The Hodaka Club Forum

Does anyone have any ideas on non-drilling, dent removal tools, which can be used to pull small dings from chrome tanks? Looking for something which doesn’t cost an arm & a leg but will work to push out dents like these! Victor

Sorry can’t attach photos now. No WiFi access. I’ll have to wait until I get home!

OK! Here’s the Pics!!!

bought a tank on ebay and it has a few dents should be here early this week. i picked up this dent removal tool a few years back at a garage sale for a few bucks, it came with a hot melt glue gun will give it a try and let you know....albert

Hi Victor. I had a tank with similar dents. Pretty common. They're due to a mod that didn't include steering stops to disallow triple tree contact with the tank at full lock. I tried a device similar to Alberts that used a slide hammer instead of the bridge and screw lever. I don't know if the bridge and screw technique can work with a dent in that position. The other issue is that, like mine, the dents are small in diameter and deep. These types of dent pullers work better on dished, shallow dents. I could not get the dents to budge with a two-pound slide hammer. The hot melt glue just couldn't keep the pull button secure to the dent. What I ended up doing was drilling a 3/4" hole in the bottom of the tank opposite each dent then gently tapping out the dents from the inside with a brass drift. I used a flexible work light through the fill hole to see the dent along the drift. After that, I took the chrome off down to base metal with a die grinder and welded up the holes with 1" circular sheet metal slugs (make sure the tank is thoroughly cleaned with absolutely NO - repeat NO - fuel/vapor remaining). Finally, spray the bare metal with a rust inhibiting paint. I sealed the tank with Caswell. It is unnoticeable unless you look from underneath. If I had it to do all over again, I'd leave the dents.

i will agree matt, i dont think i will be able to remove the dents either, in my case i dont even know were there at but i have nothing to loose. ive painted a lot of parts on this project that were to far gone .so im not to afraid to extend the paint on to the tank or part of it . i look at some of the older BSA tanks that kinda fits in my cartoon bubble......albert

I'm with you, Albert. I like the part chrome/part color look. BSA and Husqvarna come to mind.

I’m thinking about welding a large ball bearing on to a curved rod which would reach the dents. My painter told me there’s a guy here in town that they used exclusively for PDR work who might be able to do it. Wsiting to Herat back from painter with the guy’s contact info. Victor

My brother rigged up an angled and pivoting "dent hammer" that fit into the fuel filler neck. I'll see if he still has it. All I can remember is a hinge mechanism and an epic amount of farting around.

The biggest problem with dent removal on the Chrome tanks was that they were made with such thick metal. Once dented, it is VERY hard to remove without major work. Most of the dent remover devices just don't exert enough force to remove the dents. As Matt said, the best way to remove the dents is with a hammer and drift (or other suitable tool). Good luck and let us know what works.

stud welder.

just about anything you use that is effective will require a re-chrome, unless you paint.

$0.02

Roger

Well no painting on a Chrome tank. I will post whats been decided and how it goes! Victor

Victor, keep us informed with pictures how the dent removal program goes, while on my trip I found a new chrome shop that might be a little cheaper for you, their company name is Electro platingelpaso,com., phone 1--800323--5766, Need to call them and send picture of tank and then they will give you a phone quote. Maybe even take the dents out, Bruce

I’ve seen their work. I don’t think it compares with Salt Lake City. I asked them about rechroming a toolbox. They wanted $45 plus me to pay shipping both ways. What info do you have on them? Victor

I'm with you, Dirty. Before I went nuts with the drill and drift, I took the tank to one of the chopper shops in town and their remedy was to cut the tank in half, pound out the dents, weld the tank together, and have the tank rechromed - all for the take-home price of about a grand. The tank was going back on a Wombat I keep up in Northern Minnesota for fire road bombing. Nope.

well after "Farting around" most of the day my dent removal tool really didn't make a dent in the dent. the tank cleaned up pretty well so now its " i was flying down the trail one night and as i came around a corner a moose stepped out and hooked the tank with his horn if it wasn't for the great handling of this... " well you get the idea.....albert

Haha! Good call - war wounds.

Isn't that known as Patina?