Repair Dent in Tank

[winfield]

Ron Hurd has posted a series of pics showing how he repaired a dented tank in a '79 GS425E he picked up for his stable. This may be old hat to a lot of the folks on here (it's not for me) but the pics with comments are a decent tutorial.

Here's the link to the 1st of 14 pics. Just hit the arrow to follow to the end.

http://http://www.ronh.org/gs425e-resto/suzuki-gs425e_resto24a.htm

His method is to drill a hole opposite the dent and use a punch to get the dent out. He then shows how to repair the hole you drilled.

If link doesn't work maybe you can cut and paste http://www.ronh.org/gs425e-resto/suzuki-gs425e_resto24a.htm

 

[almarconi]

A lot easier to just use a stud welder to pull the dent out. What happens if you have multiple dents to remove? Who in their right mind would drill holes in a gas tank intentionally? This is a good article on how not to remove a dent from a motorcycle tank.

 

[Nessism]

That technique would only be applicable for someone that values original paint more than safety. If the adhesive holding the hole plug softens, gas is going to dump on top of the hot engine. Since the hole is on the underside, I think a braze/weld repair for the hole is less risky.

 

[almarconi]

Dent Wizard is a franchised PDR service. I know they have them in Maryland. A quick check on their website shows that they have locations in PA. Check out
http://www.dentwizard.com
I'm sure there are others around that offer this service.

 

[Guest]

I dent wizarded mine, GS1100E, 10 minutes and $35.

 

[almarconi]

That technique would only be applicable for someone that values original paint more than safety. If the adhesive holding the hole plug softens, gas is going to dump on top of the hot engine. Since the hole is on the underside, I think a braze/weld repair for the hole is less risky.

I didn't bother to see how he closed up the hole. Welding on a gas tank is an iffy proposition at best. I can understand if you have to in order to repair damage but why put a hole in a perfectly serviceable tank. There are other methods of dent removal that are far superior to the method used on that website.

 

[Wingsconsin]

As long as the tank is single walled (most early 80's and before are) the Paintless Dent people can push them out.
I had a dent in a 650 last year and it even had a small crease in it...
The dent came out almost entirely and the crease still showed but was much less pronounced.
The PDR guy pushed most if out from the inside with his variety of tools and knowledge - and then did a couple of pop pulls from the outside with an adhesive that pulled the dent and not the paint.
Best $100 I spent on that restore...

 

[Wingsconsin]

Checked the Dent Wizard site. Lots of places near me but they are all car dealers.

Maybe I should ask at the local bike shop?

Ask at your local car dealer -- they have these guys n speed dial for the Used car inventory...

 

[subforry]

I often see paint less dent repair at the car wash and detail shops. Check with them and see who does their work.

 

[Scratcher09]

For the price of what most pros will charge to fix it for you, you can buy a stud puller kit (stud welder and slide hammer) from Harbor Freight. I got mine for $99. There are a lot of things I won't buy from HF due to cheap quality but heard from a few people (not online) that these were okay. Works well for me. Only thing is you have to follow directions exactly or the slide hammer will not function properly.