dings and dent removal

[ctfjr]

My L3800 came to me with only 264 hours on it but it was 6 years old. The previous owner used it pretty much exclusively for hauling firewood out of forest areas. There were little things on it that I took care of right away like a broken headlight assy and one of the taillights. I'm sure they were the result of tree branches etc.

What I haven't addressed that bugs me every time I do something on the machine are the little dents and dings in the hood. I have never done body work before. Is this something I can do (do well)? I'm really not looking for a major project to start but with the weather being so crappy lately there isn't anything I can do with the tractor outside.

 

[NCL4701]

If they’re really little dents and dings you might consider checking with a paintless dent repair service to at least take a look at it. Most of them have mobile service and if they can do it, pretty likely having them take out the dents would be less than the materials to do a conventional hammer/dolly, spot putty, and paint job. If they can get it 100% or close enough that it doesn’t bother you, that also has the advantage of no filler in the hood. It’s pretty amazing what a good PDR tech can do with steel sheet metal.

 

[Porcupine]

Just get out there and put some dents of your own in there.

Then the old ones won’t be so worrisome.

 

[TheOldHokie]

Just get out there and put some dents of your own in there.

Then the old ones won’t be so worrisome.

No truer words ever spoken

Dan

 

[RCW]

I was at Harbor Freight a couple weeks ago. They had a pneumatic Dent Puller.

Not knowing the type of dents/dings, not sure if one would help?

$70.

Dent Puller - Save on this Pneumatic Dent Puller (harborfreight.com)

 

[DaveFromMi]

I have used a (clean) wetted rubber toilet plunger in the past with fairly good results for getting out dents.
Also, O'Reilly's, AutoZone sell dent removal kits that use hard plastic dent shapes and a hot glue gun to pull them out. This works OK as well. Note that this will rip off decals and labels so be careful.
If the dents are just in the hood, get a rubber mallet and tap them out from the underside.

 

[ctfjr]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. re Porcupine, if they were my dents I'd be proud of them
I should have been more specific. They really are little dents, not something that can be 'popped' back.
I will try to find a local paintless dent repair service to see what they can do. I had even thought of pulling the hood off and taking it to an autobody place but I came to my senses. . .

 

[lynnmor]

Google dry ice dent removal, might work for you. Dry ice is available from some welding supply houses and possibly at a dairy.

 

[Mak65]

Lynnmor beat me to it.

 

[Pau7220]

I tried the heat gun / cold spray trick on a shopping cart ding....
Didn't work.
The ebay hot glue dent removal tool worked very well.

Car Paintless Dent Repair Puller Remover Kit Lifter Dint Hail Damage 18 Tab Tool | eBay

One screw on the top of the dent lifter is used to adjust the middle height of the dent lifter. Use adjustable lifting-mode movable tripod puller and adjust it against the size of the dent. On the bottom of the dent lifter is silicone, not ordinary rubber, which is very soft and not harmful for...

www.ebay.com