Shrink sheet metal?

[1HTBRRD]

I recently painted my firebird. I then went to my local autocross and had the battery box in the truck fail during competition.... and yes the battery smacked a dent in my freshly painted quarterpanel. The dent was only about an inch long and an 1/8 deep, but it had a sharp point on it from the battery. I used my hammer and dolly to straighten it out, but now the sheet metal seems flimsy and easily manipulated in the area of the dent.

It is my understanding that the sheet metal was stretched slightly when the dent occurred and it needs to be shrunk to give it more rigidity. I have heard I could use a torch to heat the metal, but I am trying to keep the damaged area as small as possible.

My question is this, can I use my handy lincoln 110v welder to buzz a couple tack welds and heat the area, then grind them down and do the neccesary bodywork to the affected area?

Any input in this area would be helpful...I just don't want to make it worse than it already is.