English Wheelman

So I have a couple of days free and started paste waxing the bus...PITA. That being said, I have a couple of insignificant to others, major to me, dents in the rub rails; looks like I was whacked by a door of an automobile. Quick call to Prevost and then to IBP and discovered that I could probably live with them however I know that someone who is good sith an English Wheel could knock one of the rails out in short order.

So the question is.....who is a good wheel man that does this kind of thing. Thanks in advance......

Dented up, beat up old CC with a clear plastic shield :D

John, I hope Harry will chime in here also, but dents in stainless that have not stretched the metal too bad are fairly easy to work out.

Place the rub rail on a flat heavy steel surface. I deally you can borrow a body man's bucking blocks, but a good heavy hammer used carefully can do the job also. Tap the dent from the back side making certain the rub rail is flat on the hard steel surface. Get it as smooth as possbile by tapping, or if you have a heavy piece of steel (1" thick or more) placed on the dent and used between the hammer and the dent.

When the dent is as flat as you can make it, start sanding to blend it smooth. Depending on how smooth you were able to flattent the rub rail will dictate what grit to start with. If you got is pretty good 240, or better yet 320 is a good start. Work out progressively with finer grits. I work up to about 1500 at which point a buffing with white rouge brings the finish up to the level of the original mirror polish.

Be careful about contact with steel. Stainless picks up the steel and will rust when it does. So you want to minimize the contact area and limit it to the area smaller than what you will be sanding.

Stainless is actually very forgiving and after you do a piece or two you will have the confidence to use the same techiques to remove scratches or larger dents. If the metal has been stretched significantly there are tricks, such as using a die grinder with an abrasive cut off wheel to cut a kerf, and then to TIG weld a bead through the kerf. When the weld shrinks it draws the metal tighter and it is a good technique to pull a depression out of a part. That kind of repair is usually done by skilled craftsmen, but with practice is not beyond the reach of the average guy with a MIG welder.

Jon: What is the name of the white rouge you mentioned above and where do you get it? Thanks Ed

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Originally Posted by edsaylor

Jon: What is the name of the white rouge you mentioned above and where do you get it? Thanks Ed

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Jon nailed the remedy real well. Remember no steel wool or wire brushing the stainless. White buffing rough can be had in small quantity at Harbor Freight. An English wheel is used primarily to stretch metal, Not a good choice if you want the part flat when finished. To make your repair a press brake or even a bearing press can be used for small dents. Use a base flat platten and a flat upper die to push with. A hammer and flat backup dolly as Jon suggested works well also. Don't get too agressive with the sander. You don't want to overheat the metal and turn it blue. If it does discolor from heat, let cool and further sandeing or buffing will remove the color. If anyone is interested in doing this, git a hold of some old stainless parts and have fun practicing. Most trim strips on the 1950 and older cars was stainless steel. Most Industrial Sheet Metal shops have scrap bins of SS or discarded SS equipment. If asked they will usually give you some. It has scrap value so don't overdue what you take. They also have the ability to do the work for you if you feel it's too large and or requires welding.

Harry,

Thanks for the advice, I'll take them to a sheet metal guy and have them pressed out....the sanding and polishing I can do but I am a little reluctant to beat on the metal. I talked to a couple of auto body shops and unless it can be filled with putty and painted, they don't know how to do it!

Try WWW.swmetal.com for wheels and compounds

Ed, There are various rouges available and the color is an indicator of its intended purpose such as for "cutting" or "coloring". Some colors are for specific metals or are agressive.

White rouge is a pretty universal compound for the final polish on stainless or aluminum.

I think if you google polishing compounds some of the sites will list the colors and the most common uses for the different colors and they primarily relate to the grit. I use the whitel compound in stick form. I spin the buffing pad and load it by pressing the rouge or compound stick against it. Then I buff or polish my wheels or any metal I want to shine, like my slack adjusters. (Just kidding about the slack adjusters. I actually have a guy come in to do them.:D

OK...so I pulls the rub rail off under the drivers door (if there was one) and to my surprise, that piece was heavy gauge steel.....not some little stainless thin gauge. So, someone really has to whack it to get a dent, certainly was not a car door.

My dent was located directly behind one of the mounts. Cut the mount off and beat out the dent with body tools so ther would be no indentations. Tacked the mount back on and began sanding...hours ago. This project takes time, lots of it. Tried Jons advice with the 360 and after an hour resorted to 80 grit. Finally got it smoothe and then decreased the grit till I finished the job with 2000. These would be tough to press out unless one had a very small brake, as Harry suggested a bearing press might do the job....nevertheless, there is a big sanding and polishing job to finish this project off.

John, while polishing constantly be looking at the other polished metal nearby and match to it. You don't want to over polish and have the repaired area stand out.

JIM