Kirkham University Aluminum Fender Dent Repair

[@MurphyAM]

Am I the only one who finds it awesome that the president of this company just did 3000$ worth of repairs, while making a video to show it to the world? Kudos to you mr Kirkham for being a master of your craft

[@Manuel11756]

I do bodywork & paint for a living & some people call me a craftsman but after seeing your work you're the God of all craftsmans

[@briangalpin529]

Probably the single most instructive KZbin item I've ever watched. Need to fix some small dents in my Lancia but was nervous about applying the heat.

[@lancewatt8514]

That’s fucking unbelievable! If you look at the very first part of the clip and you skip to the very end...It’s mind boggling. It’s like there’s just no way it’s the same fender, but I guess when you have a fleet of multi-million dollar cars in the background, there’s a reason multi-millionaires bring their broken toys to this gentleman. Much respect.

[@patallen5095]

That is incredible!! The beauty of aluminum and the craftsmanship required. I think the Polish Craftsmen at the factory would give you a big thumbs up!!

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Thanks!

[@ednofelipevieira1456]

Trabalho magnifico ❤

[@revelmedia1]

Couldn't stop watching I was glued you are the KING of aluminum repair. Refreshing when someone so skilled shares his craft. Thanks Highest Regards, Anthony

[@bradenmitchell976]

Incredible craftsmanship. If i didnt watch the whole repair, i wouldnt have belived it could be done. Unreal work 👏👏👏

[@AMStationEngineer]

My family started in the auto body business in 1926, in Chester County, PA. They retired in 2006, opting to allow the business to "die silently", rather than allow someone to purchase the name, and not be able to carry on the tradition of craftsmanship they were known for - for nearly 81 years. My uncle once complained that "his staff is slacking, we used almost two gallons of body filler this year", that year was 1981, when Ford began using lighter alloys in the construction of some of their vehicles (Escort, and the new Ranger Pickups). That metal did not lend itself to being "worked", and crystallized at the very moment a torch got near it (for shrinking). Geez, did this video bring back great memories! Mr. Kirkham, you are a true craftsman!

[@wulliethedent]

stunning. watched it loads of times now. I still get amazed by it.

[@OHUQTU]

Nice video! ... not mentioned is that a gloved hand is much better than a bare hand for feeling dents. I have never worked with automotive aluminum, but we always used a gloved hand for estimates and repairs on steel auto panels. Of course, aluminum is so "dirty", gloves are required! Also, it was a good example that you were wearing ear protection during hammering, which can cause hearing damage.

[@TheAvidflier]

I'm rebuilding a '75 land rover and wanted the polished aluminium look. It has a few off road battle scars that I was told these dents could not repaired and needed to be filled. Compared to the dent you have repaired, these are tiny by comparison. Of course you, as a master craftsmen, have made it look easy. After annealing, the secret seems to be "slowly and gently" I'm going to try it on a "scrap" fender for practice first. If my numbers come up in the Lotto, I'll be placing an order for a 427 street; your cars are awesome!. Thank you for posting this video.

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Patience is the key. Just go slowly and you will be amazed at what you can accomplish.

[@stevelaporta5791]

Grant Stewart i have a 1972 series 3. i am doing the same thing -- going for the airplane/airstream aluminum and rivet look. wonderful video!

[@oldcelloman]

David, I love your commentary. One major thing I can not remember seeing anyone else make a point of. You do what I do on high-end solid surface countertops (high density 2x Corian) Earthstone by Wilson Art. I go all the way up to 400 grit or more on the whole surface and make it all into a mirror with the 11. 5 inch Gem random-orbit sander. Then I take it back down to 220 scotch pad satin. When done up close it looks like a nice satin finish that owner/user can use a 3M pad to scuff out any nicks as needed for maintenance. But if someone walks into the final installation and sees it from say 20 ft away (low angle of viewpoint) it looks like a polished mirror finish that you can use to shave or put on your eye makeup as you choose. Always go at least two preferably 4 finer steps in sanding polishing and then go back to the goal finish level. I have had antique boats I have restored get points taken off for putting epoxy on instead of varnish. I then put together a binder showing the steps to get to that finish. Same thing as a luthier on my cellos I make it is not boat varnish or epoxy it is regular traditional violin varnish. But every two coats I take it down with a semi-stiff felt pad and rottenstone till the whole instrument satin then I polish it to a mirror and then cut it back with 220 or 320 and put another two or three coats of varnish on. I repeat and repeat until I get the proper thickness of varnish. On the boats and counters and instruments, the mirror is multiple layers of mirror finish reflections that are quite dramatic to look into. So my big high five to you.

