Dented door fix?

[Cyclone101]

Another question...

I have doors that have been sandblasted by a drunk monkey and are very wavey as a result. I am giong to remove the outer skin and beat it back into shape, but large flat areas take me a LOOONG time to get back into shape, so I thought I would fix the top part of the skin(above the belt line trim) and cut the flat part off just below the bend below the belt line and weld in a new sheet and give it the slight crease it had in the middle of the door.

Has anybody ever had this problem, or does anyone have a better idea?

Just keep in mind that I have extreme allergic reactions to filler/bondo. I only take out small imperfections with a light filler.

Regards

Jacques

ps. the picture is bad but its all I hve right now.

[jerry]

try applying heat (propane torch or such) to the convex side of the bulge getting it good and hot, then apply a cold damp cloth to the opposite side. the metal will move. try a small dent first.

i may have my hot/cold sides reversed, but i have seen this method work especially where the metal is not creased.

[dubois]

your method would work if you can keep the distortion to a minimum, maybe tig instead of mig. You would still have to do some bodywork, unless you can hide the weld joint behind the mouldings. If you are good at tig, maybe it will work for you.

The key on doing bodywork is to work the metal to a precise shape, where you only have to apply a skim coat of filler - having said that, I have only seen it done by one person in 20 years.

[ThatGuy]

You could try the heat/cool method but unless you've moved metal with heat it will take a long time and you may make it worse.

Probably more economical to get a new door, you might just waste many hours learning on that door and end up with something unusable. But at least you would get a little practice at moving metal with heat.

[Cyclone101]

Im going to try the "heat treatment" just because it sounds like fun!

If that does't work I will go the cut&weld route. I was thinking about using tig or even brazing, but the latter is even more difficult, sooooo....

This project is not about finding the quickest/cheapest way to restore the car. I love working on cars, and realy like metalwork and panelbeating. I might be an amature but I will spend a month working on one thing till its perfect. And if i mess the door up badly I could always buy a new one, but as a friend once told me, "yster is geduldig" or "metal is patient" in english. He meant you could always fix what you have messed up. I would love to finaly drive the completed car, but the journey is just as fun as the end result. There's something immensely satisfying about getting someting just right after many hours of hard work.

Time will tell.

Regards

Jacques

[tim385]

Been there , similar problem ...after hours of fu@#&*g around ...new door.I think that because it is such a large unsuported surface without the strength of the "crease" it seems to turn into a Wobble board . Have fun trying .