My friend is leaving his 1973 Honda CB125 at my place and its gas tank has this huge dent in it:
So I started working on it. I took a small crowbar and tried to push out the dent from the inside. I could get the end of the crowbar inside the tank and hit the other end with a hammer. The results were predictably not great but I did make some progress.
Next I grabbed my MIG welder and welded on some finish nail, just like a stud welder.
Then I pulled the studs with a homemade stud puller made out of a vice grip, a long bolt, and a large socket used for the weight. The bolt was welded onto the handle end of the vice grip, with the socket on the bolt. The head of the bolt is large enough so that the socket does not slide over it, and the bolt is long enough so that the socket and slide down it, hit the head of the bolt, and give a good tug on whatever the vice grip is attached too.
One round of stud pulling wasn't enough so I welded on some more nails:
I tried to keep the graphic but it was doomed.
Bondo and high-build primer added and sanded:
Color coat. I found a can of Rustoleum's "Custom" lacquor paint that looked like a close color match...
...but it wasn't as close of a match as I hoped it would be.
A coat of clear lacquor helped the sheen blend a little better:
2nd coat of clear:
And last but not least I fixed the graphic! I used Rustoleum enamel, brush-on not spray paint.
So there ya have it. I hope somebody finds this helpful!!
-Danny