fixing dents in aluminum

[bill11]

This is my first post. I reciently bought a 1959 grumman 19' sportboat. it's a rivited boat and built very rugged. My plan is to do a complete restoration. The boat has various dents and dings. ( most the size of a quater except the bottom which has some crease type dents and old weld repairs. I have been reading old posts about fixing aluminum and removing dents but always find contradictions in methods and philosophy. some say use heat and monitor you temperture. Others say 5000 series marine aluminum does not require any heat becaue it is not a heat treated aluminum to begin with. I want to get to the bottom of this once and for all. Others say although it's true that marine aluminum is not heat treated the fact that it has been dented and needs to be banged out causes work hardening therefore does need heat to do the job right. If there are any experts out there i would love to know the proper way to remove dents in aluminum boats. If heat is a not the way to go i would look into paintless dent removal as an option. thanks for helping settle this debate. I will have pictures in the future. bill11

 

[Av8nBill]

Re: fixing dents in aluminum

I'm no expert, but I will tell you one thing you don't want to do is start pounding any dents out that are close to a welded seam without the name of a good prop shop/welder already in hand. Been there, done that, have the t-shirt.

You're in the right place, though. Someone who knows will chime in with practical advice soon, I'm sure.

 

[bill11]

Re: fixing dents in aluminum

hello anyone out there?

 

[sschefer]

Re: fixing dents in aluminum

Bill11, working with aluminum can be difficult if you don't know what it's going to do. Not knowing what type of Aluminum you actually have is your problem and without any markings its nearly impossible to tell without cutting a piece out and doing some tests. Hardened Aluminum will shrink on you when you apply heat and heat tempered aluminum will loose it's strength, got soft and get brittle.

Being riveted, it's likely either 6000 or 7000 series heat treated Aluminum which is why it's not welded. The dent's are now something like an extrusion in that the metal has been stretched to a different shape. In order to get it back to it's original shape you would have to heat it and hope that it shrinks back. Realistically, that's not going to happen except in the shallowest of dents. If you did manage to pull them out, it would just be a matter of time before they popped back in. Hammering them out is more appropriate but you have to be careful not to be agressive. Use a body hammer and a body dolly and work the dent out until it stops moving easily and stop then fill with aluminium body filler, (3M makes a great marine product), and finish sand smooth.

I used the later technique on a boat that had a lot of dents from hitting the dock and running over rocks. I just saw the boat the other day and it looks as good as it did the day I painted it.

If you're working close to a riveted joint make sure you go back and re-buck the rivets before you apply your filler.

Hope this helps.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: fixing dents in aluminum

Honestly......... just clean it up and paint it. Painted a light color such as white will hid a heap of sin's.......... I have a 1963 aluminum 14' starcraft that is LOADED with personality and battle scars........very proud of it's creases and dent's!

 

[bill11]

Re: fixing dents in aluminum

thanks steve, very helpfull. what is the name of the 3m filler. has anyone used paintless dent removal ( like dent wizard) ? bill

 

[lakelover]

Re: fixing dents in aluminum

I decided that I wouldn't bother with my dents & creases. Only gonna get more. I put a lot of time into fixing all the holes made in the transom/topside by the previous owner. Got pictures?

 

[bill11]

Re: fixing dents in aluminum

nice designed boat you have. i'm taking pictures now. i have been dissasembling everything. In my case i intentionally wanted a boat to restore from head to toe. Geting it in the water in a rush isn't what this project is about. I want a painstaking restoration done right with no short cuts. I also have a billion holes that people have added that need to be filled. I have about 4 or 5 rusted screws that i will have to drill out or grind the heads off to get the scews out. thank god for vise grips. so far i have just started. stripped out all the cables and controls == removed floor and foam and cleaned everything. I found 'marine clean' from pour 15 to be a awsome cleaner.Once i'm down to nothing but a empty shell of a boat i will strip or soda blast everything so i can see what i am dealing with in terms of damage. Then the real fun begins i assume. i'm sure many people have been where i am going so any advise is going to be helpfull. thanks bill11