Dent repair?

[unclebun]

We did a local sign installation of a sign that was shipped ready to install from a big sign company in Alabama yesterday. It came in a large, heavy crate, bolted to a steel frame inside the crate. When we unpacked it, there was a dent in one of the faces of the sign (it's .063 aluminum on a frame). There was no damage to the crate and no damage to the thin foam the sign had been wrapped in.

At any rate, now we are dealing with the aftermath of the sign damage. The manufacturer is suggesting we bondo the sign to fix the dent. I've never used Bondo, but has anyone ever done this on a sign face to fix a dent like this? Does it work?

 

[Notarealsignguy]

It won't adhere well but it would work for a bit, that is pretty cheesy. I have a body shop and I could make a new face just as quick as doing that. Can they send you the file and just make a new face for them so they don't have to hassle with shipping one?

 

[unclebun]

I could make a new face and have them send me the vinyl already printed so it all matches. Except that the face is painted brown to match the frame, and we don't have the ability to mix paint and spray it. And I can't see how they attached the face to the frame. There are no visible fasteners and no gaps at the edge which would indicate it was taped onto the frame.

 

[Gino]

We've used bondo on wooden signs and some duron. Not on aluminum. It'll probably look alright, but eventually break out from vibrations (winds and so forth), cause it's not gonna have a good bond. Also, the bondo and aluminum have different hot & cold surfaces which will create a problem.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

It looks like a print? The shrinking of the vinyl will cause it to crack or even pop off. If that brown line is paint, it's gonna be hard to feather the edges because that dent probably extends down beyond it.
You should call a paintless dent guy to come out. They usually have small mixing stations in their trucks and could blend it pretty good plus pull most of that out so there is minimal filler in it. The less filler the better.

 

[Stacey K]

Hard to believe they missed that dent as they packed it for shipping. I was also thinking the same as Notareal...a car dent guy might be able to get that out and then you can just use some touch up paint.

 

[spectrum maine]

grind to raw aluminum. use bondo for aluminum- etch prime, paint satin white

 

[netsol]

It won't adhere well but it would work for a bit, that is pretty cheesy. I have a body shop and I could make a new face just as quick as doing that. Can they send you the file and just make a new face for them so they don't have to hassle with shipping one?

before i read down, i had already decided bondo was the way to go

drill a number of small holes 3/16" or so, and when you squeegee the bondo, it will go through the holes and adhere.

 

[netsol]

Hard to believe they missed that dent as they packed it for shipping. I was also thinking the same as Notareal...a car dent guy might be able to get that out and then you can just use some touch up paint.

https://www.amazon.com/Dent-Puller-Suction-2-15-Refrigerator/dp/B09QKG7VR7/ref=asc_df_B09QKG7VR7/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=563727898715&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6194008114146451967&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9004028&hvtargid=pla-1674968010684&psc=1

 

[unclebun]

I am pretty sure that the dent was made with the end of a 2x4. That's the size and shape of the dent. It arrived bolted to an angle iron steel frame by the hangers that hold it to the sign posts, with a secondary 2x4 frame built around it bolted to the hangers on the top of the sign (they though I was going to use a crane to put a 5'x8' aluminum sign on 6' tall posts?). It was wrapped in thin stryofoam, so I'm guessing whoever banged it with a 2x4 didn't even look at the sign to see if they'd hurt it, and just continued to add the plywood sides to the crate around it. The finished pallet weighed 700 lbs and was 4'x9'x6'. Wouldn't even fit on the truck liftgate. Had to take it to a neighboring marine dealer and use their long adjustable width forklift to pick it up from the end to unload it from the truck. I guess they thought we'd have a loading dock.

 

[rjssigns]

Agree with notarealsignguy. A good PDR guy can work magic. Of course if it were me I'd want the manufacturer to send all new bits and give me a discount.
The goober that packed that new EXACTLY when he F'ed up the panel but tried to cover his tracks.

This seems to be the way of the world since the 'rona. Overpriced, incomprehensibly late and one notch above junk when it arrives.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

before i read down, i had already decided bondo was the way to go

drill a number of small holes 3/16" or so, and when you squeegee the bondo, it will go through the holes and adhere.

You could get a blob to cling on yes, the issue is the edges unless you cut out the vinyl all the way around it. If you tried to fair it out it will just keep coming off. It's like trying to Bondo over plastic.
If you got it close enough, the edges will still eventually lift and being hydroscopic, it will just become a mess. If it was a painted white face you could grind it all down, epoxy prime then put your filler on and it would hold, then just blend the paint. I just don't see how you can make it acceptable if it is printed. It's kind of a crappy to be stuck in the middle.
Might just put it up and leave it for a few days and hope that the customer demands a new face. That sign doesn't look cheap.

 

[unclebun]

Incomprehensively late is right. I was first contacted about this sign the first week of February, agreed to the price for installation based on only an elevation drawing. Did the site survey in March. Then they were leaning on me for a copy of the sign permit (which for this kind of sign takes about 2 days to get and costs $10), which I got at the beginning of May. Sign just showed up 2 days ago.

 

[unclebun]

You could get a blob to cling on yes, the issue is the edges unless you cut out the vinyl all the way around it. If you tried to fair it out it will just keep coming off. It's like trying to Bondo over plastic.
If you got it close enough, the edges will still eventually lift and being hydroscopic, it will just become a mess. If it was a painted white face you could grind it all down, epoxy prime then put your filler on and it would hold, then just blend the paint. I just don't see how you can make it acceptable if it is printed. It's kind of a crappy to be stuck in the middle.
Might just put it up and leave it for a few days and hope that the customer demands a new face. That sign doesn't look cheap.

I'm pretty sure if we Bondoed it we'd have to sand it off, fill, sand, prime, repaint before we put the vinyl wrap over it. I know enough about auto body work to know that, but I've never done it.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I'm pretty sure if we Bondoed it we'd have to sand it off, fill, sand, prime, repaint before we put the vinyl wrap over it. I know enough about auto body work to know that, but I've never done it.

You said that brown was painted though and you couldn't match it. You asked, you got an answer. If you know, why ask?

 

[Boudica]

You said that brown was painted though and you couldn't match it. You asked, you got an answer. If you know, why ask?

To make conversation. duh.

 

[unclebun]

You said that brown was painted though and you couldn't match it. You asked, you got an answer. If you know, why ask?

If we go the Bondo route, it would be done by a body shop. But I don't think we'd have to repaint it brown. The dent is all behind the wrap.

I'm going to try paintless dent repair. Unfortunately we may not have mobile services for that in our town. All the places that say they do it are regular body shops.

 

[unclebun]

Also you're right about the sign not being cheap. I think they paid about twice what it would have been if it had been made locally. There was $240 in plywood and $72 in lumber to make the crate, not to mention the steel. And I'm sure a hefty shipping bill.

 

[GAC05]

How big is the damaged face? If a new panel is out of the question maybe cladding it with a thin, wrapped aluminum overlay of the entire damaged panel. Can't tell from the photo what the framing looks like so might not be an option. Fixing the dent will put any future issues or failures on you, instead of the company that made and shipped it.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Were you just an installer on this job or did you buy the sign? Either way I'm not sure why it's on you to figure it out... sounds like someone else's problem. Bondo and painting will never make it look like it should. GAC has a good suggestion about making a new face and overlay.