[AMC-list] Fun with dent puller. hammer and dolly

[Bruce Griffis <bruce.griffis@xxxxxxxxx>]

I decided to spend a little time pulling some dents out of my popup
camper. It's a small, light camper with aluminum sides. I invested a
whole $305 dollars into it, then another $400 or so to get the canvas
fixed. So - I'm not too afraid of making mistakes!

Used a small hammer and dolly set to pop out some small dents. I
couldn't get behind a few, due to the structure - and didn't want to
remove the body from the plywood floor - so picked up a dent puller.
I've never messed with one before - but it was fun drilling a series
of holes and working some creased dents out of the back. (hmmmmm,
maybe a bumper is in order one of these days!).

I didn't get the metal worked as nicely as I'd like (thought I did,
but now I think I should have gone along the horizontal crease and
then run some more holes vertically to get the dent closer to where it
should be).

I cleaned the metal off with a TSP substitute, and sanded areas that
need a little more work. Now I'm messing with NAPA's version of
polyester body filler. Built some sections up a little, used the
cheese grater, let it dry, built it up some more. Might take a while
to get the body smooth enough - but it is fun.

Still haven't decided on paint - but noticed Home Depot rents
compressors - so might rent a compressor and spray it in the garage. I
know lacquer paints don't hold up nearly as well as a good urethane -
but I might go that route anyway for a first project. Anyway, I have
some time to think about it. Got plenty of work to do to get the dings
out and sand it smooth.
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