Switched to a stud welder for a dent on a 2023 F-150, saved me 3 hours of work

I've been doing dent repair the old way for years, hammer and dolly, filler, the whole deal. Had this F-150 come in last week with a big door ding, like 4 inches across. Customer wanted it perfect, no filler. Bought this cheap stud welder off Amazon for $120 just to try it. Pulled that dent out in like 20 minutes. No filler needed, just some light sanding and paint. I was skeptical, thought it was just another gadget, but that thing saved me so much time. Have you guys had good luck with stud welders on modern thin metal?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliver_anderson1mo ago

Pulled that dent out" isn't quite how stud welding works though.

the_drew1mo ago

Yeah I saw a video where this guy explained that stud welding actually works by melting the stud into the panel and using it as a pull point. The dent doesn't really "pop out" from the weld itself, you gotta use a slide hammer or some kind of puller to actually work the metal back into shape. From what I heard, if you just weld and let it cool, all you're doing is burning a hole and making a bigger mess. Your mileage may vary though, I've only done it a couple times on old truck panels and it worked okay. The key seems to be keeping the heat low and short so you don't warp the surrounding metal.