joseph_ellis85•5d agoProlific Poster

Discovered a weird trick for fixing crushed rocker panels without filler

Had a customer bring in a 2010 Civic with a crushed rocker panel last Tuesday (rust belt car, go figure). I tried the normal slide hammer and stud welder method, but the metal was too thin and kept tearing through. An old guy at my shop told me to try using a heat gun and a block of wood from the inside to push the dent out slow. Worked way better than I expected, got about 90% of the shape back with almost no thin spots. Now I'm wondering if there's other body lines where this method could save time compared to pulling from the outside. Anyone tried something similar on door jambs or quarter panels?

2 comments

2 Comments

grace_wright5d ago

Heard a buddy swear by dry ice for the same trick...

ryan3695d ago

Honestly that heat gun and block of wood trick is pure gold for thin rust belt metal. Tbh I've used something similar on door jambs where the metal gets all flimsy and pulling just makes a mess. Ngl it saved me on a quarter panel that was so thin you could almost see through it, got the shape back without blowing holes everywhere. Definitely try it on jambs, just go slow and keep the heat moving so you don't cook the paint on the outside.