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Tips To Help You Complete Vehicle Body Dent Pulling With A Stud Welder Gun

21 June 2017

Viivi Kumpula

Having your vehicle's body damaged in a collision means you should get it repaired as soon as possible to prevent rusting and corrosion to the metal. You can take your vehicle to a local auto body repair shop, or do some or all the work yourself. Here are some tips to help you complete the repairs using a stud welder gun.

Prepare the Vehicle Body

To use a stud welder gun for pulling dents from your vehicle's body, you will first need to prepare the vehicle body for the repairs. Use a sander to remove the paint and primer from the dented area on your vehicle. A stud welder gun creates a weld with an electrical current when the metal nose of the stud welder connects to the metal on your vehicle body, making it necessary to remove the paint to expose the vehicle's bare metal so you can weld the pins, or studs, to the area.

Use an orbital sander with medium grit sand paper to remove large areas of paint on your vehicle's area of damage. Use a dremel sander bit to remove any paint and primer from any deep crevices.

Complete Your Own Stud Welding

Now you can weld the studs onto the metal dents in your vehicle's body. Place a stud into the nozzle of your stud welder gun, so the end of the stud protrudes from the end of the gun. Each metal pin is approximately 1 1/2-inch in length, so it will extend out the end of the gun when it is properly placed.

Press the nozzle of the gun onto a dented area of your vehicle, pull the trigger and push in the nozzle until it connects with the vehicle, holding it only for one to two seconds to create the weld with the pin. Making a connection longer than just a second or two will cause the metal of your body to melt and cause further damage. Release the gun from the pin and repeat the process until you have pins positioned over the dented area on your vehicle's body, with the studs approximately an inch apart from one another. Let the metal cool before you proceed to pulling on the pins.

Pull With a Proper Technique

After you have welded all the necessary pins to pull out your vehicle's dent and allowed them to cool, use the pins and a slide hammer or a body hammer to maneuver and bend the metal into its proper position. It is recommended to work from the outside of the damage first, then work your way into the middle of the dent. This allows the metal to move back into its original place in the opposite order it became damaged. For example, smooth and repair the indirect damage on the dent first, then work to the direct damage in the dent to repair it last.

Don't force the metal to move back into place, but roll the metal as you pull it outward. This will smooth the dent without stretching the metal. Pull outward the pins positioned inside a dent and tap down on the tips of any pins positioned on a high spot on the dent.

Smooth and Finish the Body

After pulling out the dents and restoring your vehicle's body to its original form, use wire cutters to snip the pins from your vehicle. Then, use a grinder to file off the remaining nubs from the pins. 

When a vehicle has been dented and repaired, the body of the vehicle can still have some slight crinkling on the surface. Apply an auto body filler over any of these rough sections, using the plastic smoothing applicator to press it and smooth it onto the vehicle's damaged area. When the auto body filler has dried, use a fine grit sandpaper to smooth it to match the surrounding body of your vehicle. 

Your vehicle is now ready to be primed and painted for a restored look. If you're concerned about doing intensive dent removal, don't hesitate to contact an auto body shop like Custom Kar Tops to ensure your vehicle gets restored to pristine condition.

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