Dent removal

Rozzer

Rozzer

Joined
Oct 20, 2021
Posts
131
Likes collected
112
Location
Framlingham, Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK
Funster No
84,970
MH
Swift Kon-Tiki 774
Exp
Since 2017
Hi all, has anyone found a way of removing dents in MH aluminium body panels? Usual paintiess repair firms need to get behind the metal which of course is a problem. I have seen electromagnetic dent repair being used in USA but Google doesn’t fetch up any repairers using it here. Does bring up the machines though, anybody tried one? Another site suggested use a heat gun on the dent, should de-stress it and pops out, again anybody tried that? Have a few minor dents and a crease to sort, none “sharp” but irritating!
 
you might get away with dent repair suction pads.
they do pull out some dents and very often no painting is needed if it goes ok.
 
A picture of the dents might help, there are different techniques depending on the kind of dent you have.

Edit: the suction tools work on larger panels, but are unlikely to work if you have a foam bonded sandwich.

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"Edit: the suction tools work on larger panels, but are unlikely to work if you have a foam bonded sandwich."

They dont work on Jaguar bonnets either.
A stone chip is usually included by a small dent.
They only real cure is wait till you collect enough of them, then have them filled, and the bonnet resprayed,
 
Dents can be removed without getting behind. I think they use glue and pull the panel out, then knock any excess back by tapping judiciously. A skilled task, but probably not at all easy if the surface should be perfectly flat.
I'd leave it, so long as it's water-tight.
 
Afraid the only proper way is to fill then spray. You can't use the dent removal methods they use on cars as it will pull the aluminium panel off of the insulation it's bonded to. Also aluminium stretches so it would go from a dent to a bump.
 
My mate Dave is the best dintman in the world and that came from Mercedes in Germany where he was sent over to do over 600 brand news cars which had been "hailstoned" to death.

The problem lies if the metal has stretched or paint has cracked if too sharp a dint or crease.

If it bothers you that much, and it would me, go to someone recommended and let him/her see it first hand to see if it can be done with no paintwork needed.

Al
 
Sometimes you can get away with sticking something over it.
I somehow managed to get a small dent in the rear panel of our Elddis,
It was almost right in the centre, so I purchased an Elddis badge from ebay and stuck it over the dent.
I have known others to cover dents by sticking on reflectors, false vents etc.

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I have been using a dent repair system where small plastic pegs are hot glue gun fixed to the dent which is then pulled out using a choice of pullers. The pegs pull off as part of the process and the glue then needs to be removed which can be time consuming. Multiple kit options re available on eBay. We have an old mini which had been danced on by scum who thought it would be fun! The roof and bonnet had over a hundred dents and the insurance company decided it was not economic to repair. If the dents are simple without creases they often just popped out. If there are creases it becomes a slow repetitive process and although I could reduce those sort of dents it would need a lot of time and skill to get them invisible. Yes there are still some visible dents but a we had a huge improvement. I was very sceptical about the system but ended up very impressed but we were not looking for perfection. I don’t know if this would work on aluminium but could be worth bit of research but I think it could work if approached slowly with caution.
 
Hot glue and a slide hammer sorted my dents out.
 
If its the motorhome body not the cab so aliminium bonded onto ply or similar i would doubt that dent removal would work. Do as others have said cover with stickers etc or body shop to fill and respray imo.
 
ontheroadagain said:
Sometimes you can get away with sticking something over it.
I somehow managed to get a small dent in the rear panel of our Elddis,
It was almost right in the centre, so I purchased an Elddis badge from ebay and stuck it over the dent.
I have known others to cover dents by sticking on reflectors, false vents etc.
Click to expand...
I hear the new U.K. stickers are quite popular

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There is a DiY system about that used a plastic frame with a screwed rod in the centre. Hot glue the centre rod in the middle of the dent then wind the knob to push the outer legs against the panel and pull the centre leg out, It works a treat on most small dents and the rod pops off. Any excess glue, you just warm up and it peels off easy
 
<Broken link removed>
 
Lenny HB said:
Afraid the only proper way is to fill then spray. You can't use the dent removal methods they use on cars as it will pull the aluminium panel off of the insulation it's bonded to. Also aluminium stretches so it would go from a dent to a bump.
Click to expand...
 
Once dented you would struggle to remove the metal memory in aluminium a filer and bodyshop is the way to go or as others have suggested a strategic badge over the damage. Do not use a puller on a foam sandwich construction you will damage it even more
 
Grumpyfrog said:
" I have seen electromagnetic dent repair being used in USA....."

How does that work on aluminium?
I can see it perhaps working on sheet steel but isn't aluminium non magnetic?
Click to expand...
It doesn’t work by magnetism, it’s like an inductor and heats up the panel underneath the paint.
 
Well thanks for all the advice everyone, such a great forum. The dents in question are tiny but really irritating, the trade would call them “soft dents”. I will try the heat gun on a scrap of aluminium, see how that goes, if that fails I’ll get one of these electromagnetic tools and experiment with that the same way. If it works I’ll report back with photos. If you are interested there a videos on you tube for “electromagnetic dent remover”. If it does work as demonstrated would be great for caravans and MH’s! Incidentally first saw one of these used in an episode of “wheeler dealers” on a DeLorean roof, set in the USA.

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The problem with aluminium is that it will have stretched and as most have said recent MH’s are bonded construction. The only way to remove the dent is to shrink the stretch, which can only be done correctly by annealing the dent, which requires access to the backside of the panel, applying oil and then heating the area, which will make the metal more pliable and more easier to shrink. Unfortunately the only professional way to deal with it is to replace the panel, which is why the repairs are so expensive and time consuming.
 
If you heat a bonded foam construction you will damage the foam core leaving blistering. The puller I linked to is no good on bonded panels, only dents in steel panels
 
Well thanks for all the advice everyone, such a great forum. The dents in question are tiny but really irritating, the trade would call them “soft dents”. I will try the heat gun on a scrap of aluminium, see how that goes, if that fails I’ll get one of these electromagnetic tools and experiment with that the same way. If it works I’ll report back with photos. If you are interested there a videos on you tube for “electromagnetic dent remover”. If it does work as demonstrated would be great for caravans and MH’s! Incidentally first saw one of these used in an episode of “wheeler dealers” on a DeLorean roof, set in the USA
 
Wow that’s really clever! Not for my dent though, a crease probably 2mm deep max x 8omm long!

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