Headlight door dent - is it a do-it-yourself fix?

foghorn · Post by **foghorn** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 5:47 pm

Well the passenger side is toughest so far as it was the side facing north and had the most moss/mold build up on it. Its the white oxidation thats the hardest to get off and you have to look really hard to see it. It also is like kinda pitted where it is. The top of the passenger side so far i have about 1.5 hours work on the top section alone. The bottom of both sides were painted but im gonna polish them after i sand the paint and primmer off. But i still gotta get some 800 to use after the 400. The jewlers rouge will almost take the 400 scratches out but not quite.

Foggy

FLATBEDFORD · Post by **FLATBEDFORD** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 1:26 pm

I had pretty good luck working slowly and patiently with various pieces of wood, and a hammer against my wood work bench. It doesn't look like a $75 new one, but it is better than before I started.

Mugwump · Post by **Mugwump** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 1:50 pm

Well, I took a shot at it. The dent came out pretty well, (still not quite 100% back to shape). I'm going to spend some more time tapping the smaller recesses back in shape, and then I need to refer to Keith's 'polishing trim' section and get some of Foggy's sanding/polishing materials on hand to get started polishing the grille and headlight doors.

Thanks to James72 and fordman for the tips - I used both of them... made a little wooden die, shaped like the profile of the area I needed, and clamped it in the vise for a backer; then cut off a broomstick handle to about 8" and used a hammer to tap the rounded end against the aluminum - that was very effective, and left much less hammer damage than using the hammer directly against the metal.

It definitely looks better (at least it's less noticeable)

Obviously, it's still not perfect - I'm no sheetmetal fab guy fersure... but I think with another couple hours of tinkering, I can smooth it out pretty well. I'll post more pix once I get there.

FLATBEDFORD · Post by **FLATBEDFORD** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 1:57 pm

Take small bites!

fordman · Post by **fordman** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 2:49 pm

that worked good. or better than i tried on one i have. but it is way worse than yours was. it looks good.

OLE69F100 · Post by **OLE69F100** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 4:45 pm

I have been inspired

basketcase0302 · Post by **basketcase0302** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 5:13 pm

Mugwump,

I have been inspired

same here, looks nice!

On the other hand...

Foggy is making me feel tired!
That looks like a lot of work.

Basketcase

Mugwump · Post by **Mugwump** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 5:22 pm

Yeah, Foggy's progress on his project is very inspiring!

Man, you'll be able to see that thing coming when he's done with it... gonna be sweet! But what a lot of work!

Makes my measly little grille project seem like small 'taters, but I'm having fun with it.

jzjames · Post by **jzjames** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 6:00 pm

Very good job on that Mugwump. The pros can restore that stuff and the stainless steel trim so that you cannot even see the repair. Gotta also be careful to not stretch the metal.

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Headlight door dent - is it a do-it-yourself fix?

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re: Headlight door dent - is it a do-it-yourself fix?