Shrinking Alu / Shrinking Hammer?

[Brain75]

So my learnin with body work (hammer and dolly) was that a "shrinking hammer would never ever be used 99.99% of the time so no need to ever touch it, I'm not even gonna teach you how to use it".

The rear trim panel (on the tailgate) on my 2nd gen had an encounter with a T post some 20 years ago... it obviously did more then dent, it stretched the metal - see pic, top left corner.

So far I have only have done a little surface work pulling the dent up, but being careful not to stretch any more. It is obviously stretched, it will not lie flat it wants to pop in or out deflecting probably an inch a half inch. Would this be a case where a few shrinking hammer hits on the backside are worth anything? Anyone have any other body work guru suggestion on how to make this look pretty?

It's made out of thin alu, barely thinner than a street sign, thicker than a license plate no steel or iron anywhere.

edit: corrected my over-exaggeration when I got back inside my "paint shop" where it was staying and could look at it again.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I'm interested in this too. Steel can be heat shrunk, not sure about aluminum.

 

[Brain75]

You can use heat to shrink alu just like steel. Haven't seen it in person, but some youtube videos came up when I hunted before posting.

My issue is, the finish has a "brushed nickle" look to it, and I don't want to mar that up and have to redo it. All the hammer work so far I either used softwood (on the face as a dolly) when working from the back, or covered it with a clean sheet of masking paper and hammered the paper. So far, minimal damage to the finish. I'm keeping costs under control and not just replacing every little issue - cause if I don't I might as well buy a new truck.

 

[Roert42]

I’m not an expert expert, but I was under the impression That heat was needed when using a shrinking hammer.

Heat the small spot, couple taps with the hammer and dolly on the back, repeat.

There is a book called “the key to metal bumping” that goes into a little detail about it.

 

[Brain75]

Many thanks... I googled it to see if it was public domain/purchasable or what the status is... It's on amazon and someone posted a downloadable in google docs.

From the pictures and illustration I was guessing early 50's... copyright inside dustflap says 1953. (shrinking is ch. 12, starting on pg. 63 / google doc pg. 37)

Amazon.com: Martin BFB The Key to Metal Bumping Manual Instruction Book, 126 Pages : Industrial & Scientific

Buy Martin BFB The Key to Metal Bumping Manual Instruction Book, 126 Pages: Safety Training Booklets - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

The Key To Metal Bumping (panel beating, auto body repair bible).pdf

docs.google.com