I need to pull hail storm dings out of an aluminum hood, probably 25-30 of them. Can this be done? What is the process and what are the tools needed? Can this be done by a body shop or should I just go buy a new $800 hood?

$800.00 is a lot of money. A GOOD bodyman should be able to handle it. A bump hammer, dolly and a Vixen file (steel body file) will do the job on areas that are not covered by bracing. Be gentle, though. Aluminum gives a lot easier than steel. You might have to fill areas that are covered with underhood bracing.

i've never done this myself, but have heard if it working, (and i don't know about aluminum, either), but i guy i knew got hailed on while living in vegas, dented up his car pretty badly. he claimed a guy told him to get the surface good and hot, like in the vegas sun, then rub dry ice over it. he claimed it worked great for him, took out nearly all of the dents. i have heard this method from other people as well. it may be worth a try. good luck

I've done the same trick but used liquid nitrogen.