trying to fix a tank dent

[ellshorty]

There is a good sized dent on my tank from the po, and i want to remove it without damaging the tank. It is located in the front top right side (bike was downed on r side) from where the handlebars slapped it. i dont really care if i have to paint it again or whatever, just trying to make it look good..or better tahn it is thanks guys!!

[Dexter]

Any pics?

[Idrivetoys]

What you do is remove the tank and drain it, fill it up some with water and then find a way to pressurize the tank, then take a small round end hammer and tap slighty around the edges of the dent while its pressurized and the dent should bring itself out slowly, so dont rush it and it will come.


If its small, just use some body filler, sand it smooth and make sure the entire tank is primed to avoid ghosting.


Fife

[joseph2027]

the way we used to fix tankdents is fill it up with water then put it in a deepfreezer for about a day or two. water exspands as it freezes that will bring the dent out

[rexazz2]

the way we used to fix tankdents is fill it up with water then put it in a deepfreezer for about a day or two. water exspands as it freezes that will bring the dent out

Intesting concept
P/O put one in mine also but bit of a crease
Ever cause a seam to fail ?

[hardlydangerous]

Just fill it with body filler,
Cheap and easy and lasts forever.

This was the 2nd time this bike was crashed and dented the tank in the same spot. Cost about $60 to fix it
Sand paper, short strand fiberglass filler, spot putty, filler primer, paint.

Any sharp dent won't come out with pressure, even then you usually have to shrik the metal before it will come out. this is not a method the first timer wants to try.
Even slightly too much pressure and you distort the bottom and start seperating the seams. Freezing a tank... um I don't think so... how can you possibly direct the pressure to the dent and not split the tank somewhere else?

[Blazerzr2]

......Freezing a tank... um I don't think so... how can you possibly direct the pressure to the dent and not split the tank somewhere else?

many have done it in days gone by, so i'd have to say, yes it can be done.

[hardlydangerous]

Many have ruined a good tank to
dry ice on the outside is a hell of a lot safer

[johna600]

uummm ebay?

[Dexter]

All I have to suggest is the way we do it in the bodyshop... If it was me, I'd fill the tank with water, then use a rivet spot welder and tack rivets on to the bare metal throughout the dent. Once that's done, you fasten a slide hammer to the rivets and hammer the dent outward. Once the dent is pulled, you cut off the rivets, grind the metal, coat with short strand body filler, smooth it out, prime it, feather it, and it's ready for paint.

Since you probably don't have a rivet welder or slide hammer, I suggest poking around a couple of small body shops and asking if you can use or rent their equipment.

[Kreylyn]

Hot glue, an old valve, pair of vise grips, and a small hammer. Feel free to replace any of the above with what you have on hand that will accomplish the same thing.

Use hot glue to stick the valve head to the center of the dent. Use something else to pull the dent out, such as quick and dirty...Vise grips to clamp onto the tail of the valve, and small hammer to tap on the vise grips.

If your looking at doing this more than once, there are several inexpensive options to make a fully working repeat, ease of use tool using the hotglue trick.

And the hotglue will peel right off once done, and won't damage the paint for those larger shallow dents where the paint hasn't cracked or flaked.

Krey

[greek_rider786]

ive always used the good ole method of fiberglass bondo yea!

[ellshorty]

awesome great ideas!!!

[Idrivetoys]

When water freezes it expands in mostly all directions, causing possible "exlploded" areas for lack of a better description.

[ICEG]

well you can drain it and then take off the fuel float in the tank then take a wooden stick and bit the dent from the inside

do this verry gently so not to damage even more

or you can do this[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjOjYvT0jEU&eurl=http://video.google.ca/videosearch?hl=en&safe=off&ei=P32cSajmEJC4MvW8lJkF &resnum=0&q=fixing+dent+in+[/YOUTUBE]