Can we talk about using a park tool chain cleaner as a dent puller for steel frames?

Got a 1980s Peugeot frame with a nasty dent on the top tube from a parking lot fall last month. Was about to junk it when I figured I'd try clamping the chain cleaner around the dent and pulling outward. Worked better than I thought - got 80 percent of the dent out without any paint damage. Anyone else ever repurpose shop tools in a weird way like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

davis.noah1mo ago

You're gonna ruin that chain cleaner and still have a dent.

the_angela1mo ago

Oh come ON, a chain cleaner is basically a PLASTIC clamp with some bristles inside, not a dent puller from Snap-On. You got lucky with that 80 percent but I bet the remaining 20 percent is still a visible wave in the tube that'll annoy you every time you look at it. Plus dragging on that dent probably stressed the steel in a weird spot so now you've got a frame that's technically rideable but with compromised metal integrity right where the top tube takes the most load.

samwalker14d ago

Man that's rough, I feel for you. A chain cleaner is about the last thing I'd trust to pull a dent out of a steel frame, they're just not built for that kind of force. You probably bent the plastic more than the metal, and now you've got a tool that's shot and a frame that's still dented. I've messed up plenty of stuff trying to fix it with the wrong tool, it happens to everyone. Sucks that the wave is gonna be there every time you look at it too, that's the kind of thing that eats at you. Hope you can at least get some use out of the frame even if it's not perfect anymore.