Grill dents

plowhand

Member
I may have this posted in the right forum now..can these dents be repaired and smooth without bondo..
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plowhand, If you can find an old bodyman that is good working metal they could. Most bodymen now days have no clue how to work metal. It will take a lot of time and most guys restoring won't want to pay for time involved. Picture is of my 1955 TO 35, it has no bondo and was almost as bad as yours. If you were closer and I were 25yrs. younger I'd do it for you!
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It will need a little bondo or a lot of primer to completely level out the surface. It can be hammered out very close but if you just paint it as is there will be some irregularities showing. Bondo is just a lot easier to level the surface. It may be only as thick as several coats of primer. That little isn't going to hurt anything.
 
You can pull out the smaller bars by slipping a piece of copper electrical wire behind and looping it back out then twisting the two ends together. Leave the casing on the wire. This then gives you a handy "puller" that you can slide back and forth on the bar you're working on. Use a straight edge on the entire grille top to bottom to check the alignment as you go. Lots of patience, some basic tools for metal working are all that's needed. Fortunately the sheet metal on these old tractors is very malleable so it's easy to work with. Lots of tutorials on YouTube that can save a lot of headache by watching how others successfully accomplished exactly what you are looking to do.
Don't worry too much if you need a little bondo to get it "perfect" every new car has it somewhere under that pretty paint!
 
How are you at woodworking? I made two blocks for the Oliver grills. One fits inside the bars,the other on the outside. Hit one and knock it in to the other.
 
The right top of this grill was hit in the seam, seam spot welds split and pushed in, a small hole and some bars bent. I had a body hammer, two dollies, made a tool out of key stock to fit the small ribs, made another to fit the wide bars and cut a slot in it to fit the back side of the broken seam. I just laid the grill on a piece of 3/4 " plywood worked it out when I felt like it, little bit here and there, wasn't fast. It's got a little bondo though.
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It can be done, but it takes more patience than most people have since plastic filler came into use.

Back in the days before plastic filler, and when the back side of body parts was easily accessed, body men used a tool called a "bulls-eye" to tap out small dents. I haven't seen one, or seen one used, in years, but I think I have a pic of one somewhere.
 
(quoted from post at 09:31:14 12/27/17) It can be done, but it takes more patience than most people have since plastic filler came into use.

Back in the days before plastic filler, and when the back side of body parts was easily accessed, body men used a tool called a "bulls-eye" to tap out small dents. I haven't seen one, or seen one used, in years, but I think I have a pic of one somewhere.

Eastwoods promotes the bulls eye.
 
Goose, I was taught body work before bondo type filler was even around . My teacher started bodywork in the 1930s. We used bulls-eye pick tools and had about 5 different lengths and shapes of them, some would reach the middle of car or truck roofs. I was taught frame straitening by a fellow that went to Bear Frame School in 1946 and worked around and with him for 30+ years. We also used Chicago Pneumatic fender irons (kind of like a hand held trip hammer) it had different hammer and anvil heads for them depending on shape of the part being worked and the metal was lubricated with oil. I worked on a lot of 1940s and up cars and trucks using these tools. They would not be of much use on modern stuff made today. I used lead filler when needed for more than 25 yrs. In using the lead we also used a LOT of asbestos.
 
Harbor Freight sells the hammer and dolly set for body work. That set and a lot of time you can get it close.
 
I cannot do it but I have seen dents removed with the torch. By working the flame just right the dents can be shrunk back to non noticeable. The person that showed our tractor club was a club member but had a body shop that worked on the hundred thousand dollar antique cars. He has passed on by now.
 

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