HOW TO REMOVE the infamous Tank dent (SEE PIC)

[denttime]

Well hello everyone. My name is Myke Toledo, owner of DentTime.com Thanks for the kudos about my susuki motorcycle tank dent repair video.

I would like to clear some facts up about PDR. I have been performing PDR on motorcycles for over 17 years and I have never disturbed the inside coating of a tank. #1 I use a special protected tip. Mostly protected with a rubber or plastic cap. Some of you may think that it's possible to ignite the tank on fire.. but that's not even close to true. Some PDR techs say that because they don't want to work on tanks in the first place. Old myth.. old excuse.

There are good PDR techs but as some mentioned before on here, there are good one's and bad one's. Be really careful who you let work on your bike. Motorcycle tanks are tricky and take a lot of patience. Harley is the hardest then Ducati. The gage of the metal is what can make the removal difficult. We use a special reflection to guide our tool tip location and judge the curvature of the dent. Unfortunately when the metal is real thick, it's hard for us to identify the tool tip. That's the real reason why other PDR companies turn down motorcyle tank repairs.

Be careful if you use glue to attempt a dent pull. The professional version will pull the clear or paint right off. Access is another challenge. Depends on the fuel opening (the inside collar). If the collar is too long, we don't get leverage or an angle to reach the dent. And last but not least, the baffle. Some baffles block access and then it's pretty much a game over situation. About only 60% of gas tank dent repairs are truly successful. Depending on depth, location and access will determine the final outcome. Oh I did mention the tech too.. which might be the most important factor.



Look us up if you are ever in San Diego! By the way.. awesome forum here.

[ducpainter]

Ducati tanks are not coated from the factory except for some SBK tanks, and as ducvet says it is a black coating.

As denttime says access is always an issue.

Carby tanks have lousy access.

[Cucciolo]

Thanks for finding and taking the time to post here Myke. I'm the guy who called you yesterday about local PDRs here in Nashville not willing to work on the gas tank because of the fire hazard they think they will be exposed to.
I am still waiting for the Dixie guy to call me back. Thanks for the recommendation and for taking the time to explain things. I will update everyone after I talk to the PDR guy today.
Oh.. by the way.. Will the Ice method work.. or is it a myth?

[Alex]

+1 on taking care with the glue and pull method. I used it on mine years ago, and I can confirm that it pulls off the clear.

I did about 4 total pulls, each one making the tank look better than the last. On the last one, however, the paint came off and now it looks worse than ever. I rattle-canned some more clear on, which helped, but overall I wish I had just left it alone.

[erik822]

The dry ice method is supposed to work on cars that have hail damage. However, hail damage usually causes pretty small dents. If it's a good-sized tank ding, you'll probably need more than dry ice.

[Ducdood]

THAT'S impressive. I have the exact same dent and havn't had any luck with a couple places here in Dallas but NOW, armed with the evidence that it can be done, I will throw the pix in their face and challenge their manhood!

[Cucciolo]

THAT'S impressive. I have the exact same dent and havn't had any luck with a couple places here in Dallas but NOW, armed with the evidence that it can be done, I will throw the pix in their face and challenge their manhood!

Good luck and let me know how it works. I showed the video to a local PDR guy that said it was impossible to do it without blowing up and he is yet to call me back to say that he will or won't do it. My guess is he doesn't have the skills.