Looking for advice on a small tank dent.

[Nessism]

So all that fussing about this dent and you finish up with a rattle can?

[chuck hahn]

Too funny Beans..the dent is frying brain cells by the millions, but you used rattle can paint...LOL.

[SVSooke]

If primer filled it it's not a dent.Good luck finding a better tank.They wheren't that fussy when they made them 30+ years ago.

[frijoles-and-beans]

Well, I was attempting to take the dent all the way out, but I have since become disenchanted with the tank because of my failure to do so. I tell you, I got obsessed with that stupid little dent. As soon as I find a tank without any dents or fixes, (and if I'm persistent, I will) I'll use this one as a back-up tank, I guess. This tank is just fine actually. The dent is gone (except under the primer) and it's looking good.

I didn't want to use the good paint, and pull out my gun for something that I see as flawed. I'm fretting about a pretty inconsequential detail, but hey, it's my tank. I want it a certain way. I guess it is kind of funny though-What the heck is Beans talking about now; a dent that doesn't even exist?

[Nessism]

I sort of get the obsession, since I can be that way regarding my bike too. At some point it becomes pointless though, at which time you need to slap yourself up against the head and focus on the bigger picture. There is way more benefit from working maintenance items such as changing out rubber brake lines, cleaning up the R/R and stator wiring, making sure all the harness electrical contacts are clean, etc. A smig of body filler on an otherwise solid tank should be the least of your worries.

[JEEPRUSTY]

Well, I was attempting to take the dent all the way out, but I have since become disenchanted with the tank because of my failure to do so. I tell you, I got obsessed with that stupid little dent. As soon as I find a tank without any dents or fixes, (and if I'm persistent, I will) I'll use this one as a back-up tank, I guess. This tank is just fine actually. The dent is gone (except under the primer) and it's looking good.

I didn't want to use the good paint, and pull out my gun for something that I see as flawed. I'm fretting about a pretty inconsequential detail, but hey, it's my tank. I want it a certain way. I guess it is kind of funny though-What the heck is Beans talking about now; a dent that doesn't even exist?

The nicest thing about this obsession is the very real chance you will ding the tank shortly after finishing a perfect restoration.
Then you will get a pathological obsession and get il, lose weight and sleep and eventually succumb.

[frijoles-and-beans]

I sort of get the obsession, since I can be that way regarding my bike too. At some point it becomes pointless though, at which time you need to slap yourself up against the head and focus on the bigger picture. There is way more benefit from working maintenance items such as changing out rubber brake lines, cleaning up the R/R and stator wiring, making sure all the harness electrical contacts are clean, etc. A smig of body filler on an otherwise solid tank should be the least of your worries.

Oh yeah, I'm pretty diligent about my bike's maintenance issues too. I need it to last a good long time. I have picked up virtually all of the tips from BikeCliff's site. I've been going down the list. I still haven't done anything to my brake lines yet, but I have compiled a long list of projects from his site that I have completed.

I know that the appearance is just icing on the cake, but my bike is running really well right now, and I want to just be able to make it look as nice.

I think that at the end of the riding season, and we have a long one here, I will break the bike down and get the frame powder-coated. I really want to do a full restoration on it. Hopefully by that time, I will have found a good tank to work on.

[850 Combat]

Or just fill some of the low spots with brazing alloy and sand flat.

I did this with my Royal Enfield 750 TT Interceptor. Not to easy to rechrome after using bondo. The brazing came out looking very well.

[frijoles-and-beans]

Nice! A lot of people think you can overdo it with chrome. I am not one of those people. Looking good.

See; if one day I got a wild hair and decided to chrome out the tank, I couldn't do it with a Bondo type of fix. I would be the kind of guy to get a gas tank chromed out. Really though, I'm going to go for the restoration on the bike, and it just wouldn't feel fully restored with a dent under some Bondo.

[mighty13d]

someone said you can't plate over bondo.. NOT true. You can. You can even have plastic plated! Think on that one!! haha

Well, to keep people from flaming due to a lack of knowing I will explain. What I saw done was that they applied a metallic coating and then they dipped it. I can't remember if the metallic coating was a dip or spray though. It was several years ago. But they did it. Not all companies can/will do it. I have talked to companies that powder coat that way too.

[850 Combat]

Nice! A lot of people think you can overdo it with chrome. I am not one of those people. Looking good.

See; if one day I got a wild hair and decided to chrome out the tank, I couldn't do it with a Bondo type of fix. I would be the kind of guy to get a gas tank chromed out. Really though, I'm going to go for the restoration on the bike, and it just wouldn't feel fully restored with a dent under some Bondo.

On the Enfield and the BSA, the chrome is stock.

BSA painted most of the tank over the chrome. Royal Enfield just put a stripe down the top.