another successful dent removal

[DogBunny]

Before. Note that the dent does not have any creases, however it is irregular, and also goes through the tank's top welded seam.

After. The pic has some misleading reflections, however the dent is almost completely gone.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256...t_main.23.5b9a1802EkHcD0&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa
I used this dent puller. I bought the most expensive kit, the one with glue gun and the extra metal tabs. It was a couple bucks cheaper when I bought it -- with tax and shipping I paid $26. As far as I'm concerned, it has already paid for itself with this one dent repair.

This is after my first pull with the slide hammer. What started out as a big dent is now a small dent.

Another pic after the first pull. The circle shows where I glued the tab on -- compare to the previous pic, and you can see how the "center" of the dent has migrated.
That circle is not glue residue -- It is actually clear-coat damage, I.E. the clear coat stuck to the glue tab, and came off with it. Strangely, that never happened again. I subsequently glued and pulled many, many times trying to get the small residual dent out. Every time I did a pull, the tab would come off. This became tedious and time-consuming. It takes a couple minutes for the glue gun to heat up, and then you have to wait a few minutes for the glue to cure before you pull.
That small dent was very persistent. I used up an entire glue stick before calling it quits.

Here, again, is the "after" pic. I almost completely got the left-over small dent out. What's left is a small "flattish" area (circled), not too noticeable.
The arrow points to the damaged clear coat. I'm guessing that maybe I let the glue get too hot when I placed my very first tab, and it melted the clear???

I want to give credit to this thread started by Wingedwheel, which inspired me to buy my kit:
https://www.xs650.com/threads/frankentank.64813/
The dent puller he used is no longer sold by Harbor Freight, but you can buy it here, on Amazon, for only $8:
https://www.amazon.com/JMgist-Silve...ocphy=9028317&hvtargid=pla-634463347357&psc=1
I must have missed it at the time that I bought mine. At 1/3 the cost, BUT the glue gun and glue are extra.
If you read the reviews, it doesn't work great on small dents, which is the same as what I experienced.
AutoZone has a kit that includes the glue and gun for $17.
On the other hand, with my kit I got another slide hammer, so that's a good thing.

 

[RC4MAN]

I've used a similar one for dent removal, instead of slide hammer it uses a tool you squeeze like a pistol grip. Takes time, several small steps to achieve success. Only PITA part is cleaning the glue from the arbors, especially the plastic ones with fine grooves on the face.
Used one on a Harley tank for a fellow, it pulled the clear coat off, ugh!

 

[DogBunny]

I've used a similar one for dent removal, instead of slide hammer it uses a tool you squeeze like a pistol grip. Takes time, several small steps to achieve success. Only PITA part is cleaning the glue from the arbors, especially the plastic ones with fine grooves on the face.
Used one on a Harley tank for a fellow, it pulled the clear coat off, ugh!

Interesting report. I looked at the pistol grip kits, but I don't understand what keeps the bridge in place -- body weight/pressure?
The glue came off pretty easily for me, using alcohol (isopropyl 99%) as per the instructions.
Bummer about the clear coat. Definitely a risk.

 

[DogBunny]

I looked at the pistol grip kits, but I don't understand what keeps the bridge in place

Duh -- now I get it -- equal and opposite forces, as the tab is pulled out, the bridge is pressed onto the surrounding metal.

 

[gggGary]

I gotta bud that's a pro...........

Going to see what he can do. The paint is cracked, just visible at bottom of dent.

 

[WideAWAKE]

Nice!!!

 

[jetmechmarty]

My Eleven Special has a dent in the tank that makes me crazy. Some time ago, I dropped the bike. I got under it to protect it. My knee made a soft dent underneath the aft end of the badge. I’d sure like to make that go away.

 

[Wingedwheel]

I’ve had great luck with the Harbor Freight dent puller. Used on tanks, fenders, ect and never damaged the paint. My understanding is the type of glue you use can be too good And that when it grabs the finish.

 

[DogBunny]

I gotta bud that's a pro...........
View attachment 254123
Going to see what he can do. The paint is cracked, just visible at bottom of dent.

The crack adds an interesting wrinkle. I'll be interested to know what technique your pro uses.

My Eleven Special has a dent in the tank that makes me crazy. Some time ago, I dropped the bike. I got under it to protect it. My knee made a soft dent underneath the aft end of the badge. I’d sure like to make that go away.

A soft dent sounds like the perfect candidate for this type of repair. Unless the badge area has some kind of structure that's going to complicate things. And the risk of clear coat damage.

I’ve had great luck with the Harbor Freight dent puller. Used on tanks, fenders, ect and never damaged the paint. My understanding is the type of glue you use can be too good And that when it grabs the finish.View attachment 254130View attachment 254131View attachment 254132View attachment 254133

I gave you credit and a link to a thread you started in my original post. Your thread is what got me started down this path...

 

[Wingedwheel]

The crack adds an interesting wrinkle. I'll be interested to know what technique your pro uses.

The PDR guy I used on my ‘76 tank because I wanted to save the paint used heat lamps to keep the paint soft and worked it out from the inside.

 

[DogBunny]

Before and after of another dent removal using glue tabs. The dent was badly creased, and the glue-tab method won't completely get rid of creases.

This was after my first slide-hammer pull. That's a metal glue tab, still stuck-on after the pull. My big dent is now a small dent. Weird how the dent did not pull symmetrically. I removed this tab and re-positioned it on the new center of the smaller dent for my next pull.

I added this to my dent-pulling arsenal. These are cheap. I used both this and the slide-hammer on the above dent. It took several pulls to get to my final result. Both tools have their advantages and disadvantages.

 

[gggGary]

Cool!
Waiting to hear from my PDR pro on the small CB900F tank dent.That tank has a crappy, kinda failed lining job in it, grr.