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Old 01-10-2010, 01:55 PM
Overkill Overkill is offline
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Default Oil Cans

I've struggled with oil cans and still can't seem to get my head around what is actually happening.

I'm hoping to initiate a discussion about how they occur (in my case, by accident), and how to determine the best method to take them out.

It seems that you work on one area, and it gets better, but causes them to pop up in other areas. Or you work on it, and it just ends up being a low spot.

Looking forward to advice that will sink into this thick skull of mine. John
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Old 01-10-2010, 02:44 PM
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John Kelly John Kelly is offline
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Hi John,

Below is something I wrote a while back, and there is a short video showing an oil can repair in my you tube videos.

First, make sure that you are reading the panel correctly. You must get the contours right to see where the metal needs to be before addressing the oilcan. This means using a template of the contour up and down as well one side to side, or front to back. Otherwise you may be working on smoothing before you have the metal where it is supposed to be. It can be as simple as bumping the metal out from behind with a dolly.

What helped me work with oil canned panels is to address the perimeter of the panel first, and work your way into the middle. Think about the crown in the metal (both directions), and the smoothness of the surface working together. You must make the panel smooth to read it. If this means making it have a little too much crown in it, so be it. You can easily shrink it back down. The crown a panel has puts just the right amount of tension in it to hold it in place without being so floppy as to pop in and out. Try pushing in on various spots around the perimeter of the area with your thumb while popping the oil can in and out. Once you find a spot that helps stop the oil can popping, check this small area for smoothness. You may need to hammer and dolly to get it back to a smooth but slightly high condition, then shrink to get the tension just right. There may be several areas that need this attention. It is easy to overlook a spot that is affecting the panel and spend too much time playing with the oil can itself. You can also try pushing out instead of in at various spots on the panel to see the effect on the oil can. If you are going to use a torch to shrink, try heating the metal to less than blue heat blue (no color change) certainly not red. It will shrink with very little or no hammering, and stay a bit more workable than metal that is heated to red. A shrinking disc is the best way to shrink an over-stretched panel because it heats just the high spots without over-heating them. You can stretch with the hammer and dolly and shrink with the disc many times without damage to your panel until you get it right. This allows you to free yourself from worrying about over use of the hammer and dolly which can keep you from getting the job done.

John www.ghiaspecialties.com
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Old 01-11-2010, 09:53 AM
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Joe Hartson Joe Hartson is offline
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John Kelly, thanks for the info and link.
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Old 01-11-2010, 12:30 PM
Overkill Overkill is offline
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Default Oil Cans

Thanks for the posting and video John. Just need to get back out there and work with it. John
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Old 01-11-2010, 04:28 PM
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Thanks Joe and John! It just takes time, patience and the knowledge that you will figure it out. It may take 3 hours and it may take 6, or 8 hours, but it will get done.

John www.ghiaspecialties.com
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