JB Weld as body filler ?

[Lyle Laun]

I'm looking for a little guidance regarding body work on an IS gas tank.

Here's the deal - i'd like to put an IS tank on my standard for longer range when touring and I've found one that actually has some custom graphics painted on it (along with the matching fenders). I like the custom paint and don't want to repaint but the tank has a couple of sharp dents on the top of it between the filler cap and the back hold down bolt. A tank bib will cover these perfectly but I would think that they should be filled first.
Is it possible/wise to use JB Weld as a filler on these dents ? They aren't ordinary dents, they were made by a few good swings of a garden hoe by a small child and I'm not sure That regular body filler is the correct choice for this type of dint on a gas tank.

Any comments, advice, or better ideas ?

Much appreciated....

[Momz]

JB Weld is not a body filler. It is too hard.
If you are trying to fill a small dent, there products called "spot puttys".Other wise use a true body filler.
But you need to know that the two tone paint jobs are not real paint, but rather a decal over paint with a clear coat over both paint and decal.

If you don't feel qualified to do this after reading the above, then take your tank to a high end collision shop. Remember that you get what you pat for

[MarkT]

JB Weld is not a body filler. It is too hard.
If you are trying to fill a small dent, there products called "spot puttys".Other wise use a true body filler.
But you need to know that the two tone paint jobs are not real paint, but rather a decal over paint with a clear coat over both paint and decal.

If you don't feel qualified to do this after reading the above, then take your tank to a high end collision shop. Remember that you get what you pat for

+1 on this advice.  My I/S tank was fubar'd with the deer incident.  After waiting months for a replacement with no joy, I had a high end body shop fix it.  Cost me $500 but that was 13 years ago and it's still good, even with normal wear and tear of being a daily rider.  They even used the paint codes for "Honda black" which has a pinch of red in it.  I never would have known if they hadn't.

[Led]

This all depends........

Are they just dents??  Or did the hoe actually "cut" into the metal?  These tanks are not real "thick" to begin with, so if it actually cut into the metal, your thickness of the tank wall, at those points,  may have been reduced greatly.

Maybe welding could be in order.  Without seeing the actual damage incurred, one cannot give any sound advice......??????

[Lyle Laun]

Thanks for the input guys. I will go out and find a good paint shop.

[cmawest]

good plan. jb weld is not and was not designed to fill dents. body filler is, but if not prepped right body filler will fall out too. you must sand the metal free of all paint around the dent area, then with about a 40 grit wheel grind the metal to give the filler something to bond to. then after it dry's block sand with 80 grit, followd by 220 grit, then prime with primer filler, block sand that with 220 grit, followed wet with 400 grit, seal with sealer and paint the base coat on followed by clear coat after base coat flashes. then when dry (next day) color sand with 600, followed by 2000, then polish with heavy duty compound and a wool pad, followed by a black foam egg crate pad and finishing compound, followed by a good carnuba wax.

or

do what they said and find a good painter.

[R J]

WHOA down grasshopper.

Did you say a tank bib would cover the damage?

If so are you going to put a bib on the bike?

If yes, why ruin a good paint job that will be covered with any repair work?
If you have the dents removed, you will have to repaint the tank.   
Custom paint is a BITCH to match.

Just my $.02, so I'll shut up before I piss to many people off.

Peace from this old Jarhead.  Semper fi.

[cmawest]

r.j. is correct, just cover anything that resembles bare metal, and look hard, with a spot of primer to avoid rust. then put on your bib, unless its black, it will be a bich to match, again if you want it fixed let the professionals do it.

[rugguy]

Blanko described the process perfectly. Here is what it looks like in photos. I just completed the repair and paint last weekend.

Stripped tank repair area to bare metal--BE SURE TO HAVE TANK COMPLETELY EMPTY AND DRY
Four passes with Bondo and block/hand sanding (four "build" Bondo coats as opposed to 1 or 2 thick ones)
One pass with glazing
First coat primer
Wet sand enitre tank and fix small remaining depression
Second coat primer
Wet sand smooth
Two coats acrylic urethane metallic blue
Metallic green flames
Two coats of high solid clearcoat
I still have to cut and buff it in a week or two

If you paint the whole tank (which you really have to do anyway) the color match should be good.

Well worth the work.....


https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qs28ueuhkuuvm4s/AADFJrnFU2ZwL3_cjbgGr7Gna

[R J]

Blanko described the process perfectly. Here is what it looks like in photos. I just completed the repair and paint last weekend.

Stripped tank repair area to bare metal--BE SURE TO HAVE TANK COMPLETELY EMPTY AND DRY
Four passes with Bondo and block/hand sanding (four "build" Bondo coats as opposed to 1 or 2 thick ones)
One pass with glazing
First coat primer
Wet sand enitre tank and fix small remaining depression
Second coat primer
Wet sand smooth
Two coats acrylic urethane metallic blue
Metallic green flames
Two coats of high solid clearcoat

If you paint the whole tank (which you really have to do anyway) the color match should be good.

Well worth the work.....


https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qs28ueuhkuuvm4s/AADFJrnFU2ZwL3_cjbgGr7Gna

Damn, what did that  tank go through to get that much damage?

Accident or some pissed off spouse?

[rugguy]

RJ....front dent was handlebar...rear dent was a knee (not mine thank God). I bought the bike from a guy who had bought it as a salvage bike. Laid down on the left and then flipped to the right. Lot's of parts replaced and a ton of repair to the ABS....both sides of fairing, chrome garnish trims, trunk, bags, lids...you name it....it got FUBAR'd. Worked and got it ready to paint and damn if I didn't drop it again in the mountains in some sand. Started over. Finally finished "carport" body repair and paint job this past weekend. There are 22 parts to be prepped, primed, sanded, painted, flamed and clearcoated... and I can name EVERY last one. But, as I said, worth every dang minute of it to me.

[R J]

Wow, it took a bad tumble.    Sorry to hear ya dropped it again, that really sucks.

Hang loose, hopefully everyting will work out 'A' okay.

Peace RJ.