Hood Dent Diagnosis Question
 

Is there a common pattern that we should be using to diagnose the dents on a Montero hood (bonnet)?

I recently acquired a 2001 Montero Sport with a hood dent near the front on the driver's side. It interfered slightly with the closing of the hood so I used a shop made tool (a two-by-four) and a five-bound hammer, some significant acceleration and sudden deceleration of said hammer, as well as some tapping around the dented area, and I was fortunately able to get it to straighten out pretty well. The heavy gauge steel was not particularly cooperative, however, certainly not like a flimsy Honda Civic hood would have been.

My hood dents appeared to be from a close encounter with a snow plow, actually, given the way the bumper cover and mount were all staved in on the driver's side.

I was curious what other dents users have experienced on their hoods, especially when offroading, and the causes, and what I should expect.

Also, with high mileage vehicle owners, do your Montys get testy if you do not fix these dents immediately? Can I just wax the scratches and move on? Will I risk the equilibrium of my Monty if I don't get the hood repainted?