painting the gas tank

can anybody tell me if this is a big job, or relatively easy. i'm considering hiring somebody to paint it for me, but if it's not too big a project, i'd do it myself. i have a friend that has the professional sprayer, and plus i am just planning on just painting it a flat black anyway.

ps: i will have to strip the current paint on there of course.

pps: might spray paint directly from the can be as good an option since it's going to be solid black anyway?

 

I painted my tank last year, am going to do it again this year. Spray can job. Came out well. Took a couple tried, as the natural sun light exposed my poor job initially. Final product was nice. Matte finish looked pretty good.

It's an easy enough job. Be sure to use a clear coat that will stand up against spilled gasoline. By not sanding the final layer, you get a nice matte look. Not quite flat, but good.

On a side note, does anyone know if gas will harm the liner spray used for pickup truck beds?

 

Yes be very certain to use the proper clear coat. We made that mistake on my bike. Looks really bad at the moment. Redoing it over spring break when we have time and the weather has warmed up.

As for your question no idea. What type of liner you have in the truck. Would think rhino liner would hold up to it, but anything less I'm not sure.

 

Is there such a thing as "rattle-can" clear coat that will stand up to gasoline?

 

It's easy to spray paint, time consuming to make it look professional.

Rattle can paint isn't likely to be gas resistant in general. You may want to test out some of the tractor paint, but you'll end up doing it over again in a year or two. I've also heard of people using barbecue grill paint for flat finishes. It is typically resistant and is very high temperature (research curing though).

Looking good is 90% based on your surface prep. Black is going to really show imperfections. Spend some time on glazing the scratches, and chips. Use build primer to get an even surface coat.

 

The tank I'm painting is a "spare". I'm actually doing this just for practice. I live in a townhouse and don't have a garage or a lot of room to work. I had ONE nice day, yesterday so I stripped it down.

The tank was dented on one corner. I attempted to pop out the dent, but my point of pressure was too small, and it appeared I was likely to make a puncture so I stopped. I stripped the tank down, and discovered that it's pocked and dented like a lunar probe. It had bondo in 2 other spots so I just bondo'd the shallow dent. No matter what, this tank will always be a "7 foot" tank, and that's ok. My bike has the ratbike look. I'm just going to do the best I can with what I have to work with.

I know it sounds contradictory, but I'm trying to get a -clean- ratbike look. I guess that doesn't make a lot of sense. :lol:

 

If you want to use 'rattle can paint' the Engine paint is fuel resistant and would probably work fine.
It did on the last bike I painted with it. Just get plenty of it and some 1500 grit to work on the mistakes. Keep the area wet too, then buff with wax with Carnuba in it.

 

ALSACORP's "SPEED CLEAR" is a catalyst paint product (toxic fumes - requires a 3-M breather mask) Expensive; highly resistant to fuel spills and tough as it gets. Pro painters use it for small jobs. Comes in rattle cans.

 

I have painted eight cars and a motorcycle and this is what I have to say - you can do it! I have used a harbor freight spray gun and have been able to get finishes that as good or better than original. Prep is important. For the dents - this is the most important thing I can say - BLOCK sand. Do not use your hand! If you do you will never be happy with the result. Just get yourself one of those rubber block sanders that are right next to the spray cans at the hardware store and they use either a third or a fourth of a sheet of sand paper - I can't remember off hand. Or if money is really an object that just cut off about a 5" long piece of 2x4 and wrap the sand paper around it when you sand. This will keep your surface nice and level. If you don't follow this advice the surface will be very wavy and you won't like it - take it from me - I have fouled up this way ONCE! After you get the surface looking pretty good, primer it and sand it with 400 grit dry or 500 grit wet. I like dry for my first two coats of primer and then I wet sand just prior to my finish coat. This seems to give me the nicet finish. Always block sand wherever you can. With the tank you should be able to sand nearly the whole thing with a block.

Now for the tricks - if you get a run (some people call them sags) don't panic and you ABSOLUTELY do not have to repaint! If the paint is still very wet when you notice the sag, tak a piece of masking tape and put it over the sag and lift it off in a nice quick motion. Let that coat flash (usually 7-10 minutes - I always go 10) then you should be able to get that area to blend in with the rest. Don't put the paint on too heavy in an effort to blend it in one coat or you will end up with another sag. GIve it two or three more coats and you will be able to blend it in just fine.

If the paint has already become tacky, there is a device called a paint file that you can use to actually shave off the sag. It will get the level of the paint close to the surrounding area and you will most likely be able to wet sand it to blend it in once it has fully cured.

If you don't notice the sag until the paint has already come close to curing then let it dry completely and then sand down the sag starting with 400 grit and working your way up to 800 or 1000. You should be able to get it to look passable since most sags are near the bottom of whatever it is you are painting. The only thing you will probably be able to notice is that the color is slightly darker where the sag was even after sanding. But since you are using flat black it should be a non-issue.

Spray can clear coat takes about a year to fully cure. At least six months in warm weather. Therefore, where the gas splashes out as you are filling your tank you will see little "pock" marks. Not the end of the world. Taildragger's suggestion sounds like a winner to me.

If you like how it turns out make sure to post pics. We all take pleasure in each other's accomplishments.

Best wishes.

 

I used rattle can on my tank and fender last year and used rattle can clear coat it worked well but this year I plan on painting my bike with the real deal yes granted its a small project but to get the results I want its going to take me 5 hours prep work and all included

got a new HVLP gravity feed gun , air brush , Picking up paint next weekend Cobalt Blue Base coat, .025 micron metalflake, . 015 micron metal flake and .008 micron metal flake, Clear base coat , and finally 3 stages of clear coat. trying to get that BASSBOAT wet metal flake look )

Getting tips from a good friend on layering metal flake between clear coats , only I am adding a twist with 3 different sized flakes.

