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Dangit! Now what

jswareiv

Well Known Member
I was riveting the Outboard Leading Edge and dropped the tungsten bucking bar. Any suggestions of getting this ding straightened out? Or start over...:mad:
jkgj1y.jpg
 
Happens to most of us, hard to avoid. You can work it out and it's not important if you plan to paint. If your intentions are to polish, then a professional here on the forums may want to help.

I ended up wrapping my bucking bars in tape and foam. I also did the same to my heavy tools like wrenches. Finally, I padded all the surfaces under my work with what ever was handy, carpet, foam, old blanket, etc. Still have dents. Just don't tell anyone where to look!
 
Painting

I will be painting, but would like to get it straightened out as much as possible. Unfortunately, it's on the top of the skin, not the bottom. After I did that, I started putting rags in the bottom in case I dropped something else.
 
Had the same thing happen to me on the horizontal stab. Dropped the tungsten bucking bar and it put two dings in the skin. One on top and one on the bottom. A matched pair!

It's just one of those things for me. Not going to worry about it.

There are going to be things like this on every airplane. On my Sonex, when I show off the airplane I like to show off the goofs. There aren't that many and they make for nice stories about building.
 
all i did was took a hammer and beat the dent below the surface spot puddy sanded, painted. had 3 of them over 7 yrs of building, flies great and no one has ever seen them!! do it and build on. you'll have more!
 
How about taping some sort of lanyard to the end of the bucking bar that is able to sinch up to your wrist? Something like say...

images.jpg


Obiously if you're very close to the skin, a dropped bar could still hit, but for longer drops, this may give some piece of mind.
 
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Hammer

Put a metal backer/ bucking bar behind and hit
The dent back to flush. One firm tap may do it.
If your painting, won't matter with a tiny bit of filler.
 
Leave it alone

If your going to take it to a good RV painter, they will take care of it for you. You'll never know it was there.
 
Look up "painless dent removal" on youtube. You can see some techniques that you may be able to use and work it down. DONT smack it with a hammer!

Here is one I liked. Note the striped light source for providing a reflection to see the motion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e1B0qJDEbs

Good luck, if you can get to the back of it, but you may not need too. Just make sure the tool you use is mirrored surface to avoid scratches.

Let us know if you master this technique!
 
Bump in the road with wing Blem

Ether you or a body fender friend can tap this it least in then JB weld smooth then small amount of bondo and sand smooth - you'll never see it when painted.
 
I probably wouldn't use a hammer - it might wind up looking worse.

I thought I saw threads here where someone used tools they use on music instruments to take out dents. IIRC - some you tube pieces available - the tools are very expensive - you probably want to find a way to borrow them, if possible.

Dan
 
This may be a longshot, but I have seen the paintless auto repair guys work majic on door dings to the point you can't even see they were there. They have the tools, and hopefully the skills, to work the dent and shrink the metal. It may cost a $100, but perhaps worth having someone stop by and take a look. They may show you the basics so if it happens again, you can give it a shot yourself.


This is the way to go.

Some years ago I pushed my Cessna into the hangar door, leaving a nice dent in the leading edge. I got a local body-shop guy to come out and he fixed it so I can't tell where the ding was, and this is an unpainted airplane wing. He put a round bar inside, pressing on it, while gently, very gently tapping the outside with a light hammer, I think a "planishing" hammer. Took him half an hour of careful work.

Dave
 
Repair

Great advice from everyone. Thanks. I took it to a dent removal place and for him the dent was backwards to how he normally does repairs. He said he couldn't do it. I am going to have it painted at some point, so I'll probably have them try to fix it. The YouTube video was really cool, that guy is very skilled. Thank you everyone on your advice. Proseal on the tanks is next, yuk!
 
undulation

Use a shot bag on the inside and tap the bump with a smooth face slightly con-vexed hammer, start slow, shouldn't take to much to reduce or eliminate the bump totally. Don't use a bucking bar on the inside it will just smash the skin between the bar and the hammer and spread the metal making it worse. Ever seen what happens when you slip off a rivet with the gun and hit the skin with a bucking bar behind the skin? Good luck, it's not that bad.

RT
 
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