I may be in over my head!!

[jmnjrpa]

Here is the pics of the tank I am enlarging. Not sure how to stop the leaks. The tank is a lot thinner than I expected. Great machinist but maybe not so good sheet metal former?? Presently it is tacked to the shape I am shooting for. Am thinking of filling it in with strips and brasing, welding or silver soldering. Have to be heat resistant for the powdercoating. Any ideas??

[psycoreefer]

I'd think welding in strips would be the way to go. I've been wanting to try something just like that for a while, really interested to see how you do it and how it turns out. keep us posted....

[Big Daddy Funk]

Keep at it

I've been thinking about it too. I had in mind going about it a little differently though. Keep us posted. Thx Rick

[tw1980]

I'm thinking weld it.But just in small parts at a time.Run a 1/2 to 1 inch bead then move to another area and then come back after it cools.Maybe that will keep things from warping.Grind the welds down and apply body putty.Just a suggestion.Also you can line the inside when finished. Terry

[crazy steve]

Pretty ambitious project....

I'd recommend using a wire-feed to stitch it all together. Brazing would be my second choice, but that thin sheetmetal will warp more than a politician taking a payoff, although that's going to be a problem no matter what. No matter what method you use to fill all the gaps, how did you plan to 'finish' it before powdercoating? If you do this in all metal, this thing is going to end up weighing about 40 pounds. I think some bondo and paint is in your future.

Have you though about maybe finding a tank off something else that's roughly the shape you want, then grafting the 'tunnel' (and its mounts) off the XS tank to that?

'78E original owner

[Incubus]

Bondo is likely to cause some issues if you powdercoat. Powdercoat is dust attracted by electrical charge that clings to the metal until you melt it. I've powdercoated many parts, but I've never tried powdercoating a part coated with Bondo. I expect that if it is attracted to the Bondo and if it does cling long enough to melt then it likely will compromise the evenness of the coat. Heat isn't really that much of an issue when powdercoating metal, but I'm not sure what it would do to Bondo. You powdercoat at 350 to 400 degrees usually for no longer than 10 minutes, depending on the powder.

The really nice thing about powdercoat is it is very forgiving. It will fill in gaps and nicks and melt down to a smooth coat. I've made some pretty crappy looking pitted parts look brand new with powdercoat.

Patrick

[jmnjrpa]

Allright, life preservers!!!


I did not consider a different tank because I wanted to maintain the original "look" as much as possible.
Thanks Steve, Pscho, and Terry for the welding advice. When tacking it up I used both brass and silver solder. Silver solder worked far better but is difficult to buildup. If I weld with steel I will have to grind off all brass and silver.

Bondo is likely to cause some issues if you powdercoat.

Check out the following I found as substitute for bondo, but it is $$

https://www.pendrypowdercoatings.com...c8c3dd5ba6add3

I may turn this project over to a more artistic person for the "bondo" finishing after weld and grind.
This should increase capacity aprox 75% or more. Increase in tank height (front to rear) is about 1.5" to .5" and width (front to rear) is about 3.0" to 1.0".
Still thinking on repositioning the filler tube higher and toward middle.

Appreciate all the input. Will continue to post progress pics and issues on this thread.

[trbig]

Yup... that stuff should work. They make several metal based Bondo-type products and that one looks pretty reasonable. I've heard it's a lot tougher to finish sanding down, but these products will let the powder stick electrically.

Did you ever consider an adventurer tank that is a little over 6 gallons?

Tod

[jmnjrpa]

Hi Tod

How's the bike and gravel damage?? No I am not familiar with the adventure tank. Will it interchange? I am knee deep in S**T so a sponge wouldn't help much now but I will look into it. I must complete this project anyway. A lot of people are interested in how it works out. Allright-- it's an ego issue now
BTW I was born in Shawnee and travel to Prague to see parents so am in your area often. When I get this B***H running right I'll give you a hollar.
Dog is in doghouse after she put tennis ball behind me while backing up (she is a black lab). Dropped it but did not go down just against a table. Creased the tank and made me mad as Hell. No other obvious damage but not running good now. Getting close to hammer time- need a cold one--or pack.

[crazy steve]

Bondo is likely to cause some issues if you powdercoat.

Bondo WILL cause problems if you try to powdercoat it... it can't take the heat. AMHIK....

Even the 'Lab Metal' may give you uneven results. I personally haven't found ANYTHING that works all that well if you're trying to repair anything more than minor imperfections or small areas. When covering/repairing large areas (like 'blending' bodywork), having a lot of filler is an issue. The problem seems to be the different expansion rates for the filler vs the parent metal; you'll end up being able to see the 'seams'. The thicker the repair, the more this shows up; once you get above 1/16" problems start to crop up. I'll also add that anything that will take the heat will be much harder to 'work' compared to bondo.

Another problem is getting the powder to stick to the filler and/or to get it even; it's not as 'conductive' as the metal. The best way I found around this is to pre-heat the part to about 200 degrees, then spray the coating on WITHOUT using the 'static attraction'. But you have to take care doing this so as not to get too much powder on or it'll run when you cure it.

If after all this, you still have finish issues and they're relatively minor, you can wet-sand and do multiple coats (pre-heat to get the additional coats to stick). I have had some success doing this by then buffing out the remaining problems on a power buffer using a plastic compound. This is a huge PITA though, as the powdercoat will 'burn' easily. I would hate to try this on a large, obvious item like a fuel tank; unlike paint, if you screw this up, you basically have to go back to square one and start over.

Bondo and paint is waaaay easier.....

'78E original owner

[jmnjrpa]

Thanks for the indepth info Steve. I may not have a choice but to paint because it may not fit my oven. I have a fantastic powdercoat I would like to use -- DEEP black that looks wet! I can get the aproximate results with 2 or 3 clearcoats of spray so it may not be an issue. The powderhouse sells the Lab Metal just for powdercoating. You are right about it being hard to work. Hopefully I can get this finished out with minimal Bondo or Lab Metal cause I really do not want to add much weight. I have some small parts to play with before that point. That should make or break decisions.

[Incubus]

Do NOT heat powdercoat in any oven that will be used for food. Do NOT heat powdercoat inside your house. It gives off toxic fumes that stick around.

Patrick

[jmnjrpa]

Thanks Pat,

I have a dedicated oven in my shop. That is good advice but anyone that would do that would not pay attention anyway.

[XJOK2PLAY]

jmnjrpa,

That tank Tod's talking about came on the Venture... around '83-86 models I think... 6 gallons.

I started to suggest this to you a few days ago when I first read your thread, but after seeing your pics & progress I figured you were too far down the road to consider it, IF you could find one...

I hear those are pretty cool bikes, too... BTW

Your progress is looking good to me... looks like you had a good mathmatical plan before you made the cuts...

75% increase? What are you thinking total capacity to wind up being? Around 6 gals... or more?

[jmnjrpa]

More Pics

It would be difficult to get a good guess at this point. I believe it will be aproximatly 7 gal.

http://s561.photobucket.com/albums/s...t=01010020.jpg



http://s561.photobucket.com/albums/s...t=01010021.jpg



http://s561.photobucket.com/albums/s...t=01010024.jpg



http://s561.photobucket.com/albums/s...t=01010022.jpg



http://s561.photobucket.com/albums/s...t=01010025.jpg



Tank and seat were just set in place not mounted.