QuestionHow do I shrink a stretched body panel.
The panel is the sliding door on a 1978 VW van.
I bought it this way but it looks as if the panel was damaged by a guard rail. Repair has been attempted before I got the van and it looks good except for this raised area
6 inches from the rear edge of the door and 8 inches from the bottom edge.
I have standard mechanical auto repair tools but not many body tools.
I do have small torch, hammers and am willing to buy tools I may need.
Thank you for all your time and help.
The flat body panel has about a 6 inch diameter area that is stretched outward maybe 3/16 inch high in the center.
Answerhi,
since you say the panel has been repaired before i'm going to assume there is bondo on the panel. so lets go step by step and see if you want to try to tackle this. even before the first step, wear all safety related equipment. ex: eye protection, dust mask, gloves, durable clothing, etc. it is handy to have a helper to hand you the tools and hold the torch after heating the panel.
1. you are going to have to grind off the paint on and around your high spot. use a 5 or 6 inch 36 grit grinding disc, try not to build up too much heat on the panel as it will usually worsen the problem.
2.get yourself a wet rag or spraymist bottle with water in it. get a dolly so you can support the damaged area from the back side. removal of the interior panel is necessary for this step. get a light to medium weight body hammer. and get your torch.
3. the idea is to heat a small spot on the panel next to the high spot, then quickly support the panel from the backside,
grab your body hammer and, gently at first, start to hammer the metal around (as in a circle) your hot spot, and tap the high spot down at the same time. this should be done quickly so the metal cools as little as possible.
4. now grab the wet rag or spray bottle and put it right on the spot you heated. it should still be hot enough to make the water 'sizzle' as it is cooled.
5. at this point, if everything went well, push on the panel to see if it is now stiff enough to work without heat. if it is, great. if it's not, repeat the previous steps until the panel is stiff enough to straighten, but don't heat the panel in the same spot twice.
6. when your done and ready for the body filler to be applied, lightly run the grinder over the entire area, as this will make for better adhesion for the body filler.
now, heres some hints to remember:
oxy/acet torches are preferred to a bernz-o-matic because you can heat the metal much faster and keep it in a smaller area. with the bernz-o-matic, by the time you have a decent
hot spot (say a little smaller than a dime) too much heat gets distributed over the rest of the panel and may cause warpage.
when you apply heat to the panel it will start to swell a bit at the hottest spot. thats o.k. because you will tap that down right before the cooling step.
from the time you start to apply heat until the time you cool the panel work quickly because the hotter the metal is
when you cool it, the better results you will get.
this process is not an easy thing to achieve, and takes considerable experience to attain the desired results.
sometimes the panel will get worse before it gets better.
this may be the case with a previously repaired panel because the metal may react differently than a fresh unrepaired one. if everything goes well, consider yourself skillful and lucky.
if all went well, apply some spray primer and then some spray undercoat on the backside of the panel for corrosion protection.
ALWAYS wear eye protection, and other safety related items throughout the entire process. injuries are not fun.
if you have any other questions, no matter how trivial they may seem, feel free to ask. i'll be happy to help. remember: the only dumb question is one you don't ask!
i hope this helped you
mike
