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Dent repair

  • Thread starter Thread starter Flaggo60
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Flaggo60

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In another thread I saw mention of using air pressure to push out a tank dent. I have one caused by careless moving of my bike by a well-meaning neighbour. The only body shop I went to wanted $400 to do the work (There may be cheaper quotes, but since there are no creases or broken paint, it looks easy to DIY using the right approach.) Has anyone any experience with blowing out dents?
 
It matters what kind of dent it is....If the metal is creased, it has to be pulled and filled....if it is just concaved in....it can me suctiond out out even filled with comressed air to pop the dent out....

Post a pic of it...and I'll let you know.
 
I've heard you can use dry ice to pop shallow dents out....something about "metal memory"......sounds like a trivia game for Ozzy fans.

I'd try suction cups before going to another body shop. The local shops here charge about $35 to pop a dent with suction.

The only bad thing about using compressed air is that if you pressurize it too much you risk rupturing a seam and now you've got a pretty tank that leaks!
 
The video is great-it just might work, although the dent in the video is much larger-mine is more of a very flat cup. A photo is attached-since the color is black its a bit tough to show...
Many thanks to all who responded.
 
$400 for that? Get an Eastwood catalog (free) order their suction dent removal system (around $30, good for many uses), maybe a little polishing compound and wax and you're done.
 
The hot/cold trick like you saw in the video might work on that...but Tanks metal are usually thicker than an automotive panel.....so it might take more than that. It doesnt hurt to try it....just grab a can of air at radioshack for $6....it beats paying a few hundred dollars!

If the hot cold trick doesnt work and If you know how to do a little bodywork and fiberglassing... I would pull the dent out with a traditional puller (makes holes)...or even better...if you can get a hold of a spot welding puller (no holes).

If you use a standard puller....lay about 4 layers of fiberglass on the holes...than bodo smooth.

Good luck
 
I've been doing some tank work recently as detailed in this thread http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=110855

So far I've tried filling with water and putting the tank in the freezer (no luck after 30 hours after which point I terminated the experiment for fear of splitting a seam in the tank) and the hot-cold contrast treatment (no love what so ever).

Next thing I've tried is one of those hot glue gun dent pullers ($25 from Harbor Freight). Was able to almostly completely remove the dent from one side of my tank but the other side has been more difficult. Pulled the clear coat off in one spot and a piece of pin stripping in another. It takes a fair bit of time to pull dents this way since you need to inch up on the dent so to speak by pulling a little at a time. I'll post some photos after I'm done but so far this is the best method I've found.
 
You can try dry ice. If somebody can get a pick in there, they might be able to work it out. If you have to use body filler, you have to paint the whole piece. Unless it is painted with urethane (as in no base coat clear coat).
The piece has to be sanded, prepped the dents filled, body filler sanded correctly, then primer then scuffing, then base coat (which will need to be color matched to the other faded pieces), scuffing, then clearcoat.

It is sometimes cheaper to buy a used, undamaged, tank the same color as your bike. With old bikes, though, that isn't always an option.
 
I would really recommend not using compressed air to pressurize the tank. You risk of expanding the tank so it will not fit on the bike.
 
chiphead said:
I would really recommend not using compressed air to pressurize the tank. You risk of expanding the tank so it will not fit on the bike.
Click to expand...

Same goes for the ice treatment...:cry:
 
Ice expands slower than air...much slower...so it's more controlled.
 
Dent Wizard

Dent Wizard

I used the dent wizard on my tank and it worked awesome. Got it from Meijer or Wal-Mart not sure.
 
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