Scored one of these at a swap meet a 'few' years ago .....hardly used at all. I now have a readily at hand project 03 Dmax 2500ext cab. Primarily the drivers' side is scheduled for automotive dermatology. What can I expect with this ? Looking for functional(not all beat up) versus show queen BWahahaaaa!!!!!
You can use it to weld studs to steel and then GENTLY pull the sheet metal a bit at a time till you get it close to where you want it. Using studs is particularly handy for places you can't get to the back of the panel. Then depending on your skills you can massage the metal some more with various other tools so you'll use the least amount of filler. They work better on old school thickness sheet metal than on the thin modern stuff (for me at least). I like the glue-on's for thin metal.
While you can grab the studs with vice grips and yank it's much better to use a tool like the one below my bud Jeff (RIP) is shown demonstrating. You'll have more pulling force because of the leverage it provides against the panel and be able to control the pull more effectively. The area where the dent is Jeff was working out is boxed in by the inner wheel well and trunk drop off so no access from behind.
You can also use that stud gun to install new short studs for window trim, moldings, etc. that were used on old cars. Should you need any of the short studs send me a PM and I'll mail ya a few. They're only available by the hundred and most people only need a few.
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Here's how I use them on gas tanks.
Weld studs & pull, keeping in mind that if it's a wide area you may need to work your way out from the middle so you can reach them with a stud puller.
Clip off studs with a side cut plier then grind till low enough for filler.
Fill & block sand.
Epoxy primer then sand and apply whatever top coats you want to use.
Like many things there's more than one "right" way and as an example some folks prefer to epoxy prime before body filler work. I use both methods depending on the job. The tank below was very clean metal and I used an etching filler.
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Wow thanks for these pics ...great results. Where can i get studs and that tool that Jeff is using?
Quick Google search found this. Look on page 2 for pins and puller.
https://www.autobodytoolmart.com/category/auto-body-stud-welder-guns/2
Thanks man....
As much art as science. Dents stretch metal and the metal does not want to return to original shape because it now needs more surface area than before the dent was created.
A stud gun, will, as often as not, stretch the metal even further if you do not know what you are about. This can result in an "oilcan" where you pull the metal back, it looks good, but when you touch it, it "springs" back out of shape. Next chapter is how to shrink metal.
"A stud gun, will, as often as not, stretch the metal even further if you do not know what you are about. This can result in an "oilcan" where you pull the metal back, it looks good, but when you touch it, it "springs" back out of shape. Next chapter is how to shrink metal."
Which thread of yours goes into excruciating detail on this shrinking you speak of?
I dunno NoHome that gas tank looks pretty dang good for the gerlz we go out with.....
In reply to 759NRNG :
Like I said: it is an art. In as much as a stud pull can stretch metal in the hands of the newby , it can also shrink metal if you know what you are doing.
OK, where pray tell do I go to receive such privileged instruction professor?????
In reply to 759NRNG :
Think about it,
If you puch a bowl shape into a flat surface, you must have increased the surface area in order to create the bowl. Right?
You cant just "pull" the larger surface area into the shape of the original panel. At the same time that you are moving the metal back to shape, you have to reduce the surface area to what it was before. Right?
The stud gun can do one of two things depending on who is using it:
It can actually do heat shrinking much like a torch where you heat and cool.
If the stud is pulled too hard, it can stretch the metal into a "pimple" that when hammered flat will add more surface area when hammered flat. ( see also the risk of hammering metal flat since that stretches the metal in itself)
The last few years have taken me away from metal shaping, but it is a lot like drawing were experience, talent and a good eye do the work for you. I am just a hack with a reasonable understanding of what I am trying to do when moving tin, but as you can tell by my project post over the last few years, practice has been lacking.
Pete
If we had a pic of the dent(s) you think you might need to use a puller on we could make recommendations on how to approach the repair. It's actually sort of a rare occasion that a stud gun is needed. Lets say you need to fix a door skin. While it might seem like using a stud gun would be a good idea in most cases it would be better to take off the interior door panel and work the dent out a different way.
As Pete mentioned, depending on the panel and dent, oil canning can occur and metal shrinking might be necessary. This is why I wrote "Then depending on your skills you can massage the metal some more with various other tools so you'll use the least amount of filler.". Since the goal mentioned in the OP was " Looking for functional(not all beat up) versus show queen BWahahaaaa!!!!!" I figured I wouldn't get too in depth in my previous post and just mentioned the basic steps using a stud gun with some pics to give an idea of stud spacing etc. (because we all like pics).
If the work you need to accomplish actually would be best done with a stud gun and you had questions or problems there's plenty of experienced folks here who can assist. Likewise, if you want to learn heat shrinking, metal bumping, slap file use, shrink hammer use, and other techniques there is also plenty of people here who can offer advise. It kinda depends on the level of perfection you'd like to achieve. I know I have to be cautious myself because I can get too focused on trying to make something as perfect as I can when the job doesn't really call for that level of perfection and the time involved to do it. Does that gas tank really NEED to be that nice before color sanding & buffing? Good thing it's for my own car. haha
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