Hello Folks --

Life is good: I am the proud new owner of a '57 Caravanner, a member of the VAC, and I am ready to hit the road with my wife and two kids!

But before I do, there is the matter of trailer restoration...not too much work involved, mind you, just enough to make you really appreciate what a jewel of a trailer you have. I have most of the restoration issues well in hand, except for one: DENT REMOVAL. Does anyone out there have any do-it-yourself techinques for removing dents? For all the info on the Web about Airstreams, there seems to be nothing on this issue. My dent is on the top front, a soft dent across three of the fan-shaped panels. Road warriors out there, please advise. THANKS!

Jon Amores
WBCCI# 2671

By Patrick Ewing on Thursday, May 11, 2000 - 05:08 am:

Jon,

Ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dent removal has been attempted several different ways for different types of dents. Several years ago I received a blow to the left front dome on my 1961 Bambi seven panel. It was big............. it looked ugly.............. I had even recently polished the unit. I was mad............ I was angry............... I was a few other things that we won't discuss here in public. (:

Several questions come to my feeble little mind. First, does the dent have a sharp crease on the edges? Second is does the dent extend into the frame work? (Is the frame behind the skin dented?) Is there a sharp crease in the center on the dent?

My Bambi had none of the above even though it looked very yucko. I was very fortunately able to pull it out with a auto body suction cup. Took about 15 seconds once I had the cup in hand and was positioned on the ladder. One would never know that there was even a little dent yet alone a large one there. I was very pleased with the results. Since then on other units I've successfully used the suction cup on dents. However there are many types of dents that it won't touch as well.

Now if you aren't so fortunate you need to look into other methods. Bud Cooper has taught classes on dent removal. Do you plan on attending this years International? If so you might want to wait and see him before doing anything. Basically one method is to get to it from the inside. You need to be careful in doing this as you don't want to end up with a big mess. If the frame work is bent as well it could get involved.

You say it's a "soft dent." I would try using a suction cup first to see what happens. Remember to dampen it so there will be more grip. You can't hurt anything and there's nothing to lose. Bondo has one available for just several dollars. Usually you have to order it from an automotive store as they don't stock them.

Good luck!

Pat

By Richard A. Larson on Thursday, May 11, 2000 - 05:11 am:

Funny you should mention this, i just pulled two dents out of my Airstream using a very basic tool, the plunger. You want the old style, the kind without an interior bell. It works great, just be patient and don't try to pull the whole dent at once, I started from the sides and worked my way to the middle.

Good Luck,

Olly Larson
99 Durango and 73 Land Yacht

By Deena Marshall on Thursday, May 11, 2000 - 05:12 am:

I second Olly's method - that's how we pullled a very large dent out of a top front panel - the only difference is that we did it with a large suction cup dent puller that I bought for a dollar from the bargain bin at the hardware store. You can't tell the dent was ever there and believe me, it looked bad.

Deena
62 Safari

By Amores911 on Thursday, May 11, 2000 - 05:14 am:

Hey Folks --

After getting much good advice on using suction to remove the dent on the top of my '57 Caravanner, I am sorry to say that I could only achieve a 50% solution. That is, I pulled out half the dent, but the portion along the seam was just too tough -- the seam is too thick to pull up.

So now...I am considering the garden variety body shop approach to dent removal (with tools, pushing it out from underneath, etc.). The big catch to this, besides the cost of course, is that I believe a hole will have to be made in the skin to insert the tools. The questions I have, for anyone who wishes to accept them, are this: 1. Has anyone had experience with a body shop and dent removal (if yes, what happened), and 2. What is the best stuff to use to patch up a small hole in the skin? Thanks for all sage advice on any of these two queries...

Jon Amores

By Steve Hingtgen on Thursday, May 11, 2000 - 05:14 am:

If the hole is small enough, just use a rivet. As for shop work, you might consider going to an Airsream repair facility. It will cost more, but you'll likely get a better result from people who've done it before.

Steve

By POTTERJRP on Thursday, May 11, 2000 - 05:16 am:

Hey Jon, I would think the aluminum would be way softer than steel, when using a dent remover that screws into the metal. It might rip out leaving an UGLY hole. Jere#1877

By Amores911 on Thursday, May 11, 2000 - 05:17 am:

A final update on my dent removal adventure for the '57 Caravanner...

The dent was in the most difficult of places -- across the fan shaped pieces at the top of the trailer. After trying to suction it out with little luck (pulling the dent out of the thick aluminum seam was too tough), I called some repair places. We discussed getting new aluminum panels and replacing them, or coming from the inside and pounding out the dent, etc., all of which would take time and money. And then...

Earl Scheib to the rescue! I have a friend who runs our local Earl Scheib franchise. I drove the trailer by, and he took a dent puller and popped that sucker out in 30 seconds. It looks nearly new (if you really stare at it you can see one small wave). Amazing! The only sign of the repair was a very, very small hole, which was made on the seam and patched with silver epoxy so as to make it practically invisible.

Now, I grant you, this may not be an Authorized Airstream Solution, and I don't want to offend purists out there, but for those of you who need a cheap, effective fix this can at least be an option. Happy trailering!

Jon Amores