Most of the time is going to be prep and Cleanup between coats.

so All I need now is a very nice week of dry 70°f weather

 

If you want a flat/rat bike look, Duplicolor turck be liner works well...

Unlees you bkie blows over in a storm with the cover on and sits for a few hours until you find it :/

But can be touched up easily

 

Mirco wrote: Spray can clear coat takes about a year to fully cure. At least six months in warm weather. Therefore, where the gas splashes out as you are filling your tank you will see little "pock" marks. Not the end of the world. Taildragger's suggestion sounds like a winner to me.


I was looking through the old posts and came across thisone. Any reason you couldn't put the tank in your home oven at a low temp (17 deg?) for a few hours and cure it completely? I would suggest doing this when the wife is out for the day!

 

Sorry, typed 17 deg. instead of 170 deg.

Mirco wrote: Spray can clear coat takes about a year to fully cure. At least six months in warm weather. Therefore, where the gas splashes out as you are filling your tank you will see little "pock" marks. Not the end of the world. Taildragger's suggestion sounds like a winner to me.


I was looking through the old posts and came across thisone. Any reason you couldn't put the tank in your home oven at a low temp (170 deg?) for a few hours and cure it completely? I would suggest doing this when the wife is out for the day!

 

That would sure work as you would then have a true "baked enamel" finish. However, not too safe with a gas tank unless you are 100% sure you got all remnants of fuel and or vapors out of the tank. If you insist on trying this, not only should you wait until your wife is out of the house, but it would be a good idea if you waited outside the house! Then send one of your least favorite neighborhood kids in to turn the oven off - JUST KIDDING.



Sorry, typed 17 deg. instead of 170 deg.

Mirco wrote: Spray can clear coat takes about a year to fully cure. At least six months in warm weather. Therefore, where the gas splashes out as you are filling your tank you will see little "pock" marks. Not the end of the world. Taildragger's suggestion sounds like a winner to me.


I was looking through the old posts and came across thisone. Any reason you couldn't put the tank in your home oven at a low temp (170 deg?) for a few hours and cure it completely? I would suggest doing this when the wife is out for the day!

 

I've been searching and searching about this sort of thing recently as I plan on painting mine within the next few months. I have no experience with mixing paints, reducing paints or even using a spray gun so I was starting to feel at a bit of a loss. Someone put the idea of RC-plane paint in my head because apparently those little buggers spray gas all over the place so the paints have to be fuel-resistant as well.

Has anyone tried this route on a bike? I found this one supplier (amongst many):

http://www.monokote.com/lustrekote/pain ... 0tip1.html

They have primer, paint and clear coat and say they are fuel resistant. Now, they are talking about RC fuel - could that mean it wouldn't be gasoline resistant? As I have mentioned, I don't know anything about this stuff - I'm just throwing this out there - but it seems like it could be a much more convenient solution for someone who doesn't have access to or experience with a spray gun.

Thoughts?

 

I've done a few bikes with spray cans and I although I did get a nice shine, I can never get it close to an automotive finish.
My last project was using implement paint that uses a hardener in it (using a cheap touchup gun) Now that's the cats meow! It ends up looking like factory paint and resists gas spills. I will never go back to using spray cans again.
I am going to do my car using the same paint. I have an old Honda Accord that needs a face lift and for about $35 for paint, it's about the best option I can think of. Of course the prep work (wet sanding) is always the key to a good finish.

 

I was wondering, did you have reduce the implement paint in order to run it through the spray gun? Also, any problems cleaning your spray gun after this job?

 

ok so there are a few rules with paint
#1 decide what type you are going to use acrylic / enamel and go all the way with it - dont mix unless your going for a marble effect enamle cracks ontop of acrylic and vise versa.... it has to do with the hardener

#2 if you bakle acrylic in anything other than a heat lamp you will have boiling in the paint even at 170deg not only that but if you dont bake each layer you will end up with a blending bleeding effect.

#3 you can do an entire paint job in acrylic in less than a day with no sanding between layers - it will be textured yuck

yes you can do it and it can look great but take your time and plan it out in advance

 

I did mine about a month back with rattle can paint and Duplicolor clear coat with no problems.It turned out pretty good for a first attempt and I haven't had any problems with it not being cured.I even spilled some gas on it (what is with people not shaking out the hose when they're done filling?)

 

I'm sure that many will disagree with this, but if you have a friend who is a pro and you want a professional job that will resist fuel, let him do it. You can offer to do the "grunt work" under his supervision if you're looking for personal satisfaction that comes with having a hand in the finished product.

There is no doubt that a hobbyist can do a good looking paint job, but if you screw it up, you'll do it twice (three times?). Take shortcuts on materials or prep and you'll be staring at the results until it's done right. Ponder this; by time you buy the materials and even a Harbor Freight gun, what will you save compared to having your friend do a pro job (and fix the flaws)?

I have painted in the past with good results, but I have serious reservations about doing it nowadays. Modern paints contain isocyanate (in hardeners/activators/etc)and no cheapie respirator is going to keep that out of your body. If you want a hard, glossy, fuel resistant paint, you will use something with isocyanate in it. Pros suit up, use a ventilated booth and an expensive fresh air breathing system before they shoot.

I know someone will jump on here and say that a little bit won't hurt you. That could be true and I might even believe that if the have an "MD" after their name.

:wink: