[HO455]

Originally Posted by Caddylackn

What I do, and I am not a professional by any means, but can get decent results, is to just tack weld 1" galvanized roofing nails (with the flat head) to pull from. Then use a 1" or 2" wide by 8" long piece of 1/2" plywood to set by the repair, then use a claw hammer to gently pry against the ply wood and pull up on the nail head in each section with either a curved claw or straight claw hammer. The plywood should flex as you are pulling the nail with the hammer and that prevents from denting from the hammer or forming a ridge.

The plywood does two things: protects the metal from the hammer when prying, but it also pushes down onto the area that is a little raised as a result of the dent. So set the plywood strip onto the area that is slightly raised before the dent. So you are pushing down the high spot while pulling on the low spot. The roofing flat headed nails break off easy (leave the pointed tip on), so there is no way to over pull a dent, or pucker it up around the stud, from pulling too hard. Plus the nails are galvanized and softer than the original sheet metal so they can break cleanly off without tearing the sheet metal. You can also use a 12" by 1" ruler from a combination square instead of a piece of 1/2" plywood. It needs to be flexible but not too flexible. A 3/4" piece of plywood is too thick and stiff.

I fixed up my dented as f.ck tailgate top lip and bed rails this way and many other small to big dents. Previously when I used a sliding hammer puller, I usually pulled up a bunch of pucker marks, and over stretched the metal around the stud, requiring extra dolly work, metal shrinking, or a bunch of bondo to fix.

Thanks for posting.