Any fender dent contenders?

[Guest]

I'm planning on tackling two dents in in my front chrome fender that were given to me free courtesy of the PO. He mentioned simply banging them out with a sand hammer. I can't imagine it's that simple (to do it well) and I've never had the pleasure of coming across a sand hammer. I can appreciate the concept of striking it with a malable something-or-other, but before I give it a go, I thought I do it right and ask the experts here.

How should I go about it? The dents can be described as 2-inch areas where the fender has been pushed-in, in other words, it looks like he drove the bike lightly into something. Fender is in good condition other than the dents.

[Steve]

A "sand hammer" is most often referred to as a "dead-blow" hammer. Usually a heavy-gauge plastic barrell for a head, that is half-filled with sand for weight. It does not bounce when striking an object.

Your best bet for straightening out the fenders will be to hit from the inside, but make sure the fender is resting on a block of wood. It also helps if you have a block of wood that is shaped to match the inside of the fender, and strike that to spread out the blow to prevent making dents that go the other way. :shock: If you use the block of wood, it does not matter much if you have a dead-blow hammer. Just hammer gently until you get a feel for how much you need.


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[smagnusen]

Thanks Steve, I kinda figured he was talking about a dead blow. I like the idea of cutting a piece of wood to match the shape of the fender, I'll do that.

Instead of laying the fender on a piece of wood, what do you think about laying it upside-down on a big bag of play sand? - the idea is distribute the blow force as I'm working it back into shape so I don't get any flat spots on the other side.

[Steve]

Going into the play sand, you would need the inside block to match the contour rather closely. I would think that the sand would fill in the dent, making it harder to hammer it out. A piece of plywood would only support the edges of the dent, making it easier to push the middle into place, but would still be soft enough that it would not introduce more little dents or wrinkles around the edges.


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[smagnusen]

Additional dents and wrinkles are exactly what I'm trying to avoid. I see your point about the plywood being soft enough to hammer on without causing additional damage. I can always put terry rag or somthing on top of the plywood to keep it from scratching the chrome.

I guess in my mind's eye I see giving the dents one or two good whacks each with that form fitting insert to 'pop' them out at once, taking advantage of any metal memory - instead of slowly hammering them out which I would think would cause more creases along the way.

[atvpyrofreak]

my bike had a few of these small dents when i got it. All i did was take a small rubber mallet and have a friend hold each side of the fender on the sides of the dent, gave her a few good smacks, and they popped right out, no wrinkled chrome, no other dents, although if you get it at just the right angel, you can still see just a small small crease which im not even going to attempt to remove. All in all, was alot easier than i expected.

[tfb]

The chances of you still having the remnants of the dents after you have hit them out, are fairly high... :-/ ... and the chromed surface will only accentuate any remaining ripples, etc.

All I'm saying is that if it's perfection you're after, just go for a replacement fender. Or take the original to a panel beater, then get it 'linished' smooth and re-chromed.

All the best!

[kb9lae]

The Ding King

Try the "Ding King". I bought one at Autozone three years ago and it works great. I have used it one every vehicle I have owned including pulling the dent in my GS450's gas tank. I think it was arouns $30. I have pulled so many dents it has more than payed for itself.