• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Paint or No Paint?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Detroit Diesel Man
  • Start date Start date
D

Detroit Diesel Man

Guest
My restore/rebuild on my 77 750 is coming along nicely,havent figured out how to post pics yet...anyway..as always in the back of my mind i picture the end result...my first thought was black tank tail and sidecovers with red highlights on emblems etc etc...but i thought maybe i wanted something different..has anyone not painted their tank...stripped it to bare metal maybe polished it with fine sanding and had it clearcoated?
I cant remember having seen any pics like that..i thought that might look cool..or different if anything...the Truck Dealership i work at has a body shop so getting it clearcoated is no issue...i could have the tank tail and sides painted for less than 200$ but a bare tank would be unique..if anyone knows of any pics of something like that i'd like to see them..also would like your opinions on the idea..Thanks!


DDM
 
Unique idea indeed.
Ultimately the choice is up to you but if it were me I'd get tired of looking at it.

Harley did a bike back in 05 I think. It had a combo of bare metal and paint in a sort of design kinda way. I didnt like it at all.
 
That would kind of give it the look that DeLorean had with the stainless body panels.
delorean_19813.jpg


Concerning posting pictures: have you seen BassCliff's welcome yet? He has instructions on how to post pictures on his website.
(and I just gave you links to them. :D)

.
 
I would advice against it since the tank will have weld marks where the emblems go, and also there will be evidence of metal working around the seams. I don't think it would look good that way. Also getting it stripped, polished, and clear coated without it flash rusting would be a real pain.

Consider a metallic finish instead.
 
Or the Enfield Cafe. These tanks are usually aluminum, or an alloy that responds well to polishing though.....not sure if the stock tank can be highly polished to achieve the same results.:-k

2009-RoyalEnfield-ClubmanEFIa-small.jpg


Tony.
 
Strip your tank.. Check to see ho smooth it is. Go from there. a stock steel tank polished out with stock emblems would be very cool. A lLOT of work, and i mean A LOT is involved to polish steel, but it can be done. a mild acid wash when your finished with the polishing will take care fo any rust flashing if done right before powder coating. i personally have seen gas tanks have a silver ceramic coating similar to what is done on exahust pipes that polished out beatifully and and would be a LOT less headache and work.. Looks like aluminum when polished with 800 grit sandpapre, the down to 2000. first check your tank..
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the replies...great advice and opinions...I guess if i get it stripped and start thinking i dont like it...at least it would be ready to paint...and yes the tank is straight...even had a full tank of gas in it when i picked it up so the inside is clean..it sat since 03...carbs are gonna be a challenge when i get to them..lol..Thanks agin for the replies and i'll look into postin pics soon..Thanks!

DDM
 
Along the same lines of ceramic coat, there's many different types of chrome look powder coat. You could try that too....
 
Paint it. Raw steel with a clear coat will corrode after about a year or so. Not worth it.
 
Actually a steel gas tank stripped with a clear powder coat would not corrode any more than a piece of steel that was regular powder coated. I've seen aluminum car intakes powdered clear that look good after several years of use. It actually holds up better than regular paint and for sure anodizing. My uncle has two powder coated intakes on different cars, my dad has one on his car. I had one on my boat. Unless aluminum powder coats differently from steel..
 
atb1998 said:
Actually a steel gas tank stripped with a clear powder coat would not corrode any more than a piece of steel that was regular powder coated. I've seen aluminum car intakes powdered clear that look good after several years of use. It actually holds up better than regular paint and for sure anodizing. My uncle has two powder coated intakes on different cars, my dad has one on his car. I had one on my boat. Unless aluminum powder coats differently from steel..
Click to expand...

Aluminum dont rust.
Why would you clear coat aluminum anyway?
 
Octain said:
Aluminum dont rust.
Why would you clear coat aluminum anyway?
Click to expand...
no, but it does discolor..you ever tried polishing an aluminum intake on a car engine after it was installed??.. Smooth it, polish it, clear powder coat it.. good for years. won't corrode, stain or discolor from engine heat. My tunnel ram intake on my boat never did.. Any steel part would do the same.. Why would well done powder coat job corrode anymore than a well done paint job?? Clear POWDER coat iis WAY more durable than any paint on the market if done properly.. a lot more than a clear PAINT job.
 
