Hey guys... looking for some help here... First off, I searched internet for hours before finally deciding to sign up for the forum to ask you guys for your personal/professional opinions and experiences...

I roll people's fenders as a side offer along with my garage... I have rolled around 20 cars so far, I use a Milwaukee Heat Gun and Eastwood fender roller...

I have never had a problem before, with the exception of paint cracking ( almost always due to rust in the fender I'm rolling ) .. I have done several 240sx's, be it S13, S14 and I know they are tricky cars, but there is a wealth of information as to WHAT causes them to be hard to pull...

anyways, to the point:

Last week I rolled a 2005 S2000 for a friend of mine. Only did the rears, and just a simple roll with about a 1/2" - 3/4" pull (still looks factory).. They looked great after they were done and if needed I have pictures from an hour after we finished. Well I got in touch with him to check on the roll (as I do with all customers to see if their clearance issues are solved, etc) and the car popped dents in BOTH quarter panels. Luckily the car was being prepped for a new paintjob when I rolled them, and the body shop is fixing the dents for free. But my interest is Peaked... SO here is exactly what I did;

I started with a mild angle, heating the paint and fenders (about 3.5" up from the edge of fender) until hot to the touch enough that I couldnt hold my hand on it for more than a second or 2. slowly increased the angle while passing the heat gun over the paint again every 2 minutes or so, until i had the lip flat. then I heated about 4" of the fender, and mildy pulled each side less than 1" total. Whole process took about 3.5 hours for both rears only. Car looked great that night when we left, but it was getting cold... WE pulled the car into the lot yard, locked the gate and left... I estimate temperatures got to about 30* that night... Car was outside...

Well when he came back the next day around lunch the dents had appeared... SO my question to you all, now that you know my process is:

Does anyone on here actually KNOW ( or have reasonable proof to support their idea ) why the s2000 is SO HARD to pull without denting? Or more specifically what causes the dent? I have read on one of the threads on here that several people blame the inner fender seam weld to the quarter panel.. Is there a specific trick to getting around this? I have seen s2000's with as much as a 3" flare on the stock fender, so I know it can be done.. but I don't understand why after such a mild pull and taking my time with it that his fenders popped.. is it bc it got really cold after they had been heated up earlier in the day?

Any help is much appreciated... and if I didn't find the thread explaining this specifically or posted in wrong spot.. please forgive me...

Also, maybe if we actually get some good information on this , we could sticky it for future searchers? Again I looked for hours bt even the videos I found didn't mention the quarter dents and why they happen or how to avoid them..


thanks guys!!! sorry for the super long post!!!

 

Ok so, I moved this from the Body forum at a member's suggestion... almost 100 people have looked so far and not one care to post even a thought? come on guys, i know some of you have some ideas or experience with this... anyone?

 

I will chime in as a fellow roller. I believe the issue with pulling the fenders to much is the inner bracing that holds that section of the quarter panel to the car. I think if you pull the bottom to much it conversely causes the top to pul inward due to that bracing. Having pulled my own cars fenders as much as I dare I can see the evidence of this on my own. It's not enough to be noticeable all the time but I can see it at certain angles. I will note i use basically the same process as you but i did the roll and then pull on 2 different days months apart. I also wonder if it is possible that the heating up of the metal and working it to much in one sitting can cause this to happen.

I have yet to attempt to pull anyone else fenders much due to this. I hope that maybe helps.