need sugestions on painting a tank

[Nightengale]

i am getting ready to paint my tank on my project. I was wondering if it would be benificial to totaly strip it of paint or just rough up the surface of the tank and go over it. i do have to fix one small dent, and fill in the badge area to make it a nice smooth tank. any suggestions will help on both the striping and the filling of the badges. I want it to be some thing to last, not just a quick fix. i have little to no experiance in painting or body work, but i know with a little advice from people here that i can do it. you guys have helped me so much with my project and, i thank everyone that has help me out.

[natemoen]

I would say especially if you are going to be doing some filling work, I would strip it completely.

[Nightengale]

what i thought

I would say especially if you are going to be doing some filling work, I would strip it completely.

yeah that is what i thought, i was also wondering what would ge the best way. i have been using a flapper wheel on my grinder on most of the stuff that i have been doing lately, but was also thinking about some kind of striper.

[mharrington]

Stripping to bare metal is best but not neccesary if: The existing paint is sound (no flaking delaminating or peeling) and if there are not multiple layers of paint. Here is how its typically done when NOT taking everything down to metal. Power sand down to bare metal around your dent only and about 3 inches beyond. Wet sand the rest of the tank/existing paint with 400 grit aggressively. Now focus on the dent only. Wipe down the dent/bare metal spot with laquer thinner and fill the dent. Sand to correct contour and keep reapplying a "skim" of filler to any low areas. Dont glop it in thick to fill with one app. Now with a clean disposable paper towel wipe the entire tank down with a Grease and wax remover. Spray the entire tank now with a High Build primer. You can buy it in aerosol- U Pol an expensive brand and Rustoleum and Krylon for inexpensive. Let it dry for a good hour. You will see imperfections in your dent repair- its normal. Keep at the dent area. Sand the dent to achieve a seemless blend with the surrounding areas. When the dent is approaching perfection you should be using about a 150-180 grit paper with a gentle hand. Re Apply the primer and sand until you are satisfied. Wet sand the primer with 400 as well- otherwise it just clogs your paper. When the dent repair is acceptable and complete -spray it one final time with primer. Let it cure and wet sand the entire tank with 600 grit. Try not to sand thru the edges. After a good 600 grit wetsand its ready for painting. Remember to always wipe down the surface with wax and grease remover before applying anything- bondoe primer ect. Thats how I have done 3 tanks and they look great. I used rustoleum brand wax and grease remover and their automotive high build primer. Bought it from Walmart. Had a body man lay down some single stage enamel and it looks near perfect.

[clcorbin]

I might be out of line here, but it is 30 year old paint. There IS no truly "sound" paint on these things. You are painting it. Take it to metal, make your repairs, and then paint it with a good paint system. FYI: The lacquers like the "Paint Shop" line of paints just do not stand up very long and they REALLY don't like gas. Plus, when you add it up, they really are not any cheaper either. Stick to a good two part paint system (primer, paint, clear coat) and you won't go wrong. But DO use a good M-95 respirator or better when you are painting. If you can smell the paint, it can screw up with your lungs..

Oh, one other thing, if you can get access to a bead blasting cabinet, it will take LOADS of time off stripping as it can easily get into all the nooks and crannies that you can barely see with the sandpaper in your hand.

[Nightengale]

sanding

i sanded a few areas where the dents are, and it looks to be a few different colors of panit. top layer: black, then red, then black again, then yellow, then white, then silver. so i think yes it will be a good idea to strip it to bare metal.

[Nightengale]

soda blasting

i saw a video on utube on how to make your own soda blaster, and thought i would try it and see what happens. has anyone seen this, or done it. in the video it looks like it would take forever with that set up. its just some tubing, an air hose and a regular compressor, with the tubing in a box of baking soda on one end and the air hose stuck thru the tubing pointing out the other end. just not to sure if that will work or not. again if you guys have looked at my build you know that i am doing this build on a tight budget and trying to do most everything myself, so this looked like a cheap option.

[ESJr1642]

I just finished taking my tank down to bare metal, using an arisol paint stripper. Took one can to do the job, the paint just pealed right off. Couple minor dings to repair and a good coat of primer going on it Tuesday. Hey have fun with it, what's the worse thing that happens, you start over?

[Nightengale]

was wondering about a striper

I just finished taking my tank down to bare metal, using an arisol paint stripper. Took one can to do the job, the paint just pealed right off. Couple minor dings to repair and a good coat of primer going on it Tuesday. Hey have fun with it, what's the worse thing that happens, you start over?

i had thought about a striper but just wanted to make sure that it wouldnt mess up anything with the tank.

[ESJr1642]

Took everything off, no problems at all. Best thing, no dust!

[natemoen]

Could also tale it to a radiator shop and have them hot tank it. Ot will usually take off about 95% of the paint or more and then clean out the inside (often they will pressure test it to) and you could line the inside at this point of you wanted to.

[fredintoon]

i saw a video on utube on how to make your own soda blaster, and thought i would try it and see what happens. has anyone seen this, or done it. in the video it looks like it would take forever with that set up. its just some tubing, an air hose and a regular compressor, with the tubing in a box of baking soda on one end and the air hose stuck thru the tubing pointing out the other end. just not to sure if that will work or not. again if you guys have looked at my build you know that i am doing this build on a tight budget and trying to do most everything myself, so this looked like a cheap option.

Hi Nightengale,
coincidentally, my son just tried soda blasting on his XS650's cylinder head.
He used a low-cost sandblaster driven by my 11CFM compressor with it's media hose sucking out of the box of baking soda he got from his pantry.
The head cleaned up real nice but the paint on the steel brackets was just about untouched. Took a full 10oz box of baking soda to clean the head.
So, with the amateur set-up we used, I'd say soda blast is great for cleaning up bare aluminum but you'd have to go through baking soda by the 100lb bagful to strip a gas tank beck to bare metal.

[Nightengale]

just what i thought

Hi Nightengale,
coincidentally, my son just tried soda blasting on his XS650's cylinder head.
He used a low-cost sandblaster driven by my 11CFM compressor with it's media hose sucking out of the box of baking soda he got from his pantry.
The head cleaned up real nice but the paint on the steel brackets was just about untouched. Took a full 10oz box of baking soda to clean the head.
So, with the amateur set-up we used, I'd say soda blast is great for cleaning up bare aluminum but you'd have to go through baking soda by the 100lb bagful to strip a gas tank beck to bare metal.

thanks for the advice i thought it looked like it would have trouble with paint especially since my tank has so many layers of paint. I think i will try it on the engine since i am going to paint that as well.

[Nightengale]

cost

Could also tale it to a radiator shop and have them hot tank it. Ot will usually take off about 95% of the paint or more and then clean out the inside (often they will pressure test it to) and you could line the inside at this point of you wanted to.

that sounds like a great idea, but do you or anyone else know about how much that would cost??

[natemoen]

that sounds like a great idea, but do you or anyone else know about how much that would cost??

The tank I had that done to last year they tanked, lined and fixed a few holes that were in it for $80.