...-pc-63259.html

+ Patience...

I bought the same set for various tasks. I'm now straightening things that didn't even need it like under the lip around the fender edges. Nobody ever sees that, but I know its straight

A few videos and some therapeutic bashing

[MARTINSR]

Yeah, the bed sides are pretty tough for sure. And the repros fit pretty good being they are so simple.

Brian

[mongocanfly]

if your up to the new bedside go with mar-k...you won't be disappointed. ..

[mr48chev]

I'm with them, The fenders are real fixable and they look solid with little rust. Do some homework on knocking dents out and go after the easy ones first.
I found some basic dent repair videos that might help a lot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W3mJJbnwNg

I'd start on the left rear and work it out and then go to one a bit more difficult.

If you take the headlight buckets out of the front fenders it lets you reach a long way into the inside of the fender with either a hammer or dolly to work on a lot of that. Saves a lot of dirt in the eyes from being up under the fender.

[_Ogre]

hammer and dolly my butt

when i had my fenders sand blasted i found over an inch of filler on the step fender
i ended up using two 3 lb sledge hammers as my hammer and dolly
the most useful sledge had the blunt wedge shape end for working the body lines back in the fender lip



with patience i was able to work 95% of the metal back into shape and used minimal filler
the metal is very thick and requires a lot of ''tap tap'' to go back into position
never needed to shrink or heat anything



amazingly i thought the fender was dent free for the first 20 years i owned my truk

[mongocanfly]

ogre not play with bent fender...
ogre have big hammer...
ogre should know photobucket no worky.....haha

[jackson]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

hammer and dolly my butt

when i had my fenders sand blasted i found over an inch of filler on the step fender
i ended up using two 3 lb sledge hammers as my hammer and dolly
the most useful sledge had the blunt wedge shape end for working the body lines back in the fender lip



with patience i was able to work 95% of the metal back into shape and used minimal filler
the metal is very thick and requires a lot of ''tap tap'' to go back into position
never needed to shrink or heat anything



amazingly i thought the fender was dent free for the first 20 years i owned my truk

yep ,these trucks laugh at regular hammer and dolly

[my56chevytruck]

the upside to fixing fenders like you've got is you can actually get them close with the right hammers and dollies. with some time and work you can get them fairly straight. the repops you can buy will cause you hours and hours of work to get them to fit close, not correct, just close. As far as the bedsides, well that's for someone more experienced than me to answer. You may be able to press the sides out., just guessing though.

[_Ogre]

my bad, photosuckit has been working sort of
i noticed half of my build thread pics showed up

[Mac the Yankee]

For about $15, you can get a copy of the book, The Key to Metal Bumping, worth every penny! It was written to teach hammer and dolly work, and will show you how to get those dents out correctly- and you will love your new-found skill!!!

[e015475]

I have a hammer and dolly set from Eastwood. I think it is pretty similar to the HF. I wouldn't recommend either one.

By the time you tap all the dents out of a fender, it'll seem like you've swung that hammer about a million times. The cheap body tools are heavy and a little crude and you'll wear yourself out using them. I'd buy a couple of name brand hammers, one with a low crown and another with a higher crown. Same for the dolly. Get a good heel dolly and start with that.

I've looked at a lot of videos but the best explanation of the process I've found is in the Key to Metal Bumping pamphlet. How you can raise a dent by tapping all around it with a hammer-off technique is so counter-intuitive to me, but that book explains it well.

I'd start roughing out those fenders by taking them off the truck and working them from the back side with a fairly high-crown hammer against a shot bag or a sand bag (you can make a good bag by taking the foam out of a small pillow, filling it with sand and then wrapping it with duct tape - sounds crude but works well. Larger bank money bags work well too)

I'd be all over DWCSR's offer to have someone who knows what they're doing show you how it is done. Nothing like watching someone who knows what they are doing.

+1 on the Mar K bed. You'll pay yourself about $5/hr to fix what you've got compared to the very-straight bedsides from Mar K. I won't use reproduction body parts anymore because it usually costs more to put them right that it would have to repair a decent original. Mar K parts are the exception, and very little body work was required to make them perfect.

Metal finishing requires a lot of time and patience. I'm no expert but I have a fair grasp of the fundamentals. I did a front fender apron last week that was creased from a collision and I had about 12 hours in it when it was straight enough for a light coat of Bondo or a couple cycles of Featherfill. If I were doing your fenders, I'd guess I'd have 20-25 hours in them to get them to primer, and a pro metal worker could probably do it in about half that time. My point is, it will take some diligence to get proficient at it to a level where you'll get your desired results. With all due respect to MartinSr, it takes a bit to develop the skill, at least for me it did (and I'm not there yet)

[mr48chev]

I've got the "good" Eastwood set and several body hammers that were bought one at a time over the past 48 years since I got married. I think I bought the first one at Sears 47-1/2 years ago and it is still my go to favorite hammer. I've had the 20 buck cast iron hammer sets but those just make you mad in the long run.

The best part is you can't ruin what you have unless you really mess up beating on the metal. Don't be afraid to dig out the big hammer and dolly either. You might have to have a helper hold an 8 lb sledge hammer head to the outside while you hit the inside to move the metal and not cause more damage but that might be the simple way. Every thing I have read says you should work your way in on a dent from the outside edges and I agree with that. You don't want to hit one of those big dents in the middle with a big hammer and hope to shrink more metal because you stretched it there. Some of those dents will take quite a bit of shrinking work anyhow but that is just part of it.

If you have a small bottle jack you might push some of the bigger dents out with it by working your way around the edges of the dent. I did that on my step father's 54 pickup years ago when it had a dent in the rear fender. First dent I ever worked on come to think of it.

Read up on it and maybe watch some videos but I'd say the older the body work book you find the more useful info you will find. New books deal with new cars and methods and you want to know how to deal with old trucks and methods that work on them.

[sevt_chevelle]

If you are looking for cheaper body hammers and dollies then look at Daggertools.com They have some very nice hammers and dollies, far better then any cast iron crap from Horror Fright.
You want Pro grade hammers and dollies, then look at Martin.

these are my favorite dollies. The two on the right are from Dagger, you WILL NOT find anyone that makes those styles unless you buy some super high end German tools $$$$$. They are old Herbrand patterns. The one on the left is an egg dolly from Martin.

DSCF1044 by eric2406, on Flickr

I personally wouldn't remove the fenders for repair unless you build a stand like this. There is nothing worse then working on a panel and have it flop all over the place. You want the panel to be secured.

fenderstand1-Copy by eric2406, on Flickr

[sevt_chevelle]

I would strip the fenders to bare metal, then coat them with a magic marker or spray dykem.

2003_0101Image0002 by eric2406, on Flickr

Then you can take a long block with 180 grit and it will physically show you where the damage is.

2003_0101Image0007 by eric2406, on Flickr

With some skill and the proper tools, metal finishing can be faster and easier then spreading and sanding filler.

02dentbefore by eric2406, on Flickr

After about 5 mins and nothing more then some simple hammer off dolly techniques.

Picture013 by eric2406, on Flickr

Picture014 by eric2406, on Flickr

Another fender that is metal finished and lightly polished with 180 grit to show the smoothness of the surface.

Picture052-1 by eric2406, on Flickr

finishedfender by eric2406, on Flickr

[dsraven]

once you get close a shrinking disc works well to get the high spots down. just gotta do some practice. the magic marker works great. try to use a hard flat sander to find the high/low spots. a soft spongy one will lie to you. also, low pressure at that point because too much pressure can distort the panel.