Tried a stud welder vs glue pullers on a big dent this week

I had a 2015 F-150 with a dent on the rear quarter panel that was about the size of a dinner plate. No crease, just a shallow push. I usually go straight for the glue pullers because they're fast and don't leave marks to grind off. But this time the metal felt a bit thick and the glue kept popping off after two pulls. So I switched to my old stud welder and spent the extra 20 minutes tacking pins and pulling it out bit by bit. Ended up needing way less filler than I thought, maybe a skim coat across two inches. The glue would have left me with a thicker mud job and more time sanding. Anyone else find stud welding worth the setup time on shallow dents like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

grant.felix10d ago

Man, I gotta push back on this one. Glue pulling will always get my vote for shallow dents like that because you can do three or four pulls in the time it takes to set up a stud welder and grind down all those little nubs. That extra 20 minutes adds up when you're working flat rate and the customer is waiting. Plus on aluminum panels the stud welder is useless anyway so the glue puller becomes your only play. Half the time when the glue pops off it's because you're not letting it cool long enough or you're pulling at the wrong angle. I'd rather fix my technique than switch to a tool that needs cleanup and risks burning through the paint on thin metal.

hart.sage10d ago

Oh man, this is actually crazy because I used to be ALL about glue pulling for everything. Like I would never even consider breaking out the stud welder unless the dent was super deep. But you just described exactly what happened to me last month on a Chevy Silverado door. Same thing, glue kept letting go and I was getting so frustrated. Finally hauled out the stud welder and honestly I was kicking myself for not doing it sooner. Ended up with a way cleaner result and barely any filler. Definitely changed my mind about which tool to grab first on those big shallow ones.