Aircooled VW South Africa

Hi guys.

My Kombi has a large surface area dent on the roof that I can not simply push out myself and I'm not puttying the whole thing. Can you guys recommend someone trust worthy in the Pretoria or Johannesburg area that will be able to fix this properly for me? Thanks guys.

It looks like a big dent from someone standing on the roof,try using the suction pad from your GPS and pull it out,its worth a try.

Roof dents on a bus are difficult because the metal is now stretched. Even if you push it out, it will have a tendency to pop back every time you hit a bump. You'll need to find someone who is skilled at shrinking sheet metal, or add another roof brace below the dent.

I agree with Fig , im no expert but I do know putting cookies in the gutter beading wil not fix it....

Them are not "Just" cookies,

but are offerings to the dent fairy..........





Herman

Either which way, but the roof liner will have to come out.

Confirm with Barry, but think you can push it out from inside and then have to heat the edge to shrink the metal back in place.

Herman

You might get lucky with the suction cup deal - I can't really tell from the pic, but if the edge of the dent hasn't kinked, the metal may not actually have stretched.

If that doesn't work, or if as Fig suggests it pops back again, you may still be able to repair without damaging paint: Upward/outward pressure (again a suction cup, or else something that pushes up from inside but over a large area) while gently working the edge down (off dolly) with a wood/plastic 'slapper' or other non-marring tool. A layer of masking tape over the area will protect the paint further.

It is easy to go too far/aggressively - often more damage is done to the metal by over zealous (or wrong sequence) dent removal. First rule is always to work backwards, ie apply your forces as closely as possible to directly opposite the direction of impact that caused the damage. Kinks and creases are usually secondary damage, and starting on them can make things worse...

You could try Mike at Cruztomize https://www.facebook.com/CruztomizeKustomSpeedShop

Hi guys, thank you for aal the feedback, highly appreciated.

fig wrote:Roof dents on a bus are difficult because the metal is now stretched. Even if you push it out, it will have a tendency to pop back every time you hit a bump. You'll need to find someone who is skilled at shrinking sheet metal, or add another roof brace below the dent.

Thanks fig, as you say its difficult so thats why I'm not going to attempt the roof repair myself...

splitfan wrote:I agree with Fig , im no expert but I do know putting cookies in the gutter beading wil not fix it....

retrovan wrote:Them are not "Just" cookies,

but are offerings to the dent fairy..........





Herman

The dent is still there so the cookie offering did not do the trick...

retrovan wrote:Either which way, but the roof liner will have to come out.

Confirm with Barry, but think you can push it out from inside and then have to heat the edge to shrink the metal back in place.

Herman

I have just spoken to another car fan and he said the same.

Barry wrote:You might get lucky with the suction cup deal - I can't really tell from the pic, but if the edge of the dent hasn't kinked, the metal may not actually have stretched.

If that doesn't work, or if as Fig suggests it pops back again, you may still be able to repair without damaging paint: Upward/outward pressure (again a suction cup, or else something that pushes up from inside but over a large area) while gently working the edge down (off dolly) with a wood/plastic 'slapper' or other non-marring tool. A layer of masking tape over the area will protect the paint further.

It is easy to go too far/aggressively - often more damage is done to the metal by over zealous (or wrong sequence) dent removal. First rule is always to work backwards, ie apply your forces as closely as possible to directly opposite the direction of impact that caused the damage. Kinks and creases are usually secondary damage, and starting on them can make things worse...

You could try Mike at Cruztomize https://www.facebook.com/CruztomizeKustomSpeedShop

Barry, thanks for the feedback, I will definately pay Mike a visit in January.

Once again thanks to all for the info and help.