Rat repair.

[swamp rat]

Well I'm working this weekend again, had a late start today because i was up late working on my new cluster, but i was at least able to get out there for about an hour today before work.

I'm still fighting that large high spot that starts at the body line and go's up about 3-4".. I have been able to move some metal and made some improvement but i want that large high spot out before i weld in the door, I'm half tempted to take a cutoff wheel and make a slit right into the center of the high spot in hopes it will lay down but kinda afraid i'll open up a can of worms (oil canning maybe?) that i don't want.

I'm to the point that if i had a patch panel in that area i'd probably go ahead and cut the area out and weld in the patch.

I can at least say my stud gun works and Fedex just delivered a dent puller i ordered to work some of the smaller creases, it looks like a rivet gun but has a round cage that attaches to it to the working end to localize the pull.

EDIT: I know the ridge has a couture the length from the rear of the truck to the well opening, just using the level as a reference.

Here,s a link to the tool:
Ding-Near-Perfect Dent Puller : Amazon.com :....
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[Dean'smeanmachine]

keep at it

[Xeen]

The pros use a flash shrink gun when the metal is stretched out like that and short of using one I don't know of another method that would give a similar result, maybe Vic has some ideas for you.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

I'm still fighting that large high spot that starts at the body line and go's up about 3-4".. I have been able to move some metal and made some improvement but i want that large high spot out before i weld in the door, I'm half tempted to take a cutoff wheel and make a slit right into the center of the high spot in hopes it will lay down but kinda afraid i'll open up a can of worms (oil canning maybe?) that i don't want.

I'm to the point that if i had a patch panel in that area i'd probably go ahead and cut the area out and weld in the patch.

I wouldn't recommend cutting it at this point as there are other options. Since you have a stud welding gun, you already have a perfect tool for shrinking small to medium areas. I use mine with a shrinking tip to pull down crowned areas. I also use a shrinking disc for larger, heavily damaged areas, but from what I see in the photo, the stud gun would be best. Not sure if your gun came with the shrinking tip, but they are available from numerous online sources and probably your local auto refinish supply store.

Start by locating the highest part of the crowned area. You'll need to remove the paint so the gun can do it's job. With the shrinking tip inserted, start at the very center and heat a spot for 1-2 seconds then release the trigger and continue to hold the tip against the metal for several seconds. Move out about an inch and repeat at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock. If needed, move out another inch and repeat in a circular pattern. Some guys lay out a spiral pattern, but I prefer concentric circles. Some guys will tell you to cool the hot spots with a damp rag or compressed air, but the procedure works fine without it.

Like nearly all metal and body work, this can be technique sensitive. It is very easy to over-shrink a high spot. But you can always fix that with some draw pins and filler. High spots have to come down regardless if you want the panel right. Good luck!

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

I wouldn't recommend cutting it at this point as there are other options. Since you have a stud welding gun, you already have a perfect tool for shrinking small to medium areas. I use mine with a shrinking tip to pull down crowned areas. I also use a shrinking disc for larger, heavily damaged areas, but from what I see in the photo, the stud gun would be best. Not sure if your gun came with the shrinking tip, but they are available from numerous online sources and probably your local auto refinish supply store.

Start by locating the highest part of the crowned area. You'll need to remove the paint so the gun can do it's job. With the shrinking tip inserted, start at the very center and heat a spot for 1-2 seconds then release the trigger and continue to hold the tip against the metal for several seconds. Move out about an inch and repeat at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock. If needed, move out another inch and repeat in a circular pattern. Some guys lay out a spiral pattern, but I prefer concentric circles. Some guys will tell you to cool the hot spots with a damp rag or compressed air, but the procedure works fine without it.

Like nearly all metal and body work, this can be technique sensitive. It is very easy to over-shrink a high spot. But you can always fix that with some draw pins and filler. High spots have to come down regardless if you want the panel right. Good luck!

Hi Vic Thanks for the reply!

In the pic's the high spot I'm showing is right on the body line and extends both upward and downward with the worst being above the body line, if i do shrink above and below the body line should i attempt to shrink the body line as well? The high spot on the body line is the area I'm having the hardiest time dealing with.

