I finally learned why you don't use a sledgehammer on a dented quarter panel

Last Tuesday I had this old Chevy truck come in with a big dent on the rear quarter, and I figured I'd save time by just smacking it out fast. Grabbed a sledge from the back, took one swing, and the whole panel buckled inward way worse than before. My coworker Dave walked over, laughed for a solid minute, then handed me a stud welder and a slide hammer. 45 minutes of pulling and shrinking later I had it mostly straight, but my arm still hurts. Has anyone else learned a lesson the hard way with the wrong tool?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryan_stone6d ago

That 45 minutes of stud pulling sounds about right honestly. I tried the sledgehammer method once on a 1972 Bronco rear fender and turned a smooth golfball sized dent into a crater you could plant a tree in. The trick I learned is that those big hits just spread the metal instead of shrinking it back. A slide hammer with a sharp tip can grab the dent in stages and pull it up bit by bit without stressing the whole panel. Hope your arm feels better by tomorrow, ibuprofen and a beer usually does it for me.

maxp686d ago

Did you have to heat the panel at all to get the metal to move easier?