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Thanks! I have always wondered about wood finishes.

[@drfoo4341]

I was a body man for 27 years and used to do lead work with the torch this was very similar to that enjoyed your video.

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Thanks!

[@scottfleming1479]

Thanks David, Your aluminum dent repair video is one of the coolest body works videos I've ever seen. I'm currently polishing an aluminum horse trailer that has a few big dents in it; looking forward to implementing much of what I learned in your video. Thanks again for sharing this valuable information! Scott Fleming Fleming's Auto Detail

[@soside619]

I do sheet metal minor/major repair/mods on aircraft myself. This took a lot of patience and thinking ahead! Awesome job! 👍👍👍

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Thanks!

[@iiu212]

That is beautiful. Thank you for sharing. My favorite part is when your in the office high back chair hammering away!

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Glad you liked it :) You can do about anything if you try hard enough.

[@gilb0656]

Awesome work. I do aluminum dent repair for an airplane company here in the pacific northwest. Let me just say that, that was an amazing job...unbelievable!

[@stevoschannel4127]

Wow always kind of figured kirkam as more of a patron than a craftsman, wow big talent there! Respect

[@仝紳士な変態仝]

That's really cool technology! "It's a craftsmanship that requires sensibility, high technology, and many years of experience that can't be done with machines." Please bring your car back to life with great technology.

[@1st_track_dents]

Amazing work, Aluminum is not an easy metal to work with, well done!

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Thank you! We try to make them as often as we can, but sadly I haven't been able to make any lately. We are too backed up with orders right now.

[@mikethemechanic2700]

This is the most incredible video I have seen. My goodness, you are incredibly talented. Remember me, one day I plan to buy one of these Shelby's. I've been following your business for some time now. All the best, you deserve it!!!

[@rogersanders1276]

If you want to test how good any kind of demo video is, watch it with the sound turned off and if the video actually happens to be good you'll get (understand) what's being shown purely through vision, particularly as "a picture paints a thousand words". It's what I've done with this demo videdo, and I've got it (learned), so 10/10 for this production... and, many thanks.

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

+Roger Sanders Thanks for the kind words :)

[@jdubb5394]

That's some cold blooded aluminum work ⚒ right there. We are getting into more aluminum body work at my body shop right now and this video was very informational appreciate your time.

[@TimmyC079]

Does the annealed condition affect the strength of the area? Amazing skill, thanks for the vid!

[@rojasray]

One of the more satisfyingly entertaining and informative videos on KZbin I’ve ever seen. Mr. Kirkham, I hope to own one of your Cobras someday before I leave this planet.

[@JYDOG]

Thanks for sharing this knowledge and skill with the world and showing what is possible. Your comments here are just as important as the video. I can't wait to try this out. Here are my cliff notes for anyone who may be interested: Bulls eye pick Martin hammer Pferd body files I have used a lot of flames on metal in my life and I would never take a flame to painted aluminum. You will have to carefully massage the dent back out from the outside in. Remember, "first in--last out." Imagine the dent actually happening in slow motion. The LAST thing that was dented is the FIRST thing to work back out. It can be done with skill and patience--lot of patience. We take off very little. Maybe 0.010" 0.059" You will have a real challenge with 0.025" or 0.032" Our bodies Poland are made from 1.5mm aluminum. The alloy is an old Soviet aircraft alloy that has no corresponding equivalent in the US. It is much harder than 3003. For our Coupes we are making the body from 3003. For highly formed panels, we use 3003 H0 and 3003 H14 for panels that don't need much shape. I have never seen anyone (including Ferrari) make panels from 0.016-0.020 WOW! That is thin! Original Cobras were made from 0.050" 1100-0 aluminum. It is only at the very end of the straightening that I am hammering "on dolly." I try to do as much "off dolly" work as possible to avoid stretching the panel. My mother always said, "Service is the rent we pay for the air we breathe." There was an enormous amount of time planishing all the little dings out before filing.

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Thanks for posting that!

[@stillbashingmetal]

Very impressive skills you have there. Thanks for showing how you do it, it was interesting to watch.

