Thanks for the replies everyone. So onward and stumbling forward...
Spent a LOT of time working on the hood. Shameful really how long it took me. I'll try to detail some of what I did.
Here is what the damage I described above looks like when unfolding a folded skin. You can see how the edge raises up and how the adjacent area bends. This is what takes so long (for me at least) to correct
Here is one section after working it down some. You can see the "trench" pretty clearly in this pic.
Up close of an area on the hood showing the damage after beginning to work it out.
Some of the tools I used. (sorry about the my dip "spit" bottle. in the edge of the pic) Nasty habit I picked up years ago. I'm trying to quit, but when I get stressed....
After doing some initial bumping, hammering and dollying of the front and all the edges I re-marked it and re-positioned it to start hammer and dolly work from the top. I use my metal forming leather sand bags on the top and the bottom to hold and position the skin.
At this point I have worked the dents on the front out probably about 90% or more. There are high spots on the panel and the low spots indicated by the marker. It may not look it here but it's close. If I was using filler I would have already stopped. That last 5-10% though is what takes so long. Far longer than getting it to that point if that makes sense.
