Powdercoat Fuel Tank

[CUBuffs]

Has anyone powdercoated their fuel tank? What are the pro's and con's?

[TomB]

I havn't done a tank yet, they really need to be dent free as the powder sticks at a different thickness if there is any filler (bondo I think you lads call it) because the static charge is weaker on the filler.

And I havn't got any dent free tanks of my own

I have some really neat metallic powders and pearl effect powders lined up for the job but never got round to it, again its not perfect for a bike because you can't colour match a set of tank, tail, and sidepanels, the plastics melt at 180oC

Also get a test piece done and check for petrol (gas) resistance, some powder coated finishes can stain.



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[crazy steve]

Don't do it.....

Yes, the tank needs to be dent-free because any filler is extremely hard to coat over; it can be done, but it ain't easy... takes special ($$) filler too, no bondo allowed.

Second, as much of a miracle coating that PC is, it's poor choice on large visible items like tanks and fenders. Main problem is it's plastic, and being so is relatively soft and will micro-scratch rapidly, and those scratches don't buff out easily if at all. With that said, I've seen tanks coated but for best results you want to spray a good clear coat over it; the paint is a harder surface and will withstand day to day use without scratching.

And beware the fancy powders; their durability isn't nearly as good as the 'standard' solid colors... BTDT

[CUBuffs]

Okay then Gents, thanks for preventing me from making a mistake.

[CUBuffs]

I was thinking of powder coating my rims and tank but is there something that works on the rims (other than powder coating) so I can match up the tank and rims with the same color?

[crazy steve]

Powdercoating rims is a no-go deal too. You can do the front rim (after removing/replacing the wheel bearings), but the rear wheel has non-removable rubber 'cushions' for the spline drive that the cure heat will ruin.

Use the same paint on the rims that you use on the tank. Big trick with the rims is getting them clean enough, as the rough-cast surface holds 'stuff' really well...

[CUBuffs]

Wow! Another potential mess averted.

[TomB]

Not all powder coating is plastic, some is like paint and can be cut back to obtain a finish just like paint, the stuff I use (sorry the name escapes me now) is very tough, more like stove enamel, and much tougher/scratch resistant than any paint I have on the bike.

I've powder coated both front and back rims and left in the rubber drive bushes, they are NOT affect by the heat used for the powder coating I do, 180oC (dunno what that is in oF) but check around at what powders any coaters will use, what petrol resistance they have and what temperatures they cure at. I also use heat proof masking tape to mask off the shiny ali areas of the rims.

Try to use a bike/car/vintage stuff restoring coaters rather than an industrial coaters who will throw your parts in with a batch of other stuff, some of them will use plastic to coat, and won't mask very well, or will bake at higher temps.

Look out for different finishes too, I use a lot of black, but theres satin, matt and gloss, satin gives the best factory finished look, gloss looks good on a shiny bike.


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[TomB]

A good read

Click

[crazy steve]

I've powder coated both front and back rims and left in the rubber drive bushes, they are NOT affect by the heat used for the powder coating I do, 180oC (dunno what that is in oF) but check around at what powders any coaters will use, what petrol resistance they have and what temperatures they cure at.

I'll have to disagree with you on that.... 180C is the same as 356F and that's well above the 'normal' temperature rating of 250F for most rubbers (and about the lowest cure heat you can use with PC). Even the 'high temp' rubbers are only good to 300F unless you get into the silicon types which can go to up to 500F. But that's not what the drive cushions are made of (I don't think that stuff was even invented yet when these bikes were built) so you're baking a lot of life out of them when you expose them to PC cure heat...

They might look fine after curing, but the damage has been done...

[TomB]

I can only speak from experience where the rubbers didn't suffer at all. I have powder coated brake calipers complete, again they work perfecly.