[@kslinthesand]

Thank you for posting this, I'm rebuilding my 1960 88 inch and it's impossible to find video's on this. I'm pretty sure my finished job won't be a scratch on yours but I have a rough idea what I'm doing now. Cheers.

[@paulsnow2347]

David, your skills are inspirational and show what can be achieved with patience and application. The acetylene soot annealing was a new one on me. World-class repair by a world-class artisan. Thank you very much for sharing this.

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Thanks!

[@domenicomonteleone3055]

@@KirkhamMotorsports1 amzing work you do Top Quality workmanship respect back to you David Kirkham i follow you 💯 from 🇨🇦 #YSW

[@mdjones2112]

I was looking for something else but I just had to see this. I've never done body work before and I'm sure it takes a ton of time to perfect the art and you've done a fantastic job.

[@ToyManTelevision]

David you blow my mind!!! I’d love to get back down there and shoot a follow up show. What’s it been like 6 years? More? Like my wife to see your operation as well. Amazing repair!!! Mind=blown.

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

It has been a long time! We have moved across town to a much bigger building. You are always welcome to stop in!

[@ToyManTelevision]

Hi. Yes we came by. Sort of. We were there looking at the Big Boy and saw the new place! Closed as it was the weekend but love to take you up on the offer.

[@xnbk-yotiex5247]

Very talented work. Awesome job. If I ever hit the lottery, I would love to own one of these cars.

[@kitcarnut]

Beautiful repair David, your a very patient man. Your cars are the best and I can see why! I appreciate your efforts :)

[@elnafinn]

Bloody fantastic There is a man with a lot of skill

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Thanks for the kind note. I was fortunate to learn the art from a gentleman in his twilight years who worked for Rolls Royce before WWII. The repair was about 30 hours total. However...There was an enormous amount of time planishing all the little dings out before filing. Also, many hours were spent sanding all the little file marks and coarser sanding marks out of the body with successive grits to eliminate any hint of the coarser grits.

[@maddoxinc1642]

This is truly craftsmanship. Great job! The only other car that I can think of that requires this sort of skill is the DeLorean.

[@eldigitom9680]

fantastic video! still very relevant almost 8 yrs. later

[@superdonkeyballs]

That is some serious labor of love. That dent made me want to cry.

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

What kind of car is it? What material? How large is the dent? Where is it? There are a lot of variables in fixing a dent. There are great body shops who can make dents disappear and there are some lousy ones. Blending paint is very difficult--especially if it is a pearl. Generally, but not always, you pay for what you get with body shops. Happy to help :)

[@522design]

Very nice work!!!!!! I work with aluminum a lot and I can appreciate good craftsman ! Your cars are not to shabby either!

[@adamnewton4348]

Amazing repair! Nicely explained while the work was carried out also.....Thanks!

[@earlcousins6635]

A pleasure to watch a craftsman at work.

[@billblue58]

glad I clicked on this. Big respect for the skill and patience!

[@roynash]

I learned a lot from this. Was wondering why you didn't anneal the work again once or twice to make the work easier and also to prevent cracking. Seems that much hammering/working the aluminum would have made it real hard and brittle. Thanks.

[@intheMixup]

thank you for sharing your knowledge with the little guy. we need more cool people like you in this world. hopefully you'll make more videos in the future. God bless you!

[@stevejanka361]

Wow, this is not your first rodeo. That looks great. I would have thought panel replacement. Thanks for a great video.

[@wulliethedent]

This is quite simply a work of art and beautiful to watch.

[@wulliethedent]

They ire simply. This is a work of art and truly beautiful to watch.

[@chriss4191]

True craftsman - That is how you do body work - lot art form !!!! - EXCELLENT - Major Kudos

[@sevenjohn9565]

I would have believed it if I didn't see it excellent repair Professor.

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Thanks! I hope to do more videos soon :)

[@quellasexyy]

just what i was looking for. i need to get a dent out of my car and it's not nearly as bad as that one was lol but that was perfect. thanks for posting !! i'm def gonna try that out. i never thought to hold something on the other side as you hit the dent from the inside lol

[@chuckarama451]

Wow. Beautiful! That turned out way better than the bondo I would have used. Well done!

[@arturkolacz9422]

David this was amassing presentation.........best regards, Artur, Dallas TX

[@itempany]

Great workmanship shown....and patience. Might have to sell my Fibreglass cobra and get a Kirkham.....They look great!

