Bending Steel Sail Panel?

[The Tumbler]

The turning radius on this car is one of THE BEST features… unfortunately I got a little over confident at the end of a long road trip and jackknifed my boat ever so slightly. Clipped the rear edge of the drivers sail panel (I think that’s the name). I bent back the steel a bit but it’s still a bit misshapen. Any chance this can be straightened out by a proper body shop?

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[MCraft99]

A lil bondo and rattle can...

 

[Flynn]

The turning radius on this car is one of THE BEST features… unfortunately I got a little over confident at the end of a long road trip and jackknifed my boat ever so slightly. Clipped the rear edge of the drivers sail panel (I think that’s the name). I bent back the steel a bit but it’s still a bit misshapen. Any chance this can be straightened out by a proper body shop?

Having worked in a body shop in my early years and having fabrication experience I would tell a magic genie to support the mounting points where the exterior skin attaches to interior points (pushing to the right as seen from rear) then with an object with roughly the same size and shape of your boat, pull (to the left) on the bent-rightward metal in strength duration and reps such as to remove most of the deformation. You may be able to accept the results but with a gloss finish that stretched metal is almost certainly going to show up somewhere somehow, unless the genie knows how to shrink not just metal (which can be done) but this new aerospace stainless.

These days you’d need a rare bird of a body man who’s highly skilled and paid. They’re out there, but you gotta locate, persuade, hope, and accept whatever results.

I think (and could very well be wrong) the path of least resistance is whatever modern shops do for damaged ct panels: throw new parts at it and be done.

 

[Limes2]

tis a mere flesh wound

I don't think a body shop will be able to do much with that HFS. Maybe grind it down a bit?

https://www.tesla.com/learn/superior-durability-cybertruck-hfs-hard-freaking-stainless

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