Tweet
Problems with CUSTOM PAINT JOB!
Well,
At the end of XS Southeast, I fueled up Godzilla to have a full tank...it rides/pulls better that way on the trailer....more tongue weight, loaded it up, and then got it home to Va. a few weeks ago. After unloading it from the trailer, I saw something irregular and took a closer look....and this is what I saw!
I had done this paint job several years ago. Had aircraft paint stripped the tank first, then used that rust remover/etcher/converter primer, and then layed on the black base coat and then the green flake over coat using the large mesh stocking for the pattern, then sprayed just a couple of layers of clear with hardener. It had a fairly quick curing/hardening time and so only had a little while....~ hour or less to get the 2 coats on. But the clear apparently wasn't either thick enough or hard enough because a year or so later, I had attended a rally, had a tank bag, and a little fuel spilt around the cap, and it smudged the clear underneath where the tank bag was.
And so apparently it also wasn't as well sealed around the cap/neck area either, and the jostling of the bike on the trailer allowed the fuel to seep out, could also have been filled to high and just the heat expansion caused it to leak out, either way it got out and then UNDER the clear and ran down the side of the tank/color and left what you can see in the photos!
SO......now come my choices. I'm just not very good with the paint process. Having to use that respirator type mask, the dangerous fumes, as well as having to try to deal with the time sensitive clear that was a bit $$ (PPG brand IIRC) so I was concerned about how long it would take to try to spray many layers like I've seen documented on here before...wetsand, tack cloth, spray, dry/cure, etc.!!!
My side covers still look great, so I still have them to hold the color, along with my fenders.....although they DO have a few chips in them....I could possilby just touch them up with a little touch up brush paint??
But I'm now thinking about doing something else with the tank?
I know the diamond plate/treadplate is sort of a trademark design for my bike, and so....I've recently been thinking about fashioning/welding a whole tank out of it!? The STEEL treadplate is so heavy, and can eventually rust! I can get aluminum plate, and now that I've re-learned and improved my ability to weld aluminum....that's got me intrigued. I won't have to worry about PAINTING it, just polishing it!
I could make a COFFIN style so wouldn't have to worry about any fancy CURVES to try to bend/fashion with it, would still let me have the semi teardrop ala coffin shape, and I could put one of those fancy new racer or aircraft style gas caps on it!? This could also allow me to make it a little bigger for more capacity!
I know.....welding a container to hold FLAMMABLE fuel is a big undertaking. Just wanted to throw this out there for additional comments, remarks, warnings, etc.!?
T.C.
At the end of XS Southeast, I fueled up Godzilla to have a full tank...it rides/pulls better that way on the trailer....more tongue weight, loaded it up, and then got it home to Va. a few weeks ago. After unloading it from the trailer, I saw something irregular and took a closer look....and this is what I saw!
I had done this paint job several years ago. Had aircraft paint stripped the tank first, then used that rust remover/etcher/converter primer, and then layed on the black base coat and then the green flake over coat using the large mesh stocking for the pattern, then sprayed just a couple of layers of clear with hardener. It had a fairly quick curing/hardening time and so only had a little while....~ hour or less to get the 2 coats on. But the clear apparently wasn't either thick enough or hard enough because a year or so later, I had attended a rally, had a tank bag, and a little fuel spilt around the cap, and it smudged the clear underneath where the tank bag was.
And so apparently it also wasn't as well sealed around the cap/neck area either, and the jostling of the bike on the trailer allowed the fuel to seep out, could also have been filled to high and just the heat expansion caused it to leak out, either way it got out and then UNDER the clear and ran down the side of the tank/color and left what you can see in the photos!
SO......now come my choices. I'm just not very good with the paint process. Having to use that respirator type mask, the dangerous fumes, as well as having to try to deal with the time sensitive clear that was a bit $$ (PPG brand IIRC) so I was concerned about how long it would take to try to spray many layers like I've seen documented on here before...wetsand, tack cloth, spray, dry/cure, etc.!!!
My side covers still look great, so I still have them to hold the color, along with my fenders.....although they DO have a few chips in them....I could possilby just touch them up with a little touch up brush paint??
But I'm now thinking about doing something else with the tank?
I know the diamond plate/treadplate is sort of a trademark design for my bike, and so....I've recently been thinking about fashioning/welding a whole tank out of it!? The STEEL treadplate is so heavy, and can eventually rust! I can get aluminum plate, and now that I've re-learned and improved my ability to weld aluminum....that's got me intrigued. I won't have to worry about PAINTING it, just polishing it!
I could make a COFFIN style so wouldn't have to worry about any fancy CURVES to try to bend/fashion with it, would still let me have the semi teardrop ala coffin shape, and I could put one of those fancy new racer or aircraft style gas caps on it!? This could also allow me to make it a little bigger for more capacity! I know.....welding a container to hold FLAMMABLE fuel is a big undertaking. Just wanted to throw this out there for additional comments, remarks, warnings, etc.!?
T.C.
Comment