Oil Canning

[Eaglefixer]

On my lower rear panel at the bottom, i have some small dents and i've tried to pull them out with a stud gun. But i have some oil canning. How can i get this to stop. I don't want to put alot of filler in this area because it could crack later down the road. Thanks

[80Camaroman]

When the sheet metal gets to the point where it oil cans, theres nothing you can really do except cut out the old panel and replace it with a new patch panel. The metal is fatigued to the point where it won't hold its original shape anymore. I would not recommend covering it up with an identical panel over top of the damaged panel because that usually looks tacky afterwards. Best to cut out the old with a cutoff wheel, weld in a new patch panel and grind the seam smooth. Hope this helps!

Jim
'80 Berlinetta

[dwright406]

What has happened is the metal has been stretched and is now too "big" for the area it's in because all the edges are solidly mounted. So it has to bow in or pop out. You need to shrink the metal in that area. Several methods of shrinking.

Use the small pick end of your body hammer and make a series of small dings to draw the excess metal up. Then fill the small dents afterwards. This will remove the most stretch for the least amount of work but of course be CAREFUL and keep checking your progress!

Use heat from a torch and heat areas about the size of a 50-cent piece red-hot and then hammer them or quench them with a wet rag. This will relieve small amounts of flex and is pretty safe. Just don’t burn a hole in the panel with the torch! If the panel flex’s very much this method will be very slow. Start where the damage is the worse and make a circular pattern of spots as you work your way out.

There is a special "shrinking" hammer that you can use too. Eastwood sells one if you want to read about it. It has a head that has serrated teeth that rotate with each hammer blow. This twists the surface slightly and draws the surface up tighter.

[rida142]

I think in the heat method you have to a hammer and doly to tap the red quarter sized heated area. i have seen this performed and is works well. you can also you a tip on a stud puller to shrink metal.

[simso]

Theres a cheat method used as well which is quite common on the back nark out the area where it oil cans eg hinge points run a bead of weld on the inside at 4 points 90 deg apart just like a clock and in the same direction as you clock hands, guaranteed no more oil canning, youre still gonna need to do a little bogging
Steve

[mark wagner]

if you still have the stud gun they usually come with a shrinking tip-just a convex blank tip which you use to heat up a small area then quench with water (a wet rag works great)or a torch would of course work-even a propane torch,but it takes longer.just heating and cooling will help,but a little massaging with a hammer works best -quick gentle glancing blows toward the center of the hot spot followed by quenching works best for me.I use a English body bumping hammer(looks like a bent file,which is what it is I suppose)

[Eaglefixer]

Thanks for all the inputs. I'l try the gun sunday