pulling dent or not pulling dent

When I was bringing my xj650 81 model home it fell over in the trailer before i got a block.Right where the yamaha emblem would go.It creasedented that in pretty bad.I know about suction cups, welding studs and pullers etc.Then i would still need bondo.I am not so sure I can get the curvature right like it was originally.Is there a trick of the trade to do that?

 

i had a pretty good dent in front of the badge. never had much faith in bondo sticking to steel, so i mixed up a bunch of 24 hour jb-weld and smeared
that to a half inch from the edge of the dent and took the bondo from there.
you want to use a long sanding block, like 24 inches to blend in the curves

 

First is use the right bondo filler and make sure its water proof. If the dent is deep i would try pushing the dent out with rods. Using dent pullers that tack on studs can damage the thin metal. The glue dent pull method works but its a process and you need the right glue stick. Gorilla glue sticks works. The less bondo used, the better it will hold up. You can use the JB weld method as polock mentioned to fill in the dent, but please don't try to use it to create the contour.

To match the curves the trick is using your sense of touch and your eyes. Look at it from all angles and you will be able to tell. Keep in mind that no one really see's both sides of your tank at the same time. The apex of the curve might be slightly lower on the right side vs the left and no one but you will know.

 

The same happened to me when i was trailering my 81 to a new location. Fortunately, no damage occurred. I learned something that day about properly tethering a bike to a trailer after a young man stopped to assist me. He was both a rider and an engineer.

 

I have both types of glue puller, the bar type and the lever type shown in the following link. (Also available on eBay). The lever type is better by far in my opinion. It is a process and takes time and patience. A crease is really hard to remove with a puller, but I have been able to pull most of a crease dent out and then work on the crease with a wooden dowel. Fortunately, I was able to get to the dent through the petcock opening.
https://www.amazon.com/Gliston-Pain...8437270&sr=8-14&keywords=glue+dent+puller+kit

 

thanks everyone for all the information.I too do not want to pile on a bunch of bondo.I will just have to go slow and be patient.2 things i have trouble doing