big mofo magnet to pull out a tank dent?

Recent events (!) have me abandoning all notions of 'compressed air' or 'ice and freezer' methods of popping gas tank dents.

What about a strong magnet? My idea: using a 'Rare Earth' magnet (super strong magnet type), put one RE magnet on the tank inside behind the dent, and put another RE magnet stuck to the outside of the dent so it sticks hard to the other RE magnet already on the inside of the dent.

It's a BIG, and shallow dent -- should be easy to pull out.

Another variation is to use a strong electromagnet instead of using Rare Earth magnets.

Anyone shoot holes in this?
The dent's too big to bondo.

got a picture of dent? is metal stretched really bad? lots of ways to fix it,just need a visual

Why is ice out? I have had lots of success with dry ice and a heat gun haven't found many dents it wouldn't get out. It can also just be rubbed around metal surfaces to get small dings out and make it smooth again.

LokiG wrote:

Why is ice out? I have had lots of success with dry ice and a heat gun haven't found many dents it wouldn't get out. It can also just be rubbed around metal surfaces to get small dings out and make it smooth again.

Holy rock-n-roll, dry ice and heat gun, who'da thunk it.
I was thinking about the 'put water in the gas tank, put the gas tank in the freezer' approach I've read about.

Where can I buy dry ice? I already have a heat gun.

What is the process? I don't have a photo but the dent is the circumference of your open hand including the heel of the palm all the way to the tips of your fingers. It's not very 'stretched out' because that would imply a deep dent, and this one's shallow -- only about 1/8". I think the bike got bumped by something -- it certainly is not a 'dropped' dent because it's so shallow.

How do you use the dry ice and heat gun to remove the dent?

The problem with the magnet is you have to get it flush with the surface to get it to "hold". If the surface is a dent, it's an irregular shape which is going to put air gaps between the metal and the face of the magnet. I don't think it will work because of that.

for the dry ice method I think you cool the dent with the CO2 which causes the metal to shrink and then you hit it with the heat gun which expands the metal quickly and p[ops it back out. I'm sure you can find a better write up if you google it though

There is a pretty cool video on you tube that shows how the ice / gun method is used. Try to search for it and see if you have any luck.

be very carefull using dry ice,it will imediately frostbite your fingers or worse! i prefer lead over plastic filler myself,eastwood actually sells leadfree bodysolder now which is supposed to be easier to use.

Took mine to a dentless repair guy, he did it with a little spoon deal. Cost $150 but you couldnt find it if I didnt show you where it was, paint was perfect

You can probibly buy dry ice at a local grocery store.

But ive seen the dry ice method work before on cars. Give it a try.

I actually fixed a dent a bit ago by taking a strategically bent piece of a metal shaft that i made and put it through the filler hole and pushed the dent from the inside. I wrapped duct tape around the end of the shaft so it didnt dent it. it worked fine. It was on the top side of tank though so it wasnt hard to get to, it was about the size of a fist.

Good luck with it man.

Well, your magnet would scratch the paint and metal, and if it was strong enough to bend metal would probably leave an impression of the magnet on the inside as well causing rust on the inside... not good.



I've popped several dents on my car using the heat gun method, here's how it works

First: HEAT the area with the heat gun, you want it hot enough that you cant touch it for any length of time without getting burned, makes the metal flexable.

Then, take a can of compressed air aka dust off cleaner used for cleaning keyboards. Turn the can upside down, this causes you to spray LIQUID CO2 onto the dent. Dont spray it on your fingers, it's VERY cold.

The instant cooling will cause the metal to contract very rapidly, and pop out the dent.

(Video doesn't take long to heat up because it's a black car, sitting in the sun, and very thin sheet metal (Mazda RX7)).

Well, thanks to all about the various techniques.

This tank is to be repainted, so whichever method I use, I'm not concerned about the surface finish as I am planning to surface prep/prime/base coat/clear coat it after I repair the dent.

Because of the very shallow nature of this dent and its large circumference, I'm concerned that application of either dry ice (I've seen some videos on that fix on Youtube) or the heat gun/Co2 approach will be trickier than with, say, a smaller dent.

So on the '1st pass' I think I'll use a combination of suggestions I've gotten here, specifically the 'strategically shaped metal rod' and a heat gun to soften the metal of the tank -- since this dent is so shallow, I'll heat the outside and push from the inside at one end of the dent, and it that succeeds I'll work my way across the rest of the dent.

Then I expect I'll end up with a somewhat irregular area to work with, with probably a couple smaller dents, smaller than the open-hand-sized imprint I have now -- so for the 2nd pass, I'll work the smaller dents with dry ice or heat gun/Co2.

Well, since I've pulled that idea right out of the blue -- this '1st Pass/2nd Pass' idea -- I'm wondering from you folks with more dent-repair experience (I have zero) if this sounds OK...? I just don't have any past experience to draw on here, neither personal or observational experience. So if you can shoot holes in this idea, I'd be open to hearing why! Thanks.