knee dents

G

greasemonkey75

Active Member
To bondo or not to bondo?? I have hammered the tank with intention to bondo, but I kinda like the look. I am going to paint the tank Ford toredor red and knee dents a dark gray metallic.

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if you don't plan on spending A Lot of extra time & Money ....."Bondo is quick and easy"--Bondo Salesman ....the other way is...... your gonna need an english wheel or plannishing hammer or nice set of hammers and a @$$ Load of Patience, a welder, something to cut the tank with preferably Tools, while your in the Tools Section get an air compressor and anything else you can afford...... SO Far you got the Shape and size down Looks good from here i'd work my way around the outside with the hammer with as many small hits as you can then towards the middle with the same technique....Then see how it looks small dents close together blend a bit better and you may choose no Bondo
 
Here is one more shot to try to show the shape. This is my first go at hand hammering. I used a 2" torpedo style nylon hammer. I may want to leave dents. Figured it mat give it some character. Still not sure. Probably last minute call. Any input would help.
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I like the function over form look, and bondo never made any car or bike faster (please don't quibble over aerodynamics ;)) but, it really depends on the whole look you're going for on the bike. It might look great, or it might look like you just got busy with a hammer one night after a few beers.

I'd make it as smooth as possible without filler and leave it at that. At least make it look like you took your time and have a sense of pride in your work. I'm NOT saying it looks bad now, I'm just saying that everything you do on your bike should reflect a certain amount of pride and high level of effort. With some work you can make those hand-hammered knee dents look great and still have that hand-made character you're looking for.
 
I may be missing something here but how are you going to smooth out the hammer marks if you don't use filler? Are you going to metal finish it? If you leave it like that and paint it it will look like you beat it with a hammer and painted it...
 
I have been thinking about trying this and wondering how many tanks I will f*&% up before getting something that looks good. How does one get nice clean lines on the outermost edge of the indent. I have seen builders do the cut out and weld back in reverse to make these indents that have nice clean edges, but with hammering? Any tips? Also, without cutting the tank open how does one pound the interior side?
 
To be honest, I just watched a youtube video and figured I could do that. As far as the cut and reweld, I would steer away. Gas tank metal is very thin and unless you are working with a new tank, probably thinner in some spots due to rust. Blowing holes in a tank sucks, trust me. I just started with a piece of paper and a marker. Then started beating away. I think the trick is not to use a metal hammer and take your time. It seemed to me that the metal wanted to form that way. Mine is not perfect by any stretch, but not bad either. No creased!!! I was nervous too. This was a nice tank to start and I didn't feel like getting another. But sometimes you just need to go for it.
 
If you have an opportunity to do it again, don't take the hammer directly to the tank. Get a small bag of tough material and fill it with lead shot. Put that over the tank and use a mallet on the bean bag. This helps to disperse the force of your blows and causes less deformation to the metal. You end up with a nice smooth dent instead of 100+ hammer marks.
 
I gave in to my own will. I started to put a thin coat of filler on the sides. I must say, it looks good will put photos up tomorrow.
 
Here is where I am so far. I still need to get some glaze to clean up some of the fine scratches and imperfections. I am glad I cleaned it up. Using the urethane mallet did not dimple up metal that bad. Just got some clip ons and Rear sets from DCC. I don't think I am quite there yet, but I am feeling good.
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I am going to paint inside the knee dents a different color and thought the peening would give it a different look. But after listening to all the comments I figured it would just look like I didn't give a shit. Ha ha.
 
Yeah. I figured I would try duplicolor laquer and clear and see how it turns out. So far Si good and it only cost about $25 bucks. A pint of each in a urethane would be about $150 and I would hope I liked the combo. I used 2 Ford colors so it will be easy to get touch up. Ill wet sand in a couple of days a see how it looks. Just sprayed about 4 coats of clear and it already has a nice shine and some depth. Well see.
 
Just a heads up to anyone who might be giving this a shot.

Check the tank for bondo before you bust out the hammer (use a dead blow hammer). I did it to a CB750 tank, and one side went perfectly. I moved on to the other side, and the first hit caved in the entire side of the tank, and blew the inch thick layer of bondo that was already on the tank completely off. Ruined the tank.
 
That could definately happen. If the bondo is that thick, you probably want another tank anyway. I guess you can always use the magnet in the panel trick. If it sticks your usually ok. That being said, I am glad that didn't happen to me.
 
I have had good luck with Duplicolor for color and then used a real automotive clear coat. There is nothing that comes from a rattle can that can hold up to gas, oil and brake fluid. I have even seen that VHT engine enamel get baked on and still peel after a carb does a piddle on it. Just a heads up. You have put alot of work into that tank with masking and multiple coats. You dont want it to slide off your first time at the pump.
 
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