Fixing a fender, where to start?

[tdoty]

Hi guys & gals!

I have a fender I would like to straighten out, and I'm wondering what would be the best spproach - hopefully I have this in the right forum.

This '85 Monte Carlo fender was damaged and not properly repaired, it was just slathered with filler. Well, it was hit again after the "repair". It also has a bit of rust damage to the inner lip, where the inner fender bolts on. The rust will, of course, require new metal to be welded in.

So, here is a pic of the fender:


The dent is pretty deep and the leading edge has been bent badly as well:


How would you go about repairing this? I figure the normal course of action would be to replace the fender, but I want to give a shot at fixing it.

I'm thinking the big bend by the parking light would need to come out first (well, okay, after all of the Bondo), and work toward the top from there fixing the front flange where the fascia bolts on. Working from there back to the wheel opening to straighten out the panel might work, or would I need to kind of "work around" to get everything back into shape? Concentrating on the front edge might make it extremely difficult to bring the rest of the metal up.

Any advice? It's just something I would like to try, since I've already taken the easy way out:


Thanks in advance !

Tim D.