fixing dents with water... trial #1

J

JRK5892

Over 1,000 Posts
well, i got a buddies bike in the shop and i am going to pull the dents in his tank, after all the reading i have heard more and more of using ice to do it... so i am going to drain and clean the tank tonight, fill it 1/2 full with water, and pop it in the freezer and wait and see what happens, then every few hours ill add a few cups of water till it gets high enough... any tips and tricks i shoudl know of before i start this little venture?
 
I'm assuming this is on the premise that water expands as it freezes, but will it expand enough (and with enough force) to push out dings? Can't say that I have any experience with this sort of thing so I guess I'm no real help, but I'm curious
 
Right, the whole expanding water thing. I've heard of guys doing it, but never heard all the details. Isnt there a trick with dry ice as well?
 
well water cracks rock as it freezes and expands, but i'ld be real concerned that it would bulge it out all over the place and not just where you want it to pop it out, still it might just work. Also you would have to seal it somehow or it would just flow out the top? or even if sealed it might pop off the cap? I dont think i'ld take the risk!
 
When I was taking auto body and paint in college, we used ice to pop dents out too. We used a torch to heat the area where the dent was and then we would hit it with ice. The theory is that the rapid temp change, from heat expansion to cold shrinkage ;-), caused the metal to pop back into shape for the most part. It would have to be finishd with a bullseye tool. What you are talking about sounds like it would be a bit easier. Keep us posted.
 
Have heard about it but never tried it...........you might want to put a ratchet strap around the tank to try and prevent the tunnel from distorting(opening up)
 
Joe, PM kiley or get up with him, he and I had a discussion about this not too long ago and he had done it on several tanks and it worked the part perfectly. There are some stipulations on the circumstances of the dent location as to wheather it can be done I do believe. But since I have never done it, I really don't know. I only know what Kiley had told me. But I tell you he would be the man to get all the info from! Good luck and keep us posted on the progress and results!
 
i have been doing my homework on this suck, i am going to add a liter every 2 hours, i got the tank drained and really really well washed out. cleared out an old freezer at the shop... will try later tonight to start filling it. Most of the dents this tank has are on the side, there is one on the front, if i can get this to work "enough" i can fix the rest with bondo. ill take pics and keep you updated
 
its done with 2 stroke exhaust chambers all the time like that works OK you just need to watch it carefully because it can distort and or crack the pipe.

The other method is compressed air and heat, but this is a gas tank were talking about and i like being alive, with all ten fingers and toes.
 
well... after stripping the tank, i realized that the dents where not near as bad as the color made them look so i used a heat gun and ice, let it heat up for 3 min and then added ice to the spot, did wonders to pull the dent out! did not get them perfect but did get them shallow enough to bondo!
 
Auww all that build up! I was really looking forward to seeing how the water thing turned out.

I feel gypped! :mad: ;D
 
dont worry i still have a chopper tank that i am using on my cb350 bob that has a big ol dent in it, i am going to try the water and freezer trick on it, either way i still ahve to cut the tunnel out of it and widen it out so if it does not work i can rub out the dent when i do that... ill get back to you on progress
 
my dad tried this on an old set of pipes off a triumph. not 100% sure what he did right or wrong but they split length wise. Some one on another board tried it on a tank and split it at the seams, but ive seen pics of it done with out damage. just have to be on top of it. retail ice cream freezers are great for this so you can watch it with out opening every 20 mins.
 
i know everyone i talked to (my uncle said he has done this "100 times" in the 70's) he said that the trick is to take a whole night to do it, not a quick fix he said fill it about 1/4... then every 30 min add 2-3 cups of water, keep doing this till it is full, this will have the ice slowly expand to the shape rather than expand out of the shape... that was my plan at least... to be honest... i belive him, i think between my dad and him (his brother) they prob build 50 choppers! and i can not tell you how many other customs, they alwasy have some tricked out little short cuts to show me when they come in the shop
 
well... last night i did it... filled the tank 1/4 let it freeze, added 2 water bottles of water at a time after it was frozen... the water was well past the dent and frozen when i woke up this morning but the dent was still there... so i added more water, closed the freezer and went to work... ill let you know whats up after i get home

only my wife would be cool with opening up the freezer in the morning to a chopper tank in there... hope she does not want me to use it on a bike for her! this one is mine!!!!
 
nope not at all, nothing happened. did not pop the dent out. the tank is full... did not work. Sucks! ooh well i was going to cut out the tunnel to make it work on a CB350 anyway gues i can rub the dent out then
 
Did you use tap or bottled water??? ;D I am only joking. Sucks it didn't work. Hope you didn't bet the wife it would work cause they love when they can say I told you so. You saying this doesn't work is enough for me not to try it. I was quoted as saying this once, very appropriate to the water tank dent removal technique "Theory and reality are rarely one in the same." - MidcoastCustoms
 
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