How do I fix a small dent in the skin?

I'm ready to attach the leading edge of the Rudder and noticed a small indentation on the skin near the leading edge.

Is there an easy fix prior to final riveting of the skin?

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Permalink Reply by John Austin on June 25, 2023 at 12:39pm

I think the most common approach is, if you have access to the back side of the dent, to try "massaging" the dent out with the back side of a spoon.

Permalink Reply by Bob Simmons on June 25, 2023 at 3:18pm

Your aircraft toolkit should always carry a teaspoon, tablespoon and soup spoon. Which one you use is determined by the size of the dent.

I love homebuilt aviation! LOL!

Permalink Reply by Van Cole on June 27, 2023 at 1:35pm

Old body man trick!!  Use a heat gun and carefully heat area around the dent to expand the metal (don't over do it), this will cause the metal to flex pushing the dent to pop out as it cools, may take several tries to make the dent go away. This will work on small and large dents . Much better than trying pound out the dent with a hammer and dolly. Pounding on the skin will only cause the metal to expand and making the dent worse than when you started leaving a blemish that is hard to remove.

Permalink Reply by Jim and Amelia Isaacs on June 27, 2023 at 6:12pm

Interesting! What do the body shops use to remove hail dents?

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