I understand what your getting at with the shrinker and will see about finding a shrinking tip. I was also told a few years back to buy a shrinking disk but never got that far before i got side tracked on this truck due to injury/house remodel. Here's the past history, thanks again Dieselwrencher for letting me invade his thread.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=426756

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

In the pic's the high spot I'm showing is right on the body line and extends both upward and downward with the worst being above the body line, if i do shrink above and below the body line should i attempt to shrink the body line as well? The high spot on the body line is the area I'm having the hardiest time dealing with.

I would save the body line for last. As you smooth out the adjoining areas, the body line will move, so you may not have to do much to it. Above the body line, the inner panel hinders access to the back of the outer skin. That said, there is still some room (up to a point) to use a dolly. When I have access to both sides, I usually try to work the area to the desired shape using a combination of on or off dolly and hammer technique. If the panel still has a stubborn crown, I break out the shrinking tip but use it sparingly. By going back and forth between shrinking and hammer/dolly, you can sneak up on the shape you want. The link you referenced has a very good explanation of hammer and dolly theory. However, in the real world, we don't always have room for some of the techniques in the tutorial.

[swamp rat]

Ok Vic thank you again.

I'm leaving for work again soon, just too tired to get out there and work on it today. Getting ready for a nice corned beef cabbage, potatoes and carrots lunch, the house smells great!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Getting ready for a nice corned beef cabbage, potatoes and carrots lunch, the house smells great!

Faith and begorrah, Mike! Are ye fortifying yerself for drivin' the snakes out of Spanaway?

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Faith and begorrah, Mike! Are ye fortifying yerself for drivin' the snakes out of Spanaway?

LOL! Man ya just about made me spit out my pop tart!

[Mustard72]

Good eats! Not the Pop Tart, though.

[swamp rat]

An no serpents be drivin away! LOL!

[Dean'smeanmachine]

Dont you just hate warps..lol

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by Dean'smeanmachine

Dont you just hate warps..lol

Maybe with more corned beef and cabbage that warp will end up moving fast?

[swamp rat]

Ok be sure to visit this thread in the near future

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s....php?p=6578527

Thought i'd post the original picture of the rear quarter dent, man if there was only a dent Doctor back in the late 80's.... Amazing how much more damage i have caused just trying to pop the dent out myself..

[swamp rat]

The last couple of days(or in this case late nights) i have been working on the bezel i bought, it has been taking up space on my desk and i need the space to get my taxes done.. Here's the before and after pic, still don't know when i'm gonna get around to installing it. Polished the lens to remove the scratches it was really hazy, repainted all the needles, replaced the temp gauge and cleaned it up a bit, there was a film of some kind allover the speedo, tried soap and water and didn't faze it, ended up rubbing it with carnuba wax for about 1 hour and got most of it but not all

[JayB331]

Really nice work on the instrument cluster!

[Mustard72]

Got a dent very similar to that one on one of the four bedsides I have laying around for Mustard (still all covered with snow). They all stink, so I might have to use the one with the dent, so it'll be interesting to see how you handle that one.

That cluster looks really nice, by the way. Makes me look forward to digging into mine. I've heard about toothpaste working well for polishing up the lenses, too, but I really don't know why that would be different than any other polishing compound.

Hopefully you can get to your taxes now and spend the refund on your truck

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by JayB331

Really nice work on the instrument cluster!

Thanks, its hard to get a good pic of it without reflection.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by Mustard72

Got a dent very similar to that one on one of the four bedsides I have laying around for Mustard (still all covered with snow). They all stink, so I might have to use the one with the dent, so it'll be interesting to see how you handle that one.

That cluster looks really nice, by the way. Makes me look forward to digging into mine. I've heard about toothpaste working well for polishing up the lenses, too, but I really don't know why that would be different than any other polishing compound.

Hopefully you can get to your taxes now and spend the refund on your truck

I should be back at the dent stuff tomorrow and thanks also... I used Flitz on the lens with a microfiber, i was suprised at how much of the haze it took out. The biggest time consumer was painting the needles, i did it with a small brush and my shaky hands, took 3-4 coats to get it to look right.

[swamp rat]

Well, story of my life, as soon as i'm ready to work on the truck the rain rolls ion in LOL!

Looks pretty ugly huh? I was able to suck in some of the high spots using the shrink tip on my stud welder, there is still a bit more to do.

I decided it was time to clean up the door surround and check out the conture, i massaged it a little and got it pretty close, didn't install the door into the surround yet but will do that before i weld it in.

