Topic: To paint or not

[dirty fingernails]

Hi everyone . So I have a 73Cb750 sunrise Flake . 26 yrs now . Some jackass turned right from the left lane , hit me , kept going . Now my orange tank has a huge dent and it's really crappy on the inside . I have a really nice Boss Marroon tank that I put on it with a spare set of black sidecovers . I don't really want to paint this original tank orange , but I want the Orange original look . Should I paint the tank ?

[denward17]

I think I would keep the maroon like it is....if it is in decent shape.

Can the orange tank be fixed? If not, I think I would order a set from yamiya in the color I wanted, assuming you have to pay someone to paint.

[dirty fingernails]

That's a huge chunk of change for the Yamiya set . Can't do that . Maybe I will look for a set of Boss Marroon side covers . My orange tank is F'd .

[denward17]

Were you planning to paint yourself?

Don't know how much a tank would cost to paint these days, but I can only guess.

I did check on painting a tank and side covers from a professional body shop, made my eyes water so I learned to paint myself, even then materials were about $400 or so for a 550 tank/side covers.

I'm in process of painting a K8 tank, and so far in about $525 just for materials and paint.

[Rayzerman]

Not seeing the dent in the orange tank from your pic.... it may be worth trying a paintless dent repair... kit from AliExpress is cheap, hot melt glue the puller piece onto the tank, and pull gently with the tool, working the dent out.  Start at the edges and work your way into the center.... I just did this on my tank (it needs paint anyway) and it worked quite well... look up a video on Youtube...

When you say the tank is in bad shape, do you mean rusty on the insde?

[dirty fingernails]

Wow . Ooof . I will shop around or try and find another orange tank somewhere .

[M 750K6]

"Brick House Builds" YouTube channel removed a dent in his tank by inflating an inner tube inside the tank. Pushed it out. If you're going to bin it anyway, might be worth a try.

If you get the dent out, electrolysis or Vaporust could work on the inside of the tank. I've used white vinegar on a tank, to good effect, but it wasn't too bad to start with and took a few days to work. Not easy to clean the vinegar out afterwards, without causing flash rusting. I coated it with 2 stroke oil, until I was ready to use it.

[dirty fingernails]

here's the dent .

[newday777]

Wow . Ooof . I will shop around or try and find another orange tank somewhere .

I think I have a K3 orange (or it's a K4? Different stripe pattern) in my storeroom, but it's late, it's been a long, busy on the road day and tomorrow is too so I'm not sure when I can look to dig it out to check it for the year it is.

[jlh3rd]

here's the dent .

Not recommending this place over any others....but it costs nothing to send pics and see if it can be repaired.

[BenelliSEI]

here's the dent .

Not recommending this place over any others....but it costs nothing to send pics and see if it can be repaired.

Worth checking! A local specialist saved a tank for me. Nothing beats “original” finishes.

[Rayzerman]

After watching a few paintless dent repair videos, it becomes apparent some nasty dents can be fixed.  I link one video here but there are many... I used a cheap kit to pull 3 large dents out of my tank.  My paint was crap to start with, and I did manage to remove some paint... one comment on the video, the technique should be to pull starting at the edges of the dent, not the middle, and to "work" the metal with the tool and not try to pull it all in one shot... some videos by pros will show using a tap tool to work around the dent, etc.  If you don't want to go this way, then get a pro to do it... you (they) may be able to get tools in there that can help from the inside.... what have you got to lose?  If the attempted repair pulls paint off, then you need a repaint so just take your time.  This is one of those cases where you have to be prepared to be very patient and it will take quite a bit of time.  Creases are going to be tough, but it can be done.

[HondaMan]

I have successfully 'unbent' engine fins before, but the operative word is "patience". It takes a lot of time and repetitions with the tools to get it done. I didn't even have to repaint.

[newday777]

After watching a few paintless dent repair videos, it becomes apparent some nasty dents can be fixed.  I link one video here but there are many... I used a cheap kit to pull 3 large dents out of my tank.  My paint was crap to start with, and I did manage to remove some paint... one comment on the video, the technique should be to pull starting at the edges of the dent, not the middle, and to "work" the metal with the tool and not try to pull it all in one shot... some videos by pros will show using a tap tool to work around the dent, etc.  If you don't want to go this way, then get a pro to do it... you (they) may be able to get tools in there that can help from the inside.... what have you got to lose?  If the attempted repair pulls paint off, then you need a repaint so just take your time.  This is one of those cases where you have to be prepared to be very patient and it will take quite a bit of time.  Creases are going to be tough, but it can be done.

I've looked at a bunch of PDR repair videos investigating if I want to do my own tanks, there's a lot of tools to invest lots of dollars in to do the repairs. I've had a local PDR guy fix several tanks for me, his repairs have been between $100-$375 depending on the damage. It's been well worth letting him do it.

Some crazy dents in this car tree damaged, all repaired with PDR tools in this video. So yes, it can be done.

[jlh3rd]

And one of the "tricks" in motorcycle tank repair is having the rig to hold the tank so that leverage can be used in the PDR  process without messing the tank up someplace else.
My limited experience/knowledge on re-bending metal that I learned is to "reverse the hit". IOW's , picture how the hit occured, angles, place of impact, and "reverse it".
So, yep, you begin by working outward in.....as stated , patiently.
I've "saved" stuff from a "totaled" minivan to repairing buggered JIS screw/bolt heads.

tools aren't cheap.

[MauiK3]

I've seen, and owned, worse that got repaired. You will likely need a repaint though

[Stev-o]

Paint the maroon tank since you dont have matching side covers.

[dirty fingernails]

Not seeing the dent in the orange tank from your pic.... it may be worth trying a paintless dent repair... kit from AliExpress is cheap, hot melt glue the puller piece onto the tank, and pull gently with the tool, working the dent out.  Start at the edges and work your way into the center.... I just did this on my tank (it needs paint anyway) and it worked quite well... look up a video on Youtube...

When you say the tank is in bad shape, do you mean rusty on the insde?

Yes , it was coated before I owned it and its bad , all flaking and nasty . As well as the dent .

[RAFster122s]

Jeff at Godfrey's Garage does tank repairs and customizations. Not gonna be cheap and will require repaint. The Yamiya tanks aren't a bad deal if you cannot paint it yourself. Just a lot of money. I would be surprised if a PDR guy unless very very skilled would be able to fix that. Jeff can strip the tank, have it stripped and then you can address rust and reline it. Powder coat shops can strip powder coat finishes before replaced paying things, some have used them to get oiled bare tanks back or bare parts back. Just have to take a few parts and talk to them about it and be clear on expectations and what they can deliver or not deliver.
They are only original once, hours looks nice enough to see if the pdr guys can do it but not just any pdr guy. He has to have experience with tanks. John, BenelliSei, had a tank pdr'd and he had to build tank stand for guy. He built one that was stout but PDR guy still destroyed it, but he got the work done and it was super nice.
David