How do you get dents out of a metal gas tank??

[Kaysen]

I got the butt of a and pushed one out of the side, but need to remove some others. I was thinking about filling it with an air compressor, any other ideas would help. thanks Kaysen

[Howdy]

I haven't tried it as of yet. But some have used the water and freezing it to remove dents.
Howdy

[Kaysen]

Howdy,if youdont mind would you explain this freezing technique to me. never heard of it. Kaysen

[Howdy]

What I was told was you fill the tank about 1/3 to 1/2 the way full of water. Then you turn the tank so the dent is down and put it in the freezer over night. Big / deep dents may need this done a couple times to get the needed results.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

Howdy

[BLAZERONE22]

Don't use compressed air! I tried it on a 200x tank, it popped the dent out alright, but it also expanded the whole tank. messed the whole tank up.

[bornonthreewheels]

i filled my tank up just about to the top with water then put it in my freezer it did a pretty nice job at getting out all the dent

[mad_max]

Kaysen, a friend of mine who does auto body work used a uni-spotter on my tank. Basically it spot welds a nail to the dent then you use a dent puller to pull the dent. then grind off the weld. This is only for those tanks being repainted however

[Kaysen]

Mad max, thats seems to be the best way, IMO. I can see freezing it working but how would you know how much water to use? I feel this nail and dent puller method will be the best. Thanks, Kaysen

[Mobular]

Mad Max's solution is the correct way to repair a dented tank. It's also a preferred way to fix dinged pipes.

[LaDano]

You can also use a torch with a wet rag. Heat the dent to almost cherry red then cool it off with a soaking wet rag quickly. Be sure to purge the tank with inert gas first and during the process.

[atcmatt]

I dunno if this would work but it most likely would.

Fill your tank to the very top with some sort of soda, coke, pepsi etc
Put the fuel cap on tightly and let it freeze over night. Since fizzy drink expands when it is frozen, more so than water, is should have enough presssure to push out the tanks dent.

Ive never tried this but i bet it works!

Matt

[Dan Tenn]

Use water if your going to freeze it. Not some sort of sticky, fizzy drink. Is there any proof that soda will expand more than water ?. There are very few things on earth that expand when frozen other than water. The reason soda expands when frozen is because it contains mostly water. 100% water will expand just fine, and wont leave a sticky mess to clean up.

P.S. water freezes at a higher temp than soda also.

[Trikeaholic]

why wouldnt the ice just take the path of least resistance up and out of the filler neck??

[Dan Tenn]

"why wouldnt the ice just take the path of least resistance up and out of the filler neck?? "

The neck will most likely freeze first since their is no metal on the top. it will eventually freeze around the neck and form a seal while the inside remains water for a short time longer (assuming you have filled the tank completely with water).

Same thing goes for the petcock hole.

Holic is right, it will start to come out those holes until its hard enough to form a plug.

This method is by no means a science, but it works pretty good on large dents. Then I would use the heat/ice method to work it further out.

[Kaysen]

I gave up and have it at a local body shop. It's been there for about two weeks and still not much progress! Thanks, Ill post pics when I get it back, Kaysen