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Chapter 8 Nonstructural Panel Repair
with a slide hammer or a T-puller. This method is fast
and effective. However, it is easy to pull the metal too
far, creating a high spot. The high spot will be work hard-
ened and difficult to lower.
If the draw pin welder’s trigger is held down too
long, the pin will be welded deep into the metal. This
may make the pin weld so strong and the surrounding
metal so weak that when the pin is pulled, the metal
surrounding the weld will break. When this occurs, the
hole must be filled. A MIG welder can be used to fill the
hole. After filling, the built-up weld is then ground flush.
Another way to fill the hole is to use waterproof filler. The
filler can be applied to the low area, filling the hole from
the outside of the panel. The filler can also be applied
from the back side of the panel. If the hole is accessible
from the back side of the panel, remove the paint from
the back of the panel. Then apply filler to the back side
to bridge the hole. With either filler method, the back
side of the repair should be sprayed with epoxy primer
and rust proofing.
If a crease must be raised, several draw pins can
be welded close together along the crease. A gang
clamp can then be used to grab onto the pins, as shown
in Figure 8-28. The clamp can be pulled with a slide
hammer or a come-along. After the damage has been
raised, the pins are removed by clipping them with
side cutters and then grinding off the remaining heads.
Instead of pins, washers can be welded to the panel and
then pulled. W-shaped wire can also be welded onto a
panel. The W-shaped wire can be welded to a body line
or a crease. The wire is then raised with a claw handle.
See Figure 8-29. For greater pulling power, a 10-pound
slide hammer can be attached to the claw handle.
A damaged body line can be raised with a body
chisel. This requires access to the back of the panel.
The chisel face, if sharp, should be covered with
masking tape. This will prevent it from cutting into the
metal. To raise the body line, simply find the lowest
point, place the chisel on it, and hit the chisel with a ball
peen hammer. A body line is a strong area. A damaged
body line is even stronger. Light blows will probably not
move the body line enough to make a difference. Hard
blows are generally needed to move a damaged body
line. As you move the body line, check the progress on
the outside of the panel. If arrowheads are present in
the metal above and below the body line, they can be
released once the body line has been roughed out.
Draw pins
Figure 8-27. Draw pins are welded to this panel to
raise a low area.
Clamp
Figure 8-28. Several draw pins can be raised at one
time with this clamp.
W-shaped wire
Hook-type puller
Figure 8-29. W-shaped wire can be welded in a
gouge. The wire is then pulled to raise the damage.