This brings up a question..... I cant reach the back side of the opening with my bantam motor so whats the best way to clean and prep the back side before ya weld? I can take some Scotch brite or sand paper to it but think that may take a while. Same go's for wanting to cover the weld with seam sealer when I'm done. Ideas??

If anything good came from this its that i am now looking at the paint layers, my step dad paid my uncle to paint this truck When my uncle was out of work and needed money, its now evident that my uncle just scuffed the original paint then primed and repainted, I already know he just masked around the door handles, windows and trim lettering and the original paint was in great shape before it was painted, so I'm half tempted to grab my sander and try and sand the outer paint and primer off then get back to the original color, anybody think this is possible?? the exterior dark green is pretty shot.

[Dean'smeanmachine]

awsome work on everything, cluster looks sweet.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

I was able to suck in some of the high spots using the shrink tip on my stud welder, there is still a bit more to do. I decided it was time to clean up the door surround and check out the conture, i massaged it a little and got it pretty close, didn't install the door into the surround yet but will do that before i weld it in.

This brings up a question..... I cant reach the back side of the opening with my bantam motor so whats the best way to clean and prep the back side before ya weld? I can take some Scotch brite or sand paper to it but think that may take a while. Same go's for wanting to cover the weld with seam sealer when I'm done. Ideas??

If anything good came from this its that i am now looking at the paint layers, my step dad paid my uncle to paint this truck When my uncle was out of work and needed money, its now evident that my uncle just scuffed the original paint then primed and repainted, I already know he just masked around the door handles, windows and trim lettering and the original paint was in great shape before it was painted, so I'm half tempted to grab my sander and try and sand the outer paint and primer off then get back to the original color, anybody think this is possible?? the exterior dark green is pretty shot.

Looking good on the panel straightening as well as the fuel filler door! You're going to have it where you want it in no time.

When I need to clean up the back of something that's borderline unreachable, I'll take a couple of sanding discs and put them back to back and install them on an air sander. Discs in attached photos may be too large for your application, but can be trimmed to the size needed. Put the discs thru the opening and use the sanding surface that's facing you. As for the seam sealer, I'd just use my fingers.

I doubt you'll have much luck sanding down just the repaint layer. But if you plan a repaint, it needs to come off anyway. No use wasting expensive materials on a quickie prep.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Looking good on the panel straightening as well as the fuel filler door! You're going to have it where you want it in no time.

When I need to clean up the back of something that's borderline unreachable, I'll take a couple of sanding discs and put them back to back and install them on an air sander. Discs in attached photos may be too large for your application, but can be trimmed to the size needed. Put the discs thru the opening and use the sanding surface that's facing you. As for the seam sealer, I'd just use my fingers.

I doubt you'll have much luck sanding down just the repaint layer. But if you plan a repaint, it needs to come off anyway. No use wasting expensive materials on a quickie prep.

Vic i cant say thanks enough for the sander tip, i do have a sander similar to that, not that my air compressor will keep up with it LOL! But i'll give it a try.

I did find that it was hard to control the shrink, I'd put the tip where i wanted to shrink but a number of times the hot spot was actually at the outer ring electrode, not sure why if both Ring and Tip were touching. But at least i made some headway, far from perfect.

Oh, I do have the 2" filler neck.

EDIT: Vic whats a good gap to maintain before tack welding? 1/16"?? or less? I have the Harbor freight version of the butt weld clamps but thought maybe the gap required by them may be a little too wide?

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

whats a good gap to maintain before tack welding? 1/16"?? or less? I have the Harbor freight version of the butt weld clamps but thought maybe the gap required by them may be a little too wide?

I've got a few that are HF vintage also. Regardless, all my blades are .040", but your gap should be a bit wider or it makes it tough to get the blade out after the weld shrinks. I prefer gaps to be no more than 1/16" but I've welded wider ones than that. No matter how wide the gap is, go slow, skip around to minimize the heat and if you see a crown or a sinkhole developing, stop and hammer the area flat before proceeding.

[swamp rat]

Well nothing much to report today, i did a little more shrink/hammer dents work then decided it was time to weld in the door, pulled my welder out and searched....and searched... I swear i had already bought .023 wire and supplies but i guess not... Oh well back up town again..

Wanted to take a moment to show my tweaker levers i made, i also have some made from Richlite as well, come in handy for straightening sheet metal edges.