Sheetmetal oil-canning

-
green1

green1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2008
Messages
4,639
Reaction score
61
Location
Orange Park, Fla
The car has been hit in the rear; the rear decklid acts like it is too long side to side. We were thinking about cutting a slit down the center, pushing down and welding it, hoping as the weld cooled and contracted, it would shrink the lid. Anybody done this? or know how to shrink it?
 
hit it with a torch...get it kinda warm then let it cool and repeat until it stops oilcanning.... this ONLY works if the metal is NOT stretched too far (judgement call)...typically you can see where it was stretched that where you put the torch flame ( blue white no O2)...
 
My right fender was oilcanning, they fixed it with repeated heating, as 66cuda described..
 
The car was hit in the rear, that shouldn't stretch the trunk lid...
What work has been done to repair the car? New rear 1/4? New tail panel?
Your post is titled "oil-canning", what are where are you oil canning?
How about a new trunk lid? I've got one in pretty decent shape that could be had reasonable...
C
 
heat it red hot 1 in round then take cold wet dripping rag and apply to hot spot untill cool...repeat as nessary....works for me.....bonehead
 
Thanks guys, it is my buddy's car, we replaced the 1/4's, made metal and repaired the rear at the tail lights, trunk lid good,new trunk floor, replaced the sail panels, but never touched the deck lid, or pressed any parts against it. He said when pulling the rear window out, it was oil-canning, before we started work on it (we cut around it, and left it in place).. Must be from the rear end hit, making the trunk leak, etc (what a mess) from previous owner. Evidently, the rear wracked a little, and from the quality of work the body shop did(holes? metal prep?, nah just slap 1/2" of bondo on it.)
 
It sounds like the 1/4 work was done incorrectly and now the trunk opening is not correct.

Fixing the trunk lid is like kicking your neighbor because your dog farted.
 
If the oil canning is up in the center of the horizontal part It might be missing some of the filler balls between its skin and under structure.
If it doesn't look bad I wouldn't worry about it. I would just stay off of it.
 
OK, I see the malfunction of my term. It is not the trunk lid. It is the rear deck lid between the rear window and trunk lid. It is a 69 Charger.
 
Dutchman panel.. Has very little under strtucture or creases that form and hold its shape. Oil canning there is most likely a kink in the bead where the trunk lid meets it. If you sit the trunk lid there to compare the lines you'll likely see where it needs work. I would think any correction could be done underneath and/or at the seam where the trunk seal sits. Little or no work to the skin itself.
 
Well, we got it down. Tried a big propane torch, like you use to kill weeds with; got better, but still oil-canning, push on one end, other end pop up. Then we slit the deck in 2 places, pushed down, and welded it back up. still......
Then we took a BFH, and beat it down in the center. Good to go now, with some Rave.
 
For the record... A propane torch hits about 800 degrees which isn't hot enough. Happy moparing
 
RedFish said:
For the record... A propane torch hits about 800 degrees which isn't hot enough.
Click to expand...

Well last week on Hawaii Five-O, McGarrett burned thru a thick metal grate in 5 sec using a propane torch. The new show is as campy as the original. In the 60's show, McGarrett once drove off in a 2 door LTD and arrived in a 4 door. Actually, a propane-air flame can reach ~2500 F and can melt steel in some conditions. Many people have melted pots on gas stoves.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top