How would you fix this quarter panel?

[NorCal_mike]

How would you guys tackle this dent below? If i can avoid quarter replacement as i’d like to keep it in original paint.

Would it better to use a stud dent puller or try and bump from inside trunk compartment?

 

[rklein71]

Whatever you do, the paint is not going to fair well...

 

[NorCal_mike]

Whatever you do, the paint is not going to fair well...

yeah i get that i will
have to grind and prime but my goal is to keep the patina and originality.

 

[budascuda]

yeah i get that i will
have to grind and prime but my goal is to keep the patina and originality.

Well, fender replacement is out of the question then.
Use studs to correct the shape of the back corner then bump out the side dent from inside the trunk compartment, it's really not that bad.

 

[gzig5]

The seams are going to be challenging to get straight because the contours provides stiffness. Look up the Wheeler Dealer episode where they did the Ferrari 308 GT4. It had similar problem on the same corner and it shows how he pulled it out. I don't have access to fancy tools so I had to do it the backyard way on my front fender. Tack the plate on, pull, grind it off, tack it back on to the next area, and repeat. Worked very well. You need something that isn't going to move to anchor the puller. I had a heavy welding table but a tow hitch on the truck could work well too.

 

[NorCal_mike]

This is super helpful. Particularly the episode from Wheeler Dealer.

 

[gzig5]

I was afraid of it tearing out the welds but it held on fine. Several good tacks to spread out the load as much as you can. If you have a helper pull and you can access the inside with a bar/chisel/rod, I bet you could reform that end pretty well.

 

[BSG]

It would be worth your while to have a real body shop repair that and at least have them do the rough pulls. If you end up ripping the quarter where all those body lines are it would turn a fairly easy repair done by someone that does this for a living? or it can easily become a hack job if not done correctly. I run a late model collision center and that would fall into the 12-15 hrs on an estimate. Our labor rate are suppressed due to being so close to the border 55-60 an hr not sure what your market is charging?

 

[budascuda]

It would be worth your while to have a real body shop repair that and at least have them do the rough pulls. If you end up ripping the quarter where all those body lines are it would turn a fairly easy repair done by someone that does this for a living? or it can easily become a hack job if not done correctly. I run a late model collision center and that would fall into the 12-15 hrs on an estimate. Our labor rate are suppressed due to being so close to the border 55-60 an hr not sure what your market is charging?

That my good man, has been the best advice so far.
If you look at something and not sure how to deal with it, and at the same time can't afford to butcher the job so that you can learn from it THEN, you gotta let a good shop or a professional bodyman to do the deed.

 

[340challconvert]

I would have to agree with the posters that suggest getting a professional with the right equipment handle that quarter.

It is a complicated area of the body with many natural crevices and style lines. It would be too easy to screw up unless you were highly experienced and had the right equipment. You do not want to rip the metal.

I am no body man, but I do know that dents are typically removed by reversing the dent from the direction of the original damage. That would have to be pulled from the rear of the damage, not the side; then deal with the fine tuning.
Good luck with what you decide!

 

[budascuda]

I would have to agree with the posters that suggest getting a professional with the right equipment handle that quarter.

It is a complicated area of the body with many natural crevices and style lines. It would be too easy to screw up unless you were highly experienced and had the right equipment. You do not want to rip the metal.

I am no body man, but I do know that dents are typically removed by reversing the dent from the direction of the original damage. That would have to be pulled from the rear of the damage, not the side; then deal with the fine tuning.
Good luck with what you decide!
View attachment 61946

And that is called the "Fairmont Method"
Many, many men have been down it's path, many...
But only a few can grasp the subtleties.
The old bodymen know ,God bless their souls...