Does anyone have some good advice on shrinking the side of my bed back into shape. I got a little carried away welding the gas filler neck closed. I oil caned the side of the bed in and I need a little advise on shrinking the metal to get it to pop back out. I was told to heat up a quarter to fifty cent piece area at a time and then quinch with ice cold water. If this is correct do I just work around the opening where I welding in the patch over the filler neck, then out until it gets closed to smooth? Any adivce would be appricated. I just posted this on the 1973-87 section but thought I would send it out here also. It is the bedside of a 1978 crew-cab. Since this is the practice truck before I start the 1949 truck, which needs a lot of metal work, I am glad to have found this sight to bounce ideas off.
i am no welder, so you'll get better advice from some of the others, but as i understand it, you heat the area up, mindful of burn through, and then you quench it with a water soaked rag. then you come back in with the hammer and dollie. jon
My guess would be that it is already shrunk from the heat of welding and actually needs to be stretched with a hammer and dolly