Last edited:
atb1998 said:
no, but it does discolor..you ever tried polishing an aluminum intake on a car engine after it was installed??.. Smooth it, polish it, clear powder coat it.. good for years. won't corrode, stain or discolor from engine heat. My tunnel ram intake on my boat never did.. Any steel part would do the same.. Why would well done powder coat job corrode anymore than a well done paint job?? Clear POWDER coat iis WAY more durable than any paint on the market if done properly.. a lot more than a clear PAINT job.
Click to expand...

Make sense. I understand the durability of coating over paint.

I've never cleared or coated one. Never really thought about it actually.
 
I've never heard of anyone powdercoating a gas tank before. Maybe the sheet metal is too thin? Also, steel corrodes much faster than aluminum so you can't compare the two of them. Spider web corrosion trails are going to develop under the paint, I'm just not positive how long it will take.
 
atb1998 said:
Actually a steel gas tank stripped with a clear powder coat would not corrode any more than a piece of steel that was regular powder coated. I've seen aluminum car intakes powdered clear that look good after several years of use. It actually holds up better than regular paint and for sure anodizing. My uncle has two powder coated intakes on different cars, my dad has one on his car. I had one on my boat. Unless aluminum powder coats differently from steel..
Click to expand...

I had some rims powder coated recently. The guy who did it said they had very clear powder coat these days. I would like to see it. That said, the tank would have to be very very nice. I got four Lotus Cortina rims done for 100 bucks. That would be a cheap for a paint job...

There are metallics, too Might be hard to match the plastics.

Clear metal with painted panel on top to match the plastics sounds really neat to me. I would paint the front fender, too.

Those bikes are pretty well styled in my opinion. Conservative maybe, but no offensive parts really...
 
Last edited:
Nessism said:
I've never heard of anyone powdercoating a gas tank before. Maybe the sheet metal is too thin? Also, steel corrodes much faster than aluminum so you can't compare the two of them. Spider web corrosion trails are going to develop under the paint, I'm just not positive how long it will take.
Click to expand...

I've toyed with the idea of trying it. It would be a cool idea if you wanted to cafe style knee indents in chrome powder and then paint the rest of the tank.

But I'm nervous about the idea of putting anything in the oven that held gas, no matter how much I cleaned it out. It just seems like something I would try and it would go horribly wrong. Think 5' tall bomb in my garage.
 
Nessism said:
I've never heard of anyone powdercoating a gas tank before. Maybe the sheet metal is too thin? Also, steel corrodes much faster than aluminum so you can't compare the two of them. Spider web corrosion trails are going to develop under the paint, I'm just not positive how long it will take.
Click to expand...
I'm not trying to hang crap on anyone here.. But i have seen some very nice powdercoat jobs hold up for a long time. If it is metal and can be painted, it can be powder coated. The only exception is if bondo, some type of cheap alloy or some type of filler is used. MUST be straight metal capable of withstandinding 500 degrees for at least 45 minutes, not including the preheat, or "curing time" The only thing is on thin and rusty metal it is easier to strip yourself so the blasting media doesn;t ruin it... Had a 1939 schwinn b10 bicycle tank powder coated.. very thin metal, came out nice, but a lot of prep into straightening. Have actually seen 3 fuel tanks on motorcycles ceramic coated. Three full frames and 2 fuel tanks powder coated. Not to mention a lot of auto parts my father, uncle and myself had done, including aluminum intakes, boat outdrives, 2 full car frames, a boat trailer, car wheels. motorcycle wheels. The only thing i would say bad is it a brittle finish tends to chip , similar to the imron paint used back in the 80' on semi trucks and show cars
 
Last edited:
LeeGS550E said:
I've toyed with the idea of trying it. It would be a cool idea if you wanted to cafe style knee indents in chrome powder and then paint the rest of the tank.

But I'm nervous about the idea of putting anything in the oven that held gas, no matter how much I cleaned it out. It just seems like something I would try and it would go horribly wrong. Think 5' tall bomb in my garage.
Click to expand...
No more so than taking a cutting wheel or a torch to an old fuel tank to cut out the sides or rewelding to re form.. been there, done that. Just make sure tank is flushed and have good ventilatiion. I know it sounds dumb simple, but Dawn dish soap removes old oil and gasoline from tanks like you wouldn't beleive
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top