Dry Ice Dents

Chris_90

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So I recently purchased an 2005 FZ6 that had been lightly dumped before. The only non-cheap thing that needed(I wanted) to be fixed on the bike was 2 dents on the gas tank.

My question is if anyone knows anything about using dry ice to get out dents?

I have been looking online and haven't really been able to find out much about it. The only information i have found is to essentially get a piece of dry ice and hold it on the dent till it starts to pop out.

So does anyone have advice about it?

Thanks!
 

Def

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I tried it several times on a dent on my tank but it didn't work. Apparently the dry ice idea doesn't work on tanks that are doubled walled...which I believe the FZ6 tank is.
 

ChevyFazer

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Na the fz tank isnt double walled but that dry ice trick really only works on "fresh" dents on a realtivly flat surface, you can do the same with a torch for larger dents but still has to be a pretty flat surface

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Def

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I tried it several times on a dent on my tank but it didn't work. Apparently the dry ice idea doesn't work on tanks that are doubled walled...which I believe the FZ6 tank is.

Oops, just double checked (no pun intended)...FZ6 gas tank is single walled. :eek:
Still didn't work for me.
 

The Toecutter

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before fuel injection and the addition of an electric fuel pump to the tank.I used to fill them with water and put them sealed up in a deep freeze to get dents out...... so that being said...... the dry ice in the sealed tank would expand with enough force to pop dents out,only problem is the pressure could blow a fuel line .... or damage the fuel pressure regulator.you could maybe remove the fuel pump assy and reach in with a rolling pin and massage the dent out...
 

FinalImpact

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bottom line: nothing easy is going to work on anything baring a crease, line, or ridge which was imposed (not factory).

Beyond that, paints going to fly to fix it. I'm sure there may be few exceptions but its going to be rare.

Play with a pop can or thicker and see what heating and cooling can do. Metal expands with heat and contracts with cool. Metal forced inward was stretches and needs to be shrunk. Good luck with that!
 

2-stroke

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Don't know for sure never tried it, I was told by someone that did it on the car door several times to take boiling water and poor it on the dent and it will pop right out. I have no idea what it will do to the paint but they said it worked great.
 

FinalImpact

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Don't know for sure never tried it, I was told by someone that did it on the car door several times to take boiling water and poor it on the dent and it will pop right out. I have no idea what it will do to the paint but they said it worked great.

Lets go to the parking lot and find out! lol :spank:
 

Old Fart

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the tank needs to be hot like from the sun. i would think very little gas in the tank as the gas would absorb the temp change. i have seen some good luck on harley tanks using dry ice.
 

Motogiro

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the tank needs to be hot like from the sun. i would think very little gas in the tank as the gas would absorb the temp change. i have seen some good luck on harley tanks using dry ice.

That's the way it seems to work best. Warm the area in the sun but I guess if the sun isn't available use a blow dryer but not near open fumes!

What's happening is you get the molecules all moving much faster. when you apply the dry ice, the indent or low part of the dent still has fast moving molecules but where the dry ice touches the high part of the dent the molecules slow down very quickly and shrink. This pulls the valley out of the dent. I imagine it may not work on dents with highly stretched metal or sharp creases. :D
 
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