Hey guys i got this dent in my fender that i would like to get out before sanding and painting, any ideas on how to get it out without making the surface look like a potato chip? ive tried using the hot glue with those cheap dent pullers but no luck. Thanks!

lay it on a piece of high density foam upside down and hit it with a soft rubber hammer
Doug

I use a leather sandbag and UHMW mallet I got from Eastwood. Works really well.

The mallet ideas and techniques already mentioned may be your ticket to get the dent reduced. I had about the same size dent and a few other smaller dents in my 74 DT360 fender and I finished the job with a small amount of bondo and final sanding before priming and painting. very happy with the result as reducing the original dent made the amount of bondo and final sanding minimal to get the best results...

A sandbag or shot bag and body hammers are the ticket.... Sandbag backs up the other side like a body dolly would. Harbor Freight used to have a cheap set of decent body tools.

Working the dent out slowly is best...

Metal stretches when it dents. Trick I learned working in a custom body shop... owner would NEVER use filler on a dent... is work the dent most of the way out... heat the last little area super hot and quench with a wet rag. Metal shrinks and dent is gone. It takes some practice (best to use an old fender or something you can practice dent and then remove practice dent) but you can get the dent completely out. Probably YouTube videos on the technique someplace... Best to watch the technique... describing it isn't good enough.

It takes some time to master... but great satisfaction when you do.

Appreciate all the input guys! on my 100 i had a similar dent which i used a block of wood on the bottom side of the fender to bang it back out, it got most of it out but there was still a bit of a "ripple" on the top side which is why i been hesitant to just start smashing away again lol.

Unfortunately returning a dent of that size with a crease to totally flat is near impossible, the old timers that could do it had a lot of practice. As MarkT stated metal stretches when it dents and getting it to shrink back without heat is near impossible and with heat is difficult at best. Most guys will beat it out as best they can and then smooth it with body filler, but if you have access to an oxy/acetylene rig you can heat it and cool it rapidly to get it to shrink. I recommend a 17-3 brazing tip with a carburizing flame as its easy to control. A couple of things to think about if going this route though. 1 Propane or MAP gas alone are not hot enough. 2 if you do heat and cool, it will harden the metal making it prone to cracking. After its cooled you need to slowly reheat the affected area and cool it very slowly to re-normalize the metal. 3 heating sheet metal with an oxy/acetylene torch can go south pretty quick and ruin an otherwise good tin in a hurry, so grab some scrap metal dent it up and practice first. Having said all that there are very few things is world more satisfying than successful panel beating. Happy hammering.

Neutral flame is what I was taught to use.

(Carburizing flame adds carbon to mild steel making it more brittle and prone to cracking.)

Mark you are absolutely right, the only reason I recommend beginners use a a caburizing flame is because its about 360F cooler than a neutral flame and less prone to accidentally blowing a hole in thin stuff like fenders. I've never found that there was any measurable carbon hardening if you didn't spend to much time heating, kept the flame moving, and normalized it afterward. I tend to be more concerned about carbon contamination when heating thicker metals that require more time under the flame to reach a plastic state, but like most things it all depends on your skill level.