[@sitaylor3085]

Hi im a coachbuilder from the uk and work with aluminium alot and was wondering what the tool you were using to raise the low spots whilst filing is called? Im a 10 year vet and can honestly say ive never seen one before. Thanks

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Bullseye pick. You can get them from Eastwood or you can just make one yourself. Just Google Bullseye pick. Thanks for watching :)

[@craigkucing9779]

I love watching a magician explain his craft.

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Thank you!

[@antoniodelacruz7333]

Amazing workmanship & talent. Excellent!

[@flatpikkr]

That is great work, David, thanks for sharing. I started metal finishing around 1970. You do good work. A couple of questions. First, if the initial hammering causes severe work hardening is it possible to anneal the aluminum, again. Secondly, I am curious as to how many hours that took you. Thanks again.

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Aluminum can be annealed many times. If the ding is really bad we will anneal it around 3 times as we pull the ding out.

[@rickrichard01]

Very nice. Was wondering however, you began by annealing the metal, was it tempered again after the shape was achieved?

[@fxpestoperator5527]

Just Absolutely Incredible!!! Beautiful work!!!!!! Do you have to do anything to make the Aluminum hard again? I see you had to heat it to soften at first.

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Honestreview When you straighten it you work harden the aluminum again.

[@jryer1]

Remarkable work, lots of patience and passion.

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

I absolutely love what I do. I love coming to work! Thanks :)

[@marhar2]

That is amazing work. Hats off to Kahn Academy for inspiring you to share!

[@avadhon1]

Wow. That was a fantastic job, glad I watched that. No more fear of owning an A8

[@GnarlsFarls]

that is beautiful work. most body shops don't have the skill and patiences to achieve this

[@LB6060]

I was skeptical it was possible, but wow, that's really beautiful. Great work.

[@GregsGarage]

Great vid man. Top shelf repair. Thanks for taking the time to show us how you do it.

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

@creo43, Thanks for the kind note. I was fortunate to learn the art from a gentleman in his twilight years who worked for Rolls Royce before WWII. The repair was about 30 hours total. However...

[@PeteLamb]

If I hadn't watched and seen it with my own eyes, I would have said it's impossible to get it back to that original shape with just simple hand tools. Wow!

[@tomthompson7400]

Fantastic result , how long did that take in all ?

[@dimik3855]

Thx dk from another dk! I see it requires a methodology and patience, and gives me inspiration to repair the alum bodywork on my Aston Martin. What I'm wondering is: doesn't all that shaping stretch the metal?

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Yes, the metal does stretch. It also shrinks a bit when you straighten it. If you are very careful you can lose the stretch as you blend it back into the non-damaged part of the body.

[@groovyUtube]

Question, is there a problem with growing the aluminum when you hammering on it against a dolly? Can the finished panel end up larger than the other side. Excellent work by the way.

[@pezzonovante888]

Beautifully done. Personally, I'd rather have a Kirkham than an original Shelby car - better made. Also, it seems like a great organization. Nice work, and keep 'em comin'!

[@petersneddon1579]

Practice really does make perfect, next level skill my man.

[@FullTimeRCer]

True artistry. Nice work and great patience. Your explanations are very easy to follow.

[@charvakkarpe]

I assume the annealing releases the stresses in the aluminum so that it doesn't break as it bends back. Would it make sense to anneal it once more after straightening, so it doesn't crack in the next accident? Or do you just hope it doesn't get hit again in the same place?

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

@marzolian, I'm glad you liked the video. Thank you so very much for the suggestion! I will keep that in mind for future videos.

[@muhammadtahirkhan1860]

Hi David u did a fantastic work . I need a tool u r using in this video for very small dent how can I get this?

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

We made it. You can also buy them at www.eastwood.com

[@johnegan4056]

Wow what an awesome job I hope I can do work this well one day! How many hours did this take you?

[@maceccollins1750]

That is some great work. How much time was required to do the total repair?

[@newenglandfishkeeper2105]

amazing,,,alum is fun to work with cause every time you hit it and heat it the molecules scatter making it soft and easier to form after about a month the alum goes back to its intended hardness all by its self remarkable really.. great job thank you for showing your work.

