Auto body repair & detailing: dent removal, paintless dent repair, stud welder

Question
Hello!

  Recently I had a little "encounter" with a telephone pole. Even though I drive a full size truck, the pole still won. I thought I could squeeze between it and a van. So I have a nice dent in it, maybe ~1 ft tall x ~1 ft wide. It isn't too deep, but still pretty deep. What would you recommend to get this out? Since it's on the top side of the bed, there's obviously no way to go behind it and pound it out from the inside. I think a stud welder may work, but if there is another way I'm all ears. There are already scratches on it, so if I have to sand to metal I don't care. I would just like to examine my options before jumping in. Thanks much!

Andrew

Answer
You can try a plunger type device to pull it out. I know many people have tried that. Don't expect it to come out perfectly, The sheet metal really doesn't have a real "memory" of where it's supposed to be. If you have scratches you can try polishing them out with a buffer. Sometimes a paintless dent repair tech can help a bit for an inexpensive price, but they will probably not get it out perfectly. Good Luck, Mark