Fixing a dent fuel tank

[Cozzy]

with a recent low speed drop, i have marked a little dent on the fuel tank, does anyone have idea about the dent pullyer kit? Does anyone have good or bad experience about it

[GeeP]

hi Cozzy,

Never used a dent puller myself.  How is the tank condition overall?  If you're due for a Kreem job you might consider taking it off and overhauling it.  I took mine off, cut a hole in the bottom to remove the bad Kreem job, sandblasted the interior, brazed on a patch plate and used plumbing solder to repair the dents before using Red Kote on the tank interior.

For all practical purposes, you can get away with plumber's solder in lieu of body lead for dent filling as long as you remove ALL the flux afterwards.  Here's a photo I took after leading:



Basically, use a plumber's torch to heat the steel until the solder just starts to flow.  Build it up and smooth it with a piece of rounded maple.  (A slightly damp maple cooking spatula will work)  Finish by filing to shape and smoothing with 100 to 220 sandpaper.  Use a filling primer to hide whatever little problems might remain.

Of course, be sure to wear surgeon's gloves and keep the lead dust away from your clothes!

[GeeP]

Oh...  Be sure to TOTALLY inert the tank before applying a flame!  Dump out all the gas, rinse multiple times with alcohol, then put an open air hose blowing in the tank to keep a flammable mixture from developing.  Better yet, rinse it out and inert the tank with nitrogen.  Otherwise there is the possibility that the tank could explode.

[Affschnozel]

I used a bent iron bar to push dents out from the inside , hardest thing was placing the point exactly on the center of the dent

Results are satisfying though not perfect if you look closer you still see some roughness on the surface   

[substudio]

I bought my bike with one small dent on the side of the tank.

I just used some bondo after stripping away the paint and sanded it to match the shape for the rest of the tank.