[@jfarrau]

I think you have to quench the alum to get the aging effect that makes it harder.... also depends on the alloy

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Thank you and Jose for your comments. Hardening aluminum is a bit tricky to understand. Generally speaking, there are two categories of aluminum--those that are heat treatable and those that are not. The aluminum we use for our bodies is not heat treatable. With the heat treatable alloys, Jose is correct--the aluminum needs to be brought up to a certain temperature and then quenched. After quenching, the aluminum is then aged to harden it. Aging can be accelerated by heating it up (to a temperature below the quenching temperature). Aluminum is a magical metal.

[@Henrique-rd4em]

@@KirkhamMotorsports1 I am a repairman in Brazil, where aluminum bodies are still rare, but the question is, how do you know if an aluminum has been treated for heat or not?

[@BarnesysBuilds]

Awesome work, any tips for when your working on the front of the 1/4 panel where access is limited from the inside?

[@jstephenallington8431]

That is amazing work on that panel, I wish I was even close to being that good!

[@GamingProductionsHD1]

amazing job on that aluminum, i wanted to know how to do this for my car but i can see it will take a few days to do. Any tips for doing a pretty good dent on the door panel and quarter panel

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Patience. Don't go too fast. Just ease the dent out.

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Thank you for your kind words. Our bodies Poland are made from 1.5mm aluminum. The alloy is an old Soviet aircraft alloy that has no corresponding equivalent in the US. It is much harder than 3003. For our Coupes we are making the body from 3003. For highly formed panels, we use 3003 H0 and 3003 H14 for panels that don't need much shape. I have never seen anyone (including Ferrari) make panels from 0.016-0.020 WOW! That is thin! Original Cobras were made from 0.050" 1100-0 aluminum.

[@geoffmorgan6059]

I suspect that the alloy is very close to our 5052 alloy which is an aluminum magnesium alloy. The aluminium bodied Land Rovers were made of the British equivalent of 5052. It is somewhat harder than 3003 or, certainly 1100. Your "soot" annealing procedure is right out of the Land Rover service manual. Thanks for the video.

[@immrnoidall]

that prossess is truely a work of art .

[@randyjack77]

David, I was looking for a way to fix my canoe and stumbled across this video. I wasn't too confident in your repair for the first few minuets but after the video I am very confident in your method. I have a question and a suggestion, first the question, how do I re-treat the aluminum so that it is not soft and my suggestion is that you show the finished product in the beginning of the video so viewers don't walk away when you start beating that fender with a sledge hammer. lol

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Great suggestion!!! I wouldn't worry about retreating your aluminum. If I had to guess your canoe is made from 5052 aluminum and it work hardens really quickly when you work with it.

[@BrewPub]

That is some unbelievably top notch work.

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

@rickrichard01, technically speaking, "tempering" is heating up a metal to a certain temperature to make it softer. In other words, on heat treatable alloys (that are quenched from a high temperature to achieve their hardness), tempering is used to draw some of the hardness back out of the alloy so it is not so brittle. What I think you are asking is if the metal gets hard again as I hammer it back into shape. Yes it does. That hardening process is called work hardening.

[@ThatKillaSounds]

That is awesome work and your patience and passion/skills for this are optimum, keep the good work up

[@ctsgtp8579]

That must of took a long time to repair, but the finish looks incredible!

[@nilla003]

I just watched the Barbell Logic video. Do you make the Mark I or do you begin with Mark II, rack and pinion cars? Do you make replacement parts for the Mark I cars? Including the worm and sector stuff? You should do more vids where you're telling your story. I find it very inspiring, how you followed your passion to the greatest possible extent.

[@TacJammer]

That's some serious craftsmanship.

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

Yes, you have to be extremely careful to not stretch the metal. It is only at the very end of the straightening that I am hammering "on dolly." I try to do as much "off dolly" work as possible to avoid stretching the panel.

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

We have a really great full-time photographer here in house. It is a matter of time. We are sold out very far in advance, and I don't have as much time as I wish I did to make videos. We will put out more of them as we can. Thank you for the offer!

[@KirkhamMotorsports1]

@TheAlphadial, Thank you so much for your kind words. I was fortunate to learn the art from a gentleman in his twilight years who worked for Rolls Royce before WWII. The repair was about 30 hours total. However...

[@Dafecat1]

Amazing workmanship. Thanks for sharing.

[@alext9067]

Does that aluminum get work hardened after some of the hammering? Did you consider annealing it again halfway thru the job?

[@95rman]

That’s incredible! Lot of work.