Tank dent removal methods

S

ShaggyPit

Been Around the Block
Hey guys, so I have been bondo-ing (grammar is good) some small dents and little ripples on my '81 750k gas tank. Process has been good and its turning out really well as well as covering the tank badge mounts. My problem now is a large tent on the front right of the tank where I am assuming the PO hit the tank with the handlebar. Its a sizeable dent and I have been experimenting with some DIY methods to remove it....to no avail.

Methods have included using a variety of different rods, brackets, etc. to slide into tank and knock out dent from the inside, heated up dent with a blow dryer then flipped a can of compressed air upside down and sprayed it immediately after the blow dryer, inserted a blood pressure cuff...
I am not sure if my eyes have played tricks on me but sometimes it looks like the dent has gotten better, but then again it looks the same

so now I do not want to bondo the whole thing and dont want to fork out cash for someone else to do it since all quotes seem to run me about 100 bucks and I would rather put that money to something else. I also do not want to use a slide hammer since I am apprehensive about drilling a hole into the tank and then having to weld it up again seems daunting. Same with welding rods onto the dent and pulling them off and grinding them back down...

Anybody use any other methods to get a dent out? I am going to keep trying to knock it out from the inside and trying to get better angles on it. is this tank double walled and thats what is making this more difficult?

any help is appreciated! thanks all
 

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I spot welded a couple dowels in the dent, took one of my rods that holds a chuck in a milling machine, tightened the chuck on the dowel, screwed the rod to it, and used it as a slide hammer. Few pops later, dent was close enough for a skim of bond then finishing putty.
 
take a piece of scrap sheet metal > ping it with a ball peen > drill a hole in the middle of the dimple > grind most of the head off a bolt that fits the hole > insert in hole > epoxy metal with bolt to tank just below smiley face in dent > attach something to pull with > pull like hell until dent pops out > use MEK or acitone to breakdown the epoxy or grind it off.
 
J-Rod10 said:
I spot welded a couple dowels in the dent, took one of my rods that holds a chuck in a milling machine, tightened the chuck on the dowel, screwed the rod to it, and used it as a slide hammer. Few pops later, dent was close enough for a skim of bond then finishing putty.
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I do something similar. I mig a small bolt on the dent. Attach a DIY slide with a threaded female bung on the end. Slide it out with a bit of heat if need be. You really do not want to rip an outie hole in your tank. Go easy!

Grind it off. Peen it down a hair for some light filler if need be to keep the shape. The real trick is being able to keep the parabola while not thinning the tank. I'm not afraid of a bit of filler in order to preserve the gauge thickness of a tank.
 
OP:
" I also do not want to use a slide hammer since I am apprehensive about drilling a hole into the tank and then having to weld it up again seems daunting. Same with welding rods onto the dent and pulling them off and grinding them back down..."

I think he don't want to use no stinking slide hammer and welding rods to the tank... why, I don know.
 
Ok, then cut the tank in half and pound the dents out, then weld the tank together. Of fill the dent with $40 of JB weld.

I dunno. Motorcycles just need to be fixed the right way and most guys that like motorcycles don't want to fix them.

If you don't wanna weld on something to pull it out, buy a mint tank.
 
danker16 said:
spot welder/ dent puller from harbour freight 100$
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Aside from the expense, this is the way to go. This is the conventional method to perform this repair. It uses dedicated purpose pins that resistance weld to the tank, and a special slide hammer chuck grabs the pin and pulls out the dent. The pin then almost always just breaks off clean with a little bending leaving the tank completely unscathed except for a little dressing with a file where the pin was welded. Using as many pins as needed and an acetylene torch, almost any dent can be removed - flawlessly by a skilled person. Just getting it really close can be done by a total rookie with a little patience and care. If you don't want to buy the gear, or do it yourself, try going around to some body shops and ask them if they will just pull the dent for cheap. It is very hard to get enough force on that sort of dent from inside the tank, though something could undoubtedly could be made. Problem is it likely would be harder and more time consuming. This is a 15 minute job with the right tool to have it ready for a touch up with body filler and primer.
 
thanks for all your suggestions!
seems everyone is leaning towards welding on some rods of some sort in some fashion.

I am not opposed to this, however I do not have a welder and that is why I suggested and asked if there were any other methods. My family is not the handy type so not many of us have welders just hanging out in the garage. I need a more cool family i suppose... :'(

I will start searching for somebody I know with a welder and give this a shot! thanks again for everyone's input. :)
 
Gentleman... welding pins is the simplest method and the method of choice, but it is not the only method is all I was putting out there... in a garage shop maybe a bit back woods sorta way, but it would work just fine to weld a chunk of sheet metal on with epoxy or even two or three too get a few pulls on it.

Here is: a professional "glue" on method with a "slide hammer"
 

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I know I'm in late on this one, but I had great luck with the glue on kit from autozone to remove dents from a pickup truck. Didn't hurt the paint or anything. I don't know how we'll it will do with the heavier gauge metal on an mc tank though. A few years ago the whole kit was only about $30 I believe.
 
Yea, I tried that system in this video:

https://youtu.be/I4JkLX3AIjU

motorcycles tanks are of a thicker gauge with compound curves vs. auto panels
 
Ichiban Moto said:
Yea, I tried that system in this video:

https://youtu.be/I4JkLX3AIjU

motorcycles tanks are of a thicker gauge with compound curves vs. auto panels
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The test is inconclusive at best. You only tested the equipment on one small dent in a tight corner and never tested the slide hammer.

I would Fail this test method for lack of content.
 
I watched the owner use it for a couple of hours. The glue gun only holds the nibs on just enough for a very light "tap tap" with the slide hammer, good for paintless repair of light hail dents in car panels.



seriously, buy one and give it a try :D
 
Well I was courious about removing some dents and here is what I discovered Dry Ice does not work on MC tanks, cutting the tank open and pounding works but is not cost effective, filling the dent with bondo works but thick bondo is a pain to deal with, the spot weld option is about the best, I have not tried the glue slide hammer option but I would give it a try just to see how it works. If you want to give it a try then have at it but I would pay the 100 bucks and be done with it. The time and expense you may put out doing DIY may over shadow getting it done by someone else. just my two cents
 
Ichiban Moto said:
I watched the owner use it for a couple of hours. The glue gun only holds the nibs on just enough for a very light "tap tap" with the slide hammer, good for paintless repair of light hail dents in car panels.



seriously, buy one and give it a try :D
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That's cool, but we can't see that and you made no mention... I could say to UL lab "I tested this transformer for hours and it is within specification" should they just believe me. Point is if you want to make informative video's, be thorough and in this case it was very abbreviated regardless of previous knowledge. FAIL!

My suggestion was to "epoxy" metal and pull the dent.
 
Tune-A-Fish said:
That's cool, but we can't see that and you made no mention... I could say to UL lab "I tested this transformer for hours and it is within specification" should they just believe me. Point is if you want to make informative video's, be thorough and in this case it was very abbreviated regardless of previous knowledge. FAIL!

My suggestion was to "epoxy" metal and pull the dent.
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Go take a look at the "whats going on at Ichiban Moto" thread. All his videos just make fun of the hipster motorcycle building scene and are of no real informative content. Its all a farce, but a funny one at that.
 
hurco550 said:
Go take a look at the "whats going on at Ichiban Moto" thread. All his videos just make fun of the hipster motorcycle building scene and are of no real informative content. Its all a farce, but a funny one at that.
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I know dang it!! I was trying to get under his crawl! and the point of it all ;D
 
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