Finally stopped fighting with thin metal on trunk lids

For years I'd just grab my hammer and dolly whenever a trunk lid had a low spot... ended up chasing it around for way too long. Then last month I watched an older guy at a shop in Toledo use a shrinking hammer and a wet rag on a similar dent. He had it flat in like 3 passes. Now I keep a dedicated set of shrinking tools nearby and it's cut my time on thin gauge jobs by maybe 40 percent. Anybody else switch up their technique on hoods or trunk lids after seeing someone else work?

3 comments

3 Comments

terry_jones4d ago

You ever have one of those moments where you watch someone do a thing and it feels like a lightbulb goes off? That was me about two years ago with shrinking hammers. I had the same issue you did (chasing dents on hoods and trunk lids like a fool) until I saw a guy at a swap meet use a torch and a wet rag on a real thin spot. He told me metal stretches out when you hammer it, and you gotta shrink it back, not just pound it flatter. I went home and tried it on an old Honda hood I had sitting around, and I swear it cut my time in half. Now I keep a propane torch and a spray bottle in my truck just for those jobs. It feels like cheating once you get the heat right.

daniel_walker4d ago

A propane torch? That sounds like you are one bad move away from torching the whole car.

the_nina3d ago

Buddy of mine tried the torch and rag trick on a rusty fender and ended up with a puddle of melted paint on his garage floor. Took him three weekends to get the car back to looking decent.