Fuel Tank Dent Repair Question?

[terry]

Well I took Mr Dude's advice, spent two nights on my lathe and mill creating an air-tight bung device so that I could pump air into the tank and hold it there, then pumped it to 15 psi, did the rosebud thing with my oxy/acetylene torch on the dented area, but nothing happened. I tried multiples of 15 psi until I got to 105 psi, and still nothing. I don't dare to pump any more into it as I don't want to split the tank or "shrap" myself in the process, so what do I do now? Geez, that can of bondo is looking more and more attractive............ C'Mon guys, one of you must really know how to get the dents out, otherwise there must be a pile of dented GS tanks out there as far as the eye can see, ha ha!

[Anonymous]

Find a new tank on E-bay.

Slap the bondo on for now and check E-bay every week or so. I would wait for a NOS matching tank and body set to come up. I see them from time to time. A few hundred dollars, and you'll have a brand new factory body set. Guys are getting off some of the inventories they have been sitting on for 20 years. They unload them on E-bay all the time. You'll be surprized at how fast you find a set for your bike. I bet not more than a month or two.

[chuckycheese]

Dents

I was at a bike shop one day and saw a guy removing a dent from a tank. I talked to him and he said most come out fairly easily. He worked for one of those dent removal companies (most are franchises)...they are listed in the yellow pages and I'm sure would probably be able to help you out. I think their prices are probably reasonable, too. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I have a stud welder and a slide hammer I use to get the dents out of my stuff but it wont be perfictaly even so a little body putty well be needed if you dont want to wast all that mony (its no wast if you use it alot) just keep your eyes out for a new tank

[earlfor]

Re: Fuel Tank Dent Repair Question?

I dont even try to pop out dents. Even if you get one popped out, it will never pop out perfectly smooth and you will have to use filler anyway.
For smal dents, I use JB Weld as a filler instead of the usual Bondo.
Bondo is polyester base, absorbs moisture and causes rust. J B Weld is an epoxy, has MUCH betteer adhesion and is a water barrier, not an absorber. For large or multiple dents that would be too expensive to buy enough J B Weld for, I use epoxy resin thickened with cabosil which gives a paste the consistancy of Bondo. The repair will never rust, shrink, crack from heat or chemical intrusion and will last. It also can be primed and painted with anything.

Earl

Well I took Mr Dude's advice, spent two nights on my lathe and mill creating an air-tight bung device so that I could pump air into the tank and hold it there, then pumped it to 15 psi, did the rosebud thing with my oxy/acetylene torch on the dented area, but nothing happened. I tried multiples of 15 psi until I got to 105 psi, and still nothing. I don't dare to pump any more into it as I don't want to split the tank or "shrap" myself in the process, so what do I do now? Geez, that can of bondo is looking more and more attractive............ C'Mon guys, one of you must really know how to get the dents out, otherwise there must be a pile of dented GS tanks out there as far as the eye can see, ha ha!

[Anonymous]

You'll have to do some dent pulling.

Sounds like a big enough dent where the shape of the tank may be messed up. You'll have to pull it out as good as possible to get the tank back in shape. I have seen the weld and dent puller work on exhoust systems. I think with a tank I would put some nitrogen in it first. Actually I don't think I would even try it. Talk about shraping yourself. Geeezzz! I wonder if you could JB a valve onto it and dent pull it with that.

[terry]

Thanks guys, I do have a stud welder that I use from time to time when I get desperate, but the trouble I find is that if I'm not careful, when I twist the stud off the dent, sometimes it'll pull a little bit of metal (about the size of a pin head) right out of the repaired area! Now at the moment I have a dented tank that holds air pressure, so won't leak fuel, so do I want to take a gamble and possibly damage the tank further, or just fill the dents?

The tank came off a bike I inherited from a friend, when he bought a mint '80 GS1000ET and the seller threw in a '80 ET parts bike, it's been down the road a couple of times, but is pretty much all there, and what was missing I've replaced out of my own spares. It's not going to be original, and I intend to modify it (tastefully) in stages, and end up, hopefully, with a retro "Wes Cooley" replica, but with a few modern concessions like wider rims, bigger brakes etc, but I would like to start off with good cosmetic items, hence my tank problem. Hey Earl, what's that stuff you mix with epoxy resin?

[earlfor]

Its cabosil that I mix with epoxy resin to make a paste for fill with.
Its available at any fiberglass supply store. If it isnt easily available in your area, just buy a couple of large cans of generic baby powder. Baby powder works very nicely and smells oh so simply lovely when doing those nasty sanding jobs around the house. :-) :-)

Just a tip. Mix the epoxy resin and catalyst together and stir very well before adding the baby powder. Only make up batches of filler that you can use before it will harden in the mixing cup. It will harden in the cup due to heat build up much faster than it will harden in the thin layer it is applied in.
To increase working time, you can spead out the mixture on a board to minimize catalytic reaction/heat build up.

Earl

Hey Earl, what's that stuff you mix with epoxy resin?