How To Hammer Out Dents In Aluminum Sheet

Sheet metal isn t all that different from a car s bodywork so most methods which will remove dents from a car work for sheet metal.

How to hammer out dents in aluminum sheet.

As the dent is reduced in depth switch positions of the tools the dolly goes to the inside and the hammer is used on the outside of the panel. On a molecular level the increased heat causes the molecules of the sheet metal to become excited. Shrinking is more difficult. Mark simpson explains the process of using a hammer and dolly set to remove dents and straighten metal.

The basic technique to pounding out the dents with a hammer is to use your dolly on the low side back side. Place a metal dolly on the dented side of the metal. For ease of hammering choose a 24 gauge thickness for your copper sheeting. You ll hammer against the dolly as it stabilizes the taps made inside the dented surface from the outside of the sheet metal.

Or 021 inches about 05 cm. The dolly which is a block of metal shaped like a bar of soap keeps the hammer banging on a flat surface. The thinner the copper sheeting the easier it will accept the indentations of your hammer. Hammer off dolly should be used until the final straightening stages.

One involves using a blow dryer or a paint stripper which emits heat to warm the metal of the dent. Understanding how metal deforms is the first step toward straightening it. Just hammer too hard push too hard or hammer on dolly too much and you ll get bags of stretched metal. Remember stretching is easy.

This can also be called 16 oz. Start with the indirect damage and move towards the direct damage. Hammer off dolly is used to remove the majority of the dent. No two dents are alike so you sort of have to play it by ear to get the metal straightened.

Start by lightly tapping the deepest part of the panel with the hammer slowly working the dent out to the dolly. That is from the side that you are working on find the deepest part of the dent then from the other side the side opposite you put your dolly there and press outward or towards you. Position the hammer dolly on the outside of the dent and your body hammer on the inside. Use the body hammer on the other side to bang on the dent.

The following shrinking method is easier and simpler on aluminum than on steel. This stops the hammer from making any sharp indentations in the metal which are difficult to repair. It s a black art that becomes easier with practice. Then find the ripple in the metal out from that dent.

Do not make big hits light taps are better. To get to the back of the dented metal you need to remove door panels or fenders.