Your thoughts on tank emblems and dents?

I am going to be repainting the tank and side covers and was wondering on everyone's opinion on if I should leave the emblems on the tank and covers or take them off?

Also there is a couple dents in the tank and I have heard that these tanks have a inner coating to prevent rust. Would pulling the dents out damage this coating? Or should I just fill them with bondo?

 

trust me, there is no coating.

 

Unless someone has previously "lined" the inside of the tank with Kreem, POR-15, etc. type of product............

 

If they're small dents I'd just fill them.

As for the badges, that's up to you. I shaved mine both tank and side covers. When i go to paint mine this time (swapped tanks to a 750) I've got my eye on a tuning forks logo decal with some flames. Maybe maybe not. I haven't decided.

 

take the the badges OFF....it might look fine if you do a perfect job of taping, but it's so much easier to get a smooth coat under them when they aren't there.

 

Caution advised! Things can get ugly fast!

 

I agree with Mike, pull the badges off. Use a heat gun to loosen up the adhesive and they should pull off without damage so when your finished painting you"ll have the option to re-use them. my friend is pulling all the badges off his almost brand new pontiac that way so it should work on 25+ year old glue.

If the dents dont pop out easily I would bondo, you"ll be doing a lot of sanding anyways.

 

The badges on the 81 550H tank should be held on with screws.

 

The badges on the side panels are held on with double sided tape. Use fishing line like a saw to remove the badges. Do your paint job and reuse the badges with new tape.

 

My old tank has a really thick coating on the inside. Haha... rust. As far as the badges go... the heat gun is awesome at it. Go slow and even consider the use of a razor blade. I used to do painting and refinishing (never auto but a lot of metals and some with emblems etc...) and the heat gun makes the adhesive like gooey again. Some spots might be stuck a little harder so the razorblade comes in handy (you are repainting anyway). If you try to just use more force on the areas where it is stuck more you might ripple or tear the emblem (or if a harder plastic it will crease or crack it).

 

I am definitely taking the badges off to paint the tank. I just can't decide if I should reinstall them. The tank ones are held on by screws and the side covers are double sided taped on.

 

Check the prices for badges on ebay, et al. That might help you decide to put them back on or to sell them. Mine doesn't have any, and I am not planning to put them on for that price, either.