TubeNet

bloke wrote:Magnets for dent repair are counter-intuitive. You use the SMALL balls (inside the instrument) for smoothing, and the LARGE balls (inside the instrument) for rough removal of the largest dents.

The shape and size of the steel ball (placed inside the instrument) has little to do with anything when using magnetic attraction. Rather, it is the MASS and the AMOUNT OF MAGNETIC ATTRACTION. However, as smaller-and-smaller diameter areas are repaired, it is important to try to find balls that are closer-and-closer to the size of the bore of the area to be repaired (as a smaller bore = a lower mass ball which can fit inside = less magnetic attraction = less effective strength for dent removal)

Keys to better-looking work include:

- a very strong arm and very strong wrist, as holding on to the magnet directly (rather than with some sort of extended "handle") offers infinitely more control...and a very strong arm and very strong fingers are much more likely to be able to smoothly glide the magnet-and-ball past obstacles that can easily otherwise cause horrible bulges.
- intuitively being able to judge which sorts of dents (depending on several factors) are best removed with small balls/medium balls/large balls and with one magnet/two magnets/three magnets.

bloke "...very easy for a novice to r-e-a-l-l-y f--- up their instrument with magnets"