Freezing water in the fuel tank.

[dalet]

This is my first legitimate post here and the topic may have been discussed sometime before. I read somewhere on the web that sticking your fuel tank (full of water) into the freezer will pop the dents out. I'm disappointed to report that I put in a long day yesterday. I checked on the tank every hour on the hour while in the freezer for twelve hours. The dent remained. Finally I pulled the tank out of the freezer and let it set on the floor. I went to bed.
This AM the tank water was still frozen and I've had to bring the tank into the house for defrosting. I will have to work out the dents some other way. Has anyone else tried this dent removal method?
Thanks, Dale

[adlowe]

No. It sounds like a good way to induce some leaks into the tank, though.

[dalet]

Yeah! That's why I was up so late last night. Checky Checky!

[GilaMinumBeer]

I've only ever read about the ice method of dent removal for exhaust pipes/headers.

Mostly by motocrossers.

I'm trying it myself on some fork covers. I've read that you really have to fill the void with sand first. Pack it in good. Then add water and freeze. But don't freeze for too long or you could rupture/split the sheet metal since that spot is the weakest point and will be further weakened by flexing it back out.

And don't expect it to go away the first try. It should take about 3 or 4 tries to work the dent out to, at best, a ripple.

[rkforrest]

I have used compressed air but it blew the sides of the tank out also.

[Jammit]

a pops-a-dent kit that you can buy at autozone, amazon and the like, which uses hot glue and a puller worked better than expected for me - had a golf ball sized dent on the tank in that difficult compound curve "point" at the front of the tank. It only costs 20 bucks and it didn't damage the paint...took a few tries and some fiddling around, but it worked and that's what counts. Was it perfect? No, but it was a heck of a lot better than it was, and took very little filler to smooth the tank for paint. Give it a shot!

[ZackDaniels]

Most reasonable auto body shops will do this for you for $25-$100 or refer you to somebody who can. The term you're looking for is Paintless dent repair.

I would be sure to flush the hell out of that tank now that it's been filled with ice. Excess water in carbs/gas/everything is bad news. Get that thing flushed and/or bone dry before re-mounting it.

[dalet]

I'll be filling the remaining dent and doing the paint myself. Today I managed to pop most of the dent out but will have to use the body filler.
No worries about water. I blew the tank out.

Another method of popping dents is to use a heat gun to heat up the surrounding area and then use a can of compressed air for cleaning computers. Spray the dent with it. The cold shrinking the metal against the heated area causes it to pop.