How To Un-Dent a Copper Mailbox???
 

Snagged this beauty from Frontgate's clearance house locally today...originally $220+ in catalog, then $140 dented, talked them down to $40.
Thought I'd slide in a couple of hard foam pads covering both inner sides, then two pieces of pylwood against those, then a scissors jack in the middle.
If I still had my football I'd deflate it and try that.
It's thick gauge copper & it won't budge using armstrong...also hard to pound out from the inside.
Any ideas?...w/o drilling holes & using a slide hammer from the outside?
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Some type of bladder inside you can inflate?

Looks like the dent I put in the beautiful rear hip of my C4S with my GS1150 this winter when I tipped the bike over. Taking to the paintless dent guy as soon as I can get it out of my garage :-(

I try a short 4" pipe inside and rolling it on a hard flat surface.

I'll try some body work dollies from the days of old...on the inside along with a small rubber mallet on the outside.
I'll go slow...don't want to mess it up more.

NICE patina!!!

I like that......maybe wrapped in cloth?
Thanks!

It has that "suchness", eh? ;)

Fill with water, stand up in freezer?. No experience, try at your own risk.

Copper is very malleable when heated, which is something you may wish to consider, but no matter what method you use, the metal has already been stretched and it will need to be shrunk to get a smooth flat side--if that's how far you want to go. There also appears to be a finish on the copper as well as a crease. Heating will ruin the finish, and you may not ever get rid of the crease completely, so that may be the decider in using heat. Heat and that large pipe might do the trick, however.

Somebody pm Tim Hancock!

Painless dent removal. They use rollers and specialty tools.

The problem is that the material is stretched. It will be hard to fix.

A few pdr glue tabs and it would probably pull right out.
Pdr glue puller | eBay

How about going in the other direction and turning it into a hammered metal box?

Exactly.

How much in scrap copper is that? Because that's what you got yourself there, unless you want the hammered look or paint it. JMHO!

G

I've done some body work in my days...if I can find my hammers 'n dollies (still have unpacked boxes after my move 5 years ago) I'll get after it...gingerly.
I'll put some leather between all tools and the metal.
I'll watch some Youtube vids on hammerless, also.
I don't mind if there are some traces of rework...it'll sit in the corner (diagonally) of my front entry with the damaged side not so noticeable.
In the raw, it's quite stunning...and solidly built!
Thanks gents.

I'd use a slap hammer (or slap spoon as some people call it) to work it out. You'll have to do some shrinking and probably work it all over to get a consistent finish.

I'd lay it dented side down and try massage it from the inside with my hand. Maybe wrap your hand in a cloth (old fashioned diaper)
Just lean on it and see if it does anything.

I would leave it. Old saying at the post office. If you hit a mail box, and no one saw you...

I'd use a little heat and press from the inside with welder leather gloves. Well placed house numbers should cover any remaining damage.