Ever had that annoying problem where the 90° fender flanges are digging into the over-sized tires you’re putting on your exotic supercar? Yeah, me neither. But, just in case you run into this issue, Eastwood’s Fender Finisher-Hand Fender Former Tool will fix it for you. The $80 tool allows you “to roll fenders without having to remove the wheel!” and ease that troublesome factory edge. A heat gun is suggested to warm up the paint so you can form without damage, but you should be able to do the job in less than 30 minutes. The Fender Finisher has molded hand grips, a durable power-coated finished, and comes with two extra replaceable rubber pads.

A video is available at the manufacturer’s site.

Eastwood [Manufacturer's Site]

My current truck is a ‘93 and I live in the Rust Belt, so the body’s getting rough. Hopefully I’ll be able to spend some time cleaning things up and installing patch panels to get things looking a bit better, but other emergencies keep popping their heads up, so for now I’m keeping up on my tetanus shots and hoping for the best. This new aerosol version of Eastwood’s Rust Converter looks like it might work to my benefit.

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I remember it clearly, though it happened 20 years ago:  I took my brand new 3/8” air ratchet to a valve cover bolt — and snapped the bolt cleanly in half.  That same day, after I was done with the ole extractor set, I picked up my first pressure regulator, one that you could turn the valve a quarter turn to regulate pressure, but it wasn’t very exact or reproducible if I needed to repeat a settings.  We’ve come a long way from that to Eastwood’s Digital Pressure Regulator.

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Polishing metals and plastics is almost an art, with so many different polishing materials and compounds to choose from.  If you’re looking for an easy way to get into polishing, or if you just need to restock the basic supplies, Eastwood’s Deluxe Polishing Kit can help — it includes the tools you need to work on large open items or in the details.

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A fender roller is your last, best hope for fitting over-sized wheels and tires. Why? It flattens out the bit of sheet metal sticking out horizontally from the wheel-well lip, giving you another few millimeters of space inside the fender.

Best of all, Eastwood is offering their quite sturdy and functional-looking model for $200 today. Sure, that’s not pocket change (for we poor bloggers at least), but it’s chump change compared to what the body shop’ll charge you to straighten and repaint your fender after you jack it up with a hammer.

PS: If you’re wondering how this thing works, there’s a video on the page linked below.

Fender Roller [Eastwood]

When I’m trying to fit bigger, wider wheels on my car, and I just need a bit more clearance, I pull this out of my bag of tricks: the Eastwood fender roller tool. Most fenders have a flange on ‘em that’s parallel to the ground, and it can potentially cut your tire.  Bolt the fender roller onto the hub, turn the handle, and that flange will be curved up flush against the outside-fender skin. Sometimes that extra 1/2″ is all you need.

Fender Roller [Eastwood Co.]

We’ve written numerous times about the art of pulling dash and other modern plastic interior pieces. But no amount of care will prevent damage if you don’t have the right tools. Here’s your chance to stock up in one shot: Eastwood’s 10-piece nylon pry tool set.

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Transmission jacks don’t come cheap — they usually start around $500 — so it doesn’t make sense to buy one for that rare occasion when you have to tear out the tranny on your ‘87 dually. Eastwood offers a more affordable solution: a transmission jack adapter that fits any jack with a 1-1/8″ post-style saddle. Just pull off the stock cup, put this unit in its place, and get to jackin’. Pricing is $85.

Transmission Jack Adapter [Eastwood]

Engine turning (also known as damascening, jeweling, krayling, or swirling) has long been associated with fine metalworking.  Whatever you call it, it’s a great way to add some bling to your project.  The process consists of using a spinning abrasive cylinder to make dazzling 3-D looking patterns on polished metal. You can see examples of the technique on everything from antique handmade pocket watches to retro hotrod parts.  If you want to try it yourself, Eastwood offers 1″ and 1/2″ kits that can be used with any drill press.

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Eastwood’s Tilt-A-Car System offers a simpler, more portable — and cheaper — alternative to installing a lift in your garage.  Sure, it looks like a human-sized drop trap, but it’s also a great way to work on the underside of your car.

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Hazy plastic headlights just scream “worn out,” and often make an otherwise-well-cared-for ride look down-and-out.  Here’s the cure: a restoration kit that lets you polish away the fog to better light night roads and lop years of your aging car.

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Eastwood’s offering 10% off a ton of stuff right now, including their famous vehicle tilter and their very popular line of planishing hammers and English wheels.  We seem to end up on Eastwood’s website at least once a week as they carry all sorts of interesting automotive tools — many of which we have in the shop.

One note, though: they do this 10% sale pretty regularly, so don’t get in a huff if you’re not ready to buy.  It’ll come around again soon.

Eastwood Co. [Corporate Site]

I found this “mini-nibbler” marked down ffrom $30 to $20 in the “web exclusive” section of the Eastwood Company’s website.  Eastwood claims they to require less effort to cut due to their unique blade and handle design, and they’ll start cutting from a hole as small as 1/4″.  They handle up to 16-gauge brass, copper, or aluminum and 18-gauge mild steel.

Eastwood Mini Nibbler [Eastwood Company]

While these are obviously intended for basic auto body panel straightening, they have all sorts of uses around the shop.  If you’ve ever found yourself trying to shape a piece of thin metal — sheet or otherwise — these are the core tools that’ll help you in the process.

And at just $25 for the set, there’s really no excuse not to have ‘em in the drawer, even if you have no intent of learning sheet metal work.  These are perfect for reshaping a metal bracket or putting a curve in a small piece of thin bar stock.  They’re not the best hammers and dollies around, but they’re great for general shop use.

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One of the first tricks to doing automotive interior work is to not be afraid to pull or push like hell on something to find out where the clips or screws are.  The second is to not use a screwdriver to do it.  Screwdrivers almost always leave a mark or gouge in the plastic.  A better choice: a glass filled nylon pry tool set that’s designed just for this type of use. 

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Eastwood Co’s running a sale on their original Hotcoat powdercoating gut, knocking $25 of its standard $99 price to bring it down to $74.99.  If you’ve been considering jumping in and trying your hand at powdercoating, this might be a good way to give it a go.

There are a ton of inexpensive powdercoating guns on the market, but we’ve always thought Eastwood’s was one of the best — mainly because Eastwood has been selling products like these for years and we suspect they can handle the required customer support.  Of course, we’ve also always suspected that the gun isn’t the difficult part in getting started powdercoating; Don’t forget that you’re going to need an oven or heat light setup, which can make the price of the powdercoating gun seem small.

We’ve heard of people installing old household ovens as an inexpensive alternative to professional rigs, and we do know that Harbor Freight sells a small oven specifically for powdercoating.

If you have experience with this particular product — or any of the many, many knockoffs, drop us a line and let us know.

Original Hotcoat Powdercoating Gun [Eastwood Co.]

PS: If you’re interested, the page linked above features a video showing the gun in action.

Eastwood’s offering a nice price on this 50 lb bottom-feed abrasive blaster right now.  One thought: Though they’re advertising it as a way to “get started abrasive blasting for just $99,” but that’s not entirely true.  As anyone who’s done any abrasive blasting can attest, you’ll need media and protective gear as well.  Thankfully, they have some pretty decent deals on those as well.

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