All MetalShaping

Go Back   All MetalShaping > General Metal Shaping Discussion > General Discussion
  Today's Posts Posts for Last 7 Days Posts for Last 14 Days  

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 05-06-2019, 11:31 AM
sblack sblack is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Montreal
Posts: 382
Default Paintless dent repair on an airplane cowl

A guy in my friends hangar whacked his plane into another one while pulling it out. Cessna cowls are thin hard aluminum, likely 2024t3 but I'm guessing, and if you try to planish them the tools jus bounce off. A replacement, well, you don't want to ask how much.

So they called one of these auto paintless dent removal guys. He showed up and set up his light board. My friend said it was a bit like watching a guy divining for water. He tapped here and there around the creases, quite far from the dent and it just went pop in a couple of minutes. Many of tbese 40 yr old cowlings get installed and removed so much that they pick up dozens of little ripples and irregularities so the owner, after seeing the "magic" asked if he could look at those. So he tapped and tapped and pushed and one by one they all disappeared. My friend stood there with his mouth open.

I wish I had pics. I think this is relevant to metal shaping because removing small dents is the same as tweaking a panel that you are making. And undersranding how to release the internal stresses is part of reading a panel whether you are fabricating or repairing.

Most if these guys do cars exclusively. I wonder if aircraft work is that much different. Typically on cessnas you are looking at .025" or .032" 2024t3. Can't be any tougher than the steel in the newer cars.
__________________
Scott in Montreal

Last edited by sblack; 05-06-2019 at 10:24 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 05-06-2019, 01:39 PM
crystallographic crystallographic is offline
MetalShaper of the Month October '14 , April '16, July 2020, Jan 2023
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Western Sierra Nevadas, Badger Hill, CA
Posts: 4,388
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by sblack View Post
A guy in my friends hangar whacked his plane into another one while pulling it out. Cessna cowls are thin hard aluminum, likely 2024t3 but I'm guessing, and if you try to planish them the tools just bounce off......................
So they called one of these auto paintless dent removal guys. ........... So he tapped and tapped and pushed and one by one they all disappeared. ...........

Scott,
Yes, Cessnas after about 1957 used 2024T3 on most if not all external skins.
Yes, it is hard to work.
Heat, used sparingly, helps, and finesse is the big technique. No wham bam slam. It is a head game.
You got a good guy (makes very good money in the right markets!)
__________________
Kent

http://www.tinmantech.com

"All it takes is a little practical experience to blow the he!! out of a perfectly good theory." --- Lloyd Rosenquist, charter member AWS, 1919.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 05-06-2019, 10:25 PM
sblack sblack is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Montreal
Posts: 382
Default

Apparently he travels all over the world, following hail storms like the natives followed the heards of buffalo hundreds of years ago
__________________
Scott in Montreal
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 05-06-2019, 10:36 PM
Kerry Pinkerton's Avatar
Kerry Pinkerton Kerry Pinkerton is offline
Administrator
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Near Huntsville, Alabama. Just south of the Tennessee line off I65
Posts: 8,321
Default

One of the early MetalMeet guys was a Painless Dent Repair guy. He did a demo at the first Oblong meet using John 'Boogiemanz' Brown's Surburban. After taking out a few hail dings, someone asked him if he could do larger dents also. He said 'sure!' and proceeded to wack a big dent in John's hood. I was standing beside John and thought he was going to have a stroke...then I thought I might have to call 911 because John was going to kill the guy.


About 5 minutes later, you could not see the dent even if you knew where to look.
__________________
Kerry Pinkerton
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 05-07-2019, 02:49 AM
steve.murphy steve.murphy is offline
Member
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 650
Default

This youtube channel mentions the fairmont method of dent removal and builds on it from there. It is pretty interesting to watch and on one clip he uses a hard sharp point tool to shrink the metal in a dent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhk62edCemo&t=657s
__________________
Steve

ærugo nunquam dormit
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:33 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.