Repairing small Aluminum Dents

So in a recent bout of productive riveting I managed to make a very tiny dent (two actually) due to poor placement of the bucking bar.

I don't have a picture but you can probably imagine what I'm talking about. Ever so slightly held the bucking bar untrue to the skin and this caused it to buck once against the raw skin. Leaving a small outward dent. It's really minor.

But dang it! it bothers me.. haha

So, one suggestion from a fellow that has build planes near me was to just knock a dent the other way and fill it with (I forget the name of the stuff, but its like bondo..)

Is this the best method or has anyone had luck with some other method of removing very small dents?

I suspect you can get it relatively flat, but I do not have expertise in the art of metal shaping. My efforts in that area have never turned out well. I do not know the tricks to avoid shrinking the metal when shaping. With my limited expertise in that area, I would use a hammer and dolley/bucking bar to get the dent pointing inward and fill it.

I did, however, fill a variety of small dents and imperfections. I used a quality polyester filler. I like Rage, but there are others. Bondo is a cheap alternative. It is relatively strong, but harder to work with as it leaves crappy residue on the outer cured surface and adesion doesn't match the premium brands.

The key with aluminum is prep. DO NOT apply bondo or any filler to aluminum without first abrading it and cleaning thoroughly with something like acetone or lacquer thinner.

Some prefer an epoxy / micro finish, but I find the premium polyesters to have good adhesion and easier to mix/apply.

Larry

https://www.tinmantech.com

http://www.covell.biz

Learning about expanding and shrinking metal will help, but definitely practice on a piece of 6 x 6. If you can dent, repair and it still be flat, you are ready to go. These guys are magic with metal. 2024 is not easy to form.

SuperFill works well for minor dent repair. Spruce carries it. Better yet, wait until the entire project is complete as you will probably have a few more by then...

Be careful though with any sort of body filler on control surfaces as it changes their dynamics adversely...

I wouldn't pretend to be a metal worker, & certainly couldn't make that damage flat again. But...

To partially answer the original question, you can transform an 'outie' into an inward dent with some carefully applied pressure. Then it can be filled with one of the other techniques mentioned.

Back it up with a bucking bar and rub the bump back down with a table spoon.

Depending on weather or not the metal is creased, sometimes you can hit the shop head of the rivet with a brass drift and hammer , this may reduce your dent to something you can live with