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Rattlecan Paint Job

  • Thread starter Thread starter PaulC
  • Start date Start date
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PaulC

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I rattlecanned the gas tank on my '82 GS850L last year with clear lacquer and waited maybe at most a week before I put it back on the bike. I've heard that it can take up to a month or more for paint to cure but I had the bike apart for almost a month already and wanted to get back riding. So after riding for several days, I went to take the seat off and it was stuck to the tank. I had to pull fairly hard to remove it with the obvious marring of the clear coat. Not wanting to be without the bike further I just put the seat back but everytime I took the seat off it was stuck again. The only saving grace was that the damage was not visible with the seat on.

Anyway, have reshot the tank and it's been about a week again. Before I put the tank and seat back on does anyone have thoughts/advice on how I can prevent this from happening again? Sometype of plastic "paintsaver"?
 
I don't know anyone that has had good luck in the long run with rattlecans. I painted mine last year with rattlecans because of convenience and cost. I didn't expect it to last and it didn't. First minor gas spill caused a nice matte stripe down the side of the tank. Also, any places that get a lot of impact wore quickly. I'm planning on having a guy I met at a car show repaint it this winter in his garage. I do all the prep and buy the supplies. He's going to teach me how to shoot properly so I can shoot it myself.

Try going to rallies and car shows and chatting up the guys with custom paint jobs about where they got it done. You'd be surprised at how cool some people are. I was.
 
ill never do a tank with a rattlecan, the only thing that saved the paint is clearcoat. when i do mine im using my buddies garage and spraying it. last year i painted my bronco II with rustoleum mixed 2 parts paint 1 part thinner along with 2 coats of clear and never had the paint get harmed by gass when i spill it
 
There has been talk, and I have actually SEEN the product, but never used it or seen it used, of a TWO PART clear and Paint in a rattle bomb. The can is seperated in two two sections, one with the paint and one with the hardener. You smack the can and it breaks the seal between the two and you spray. Apparently, it works just as well as any two part clear or paint, but the spray isnt as controlled as with a gun. I think it would be perfect for one colour tanks tho! I may have to give it a try sometime.
 
Try some vasoline on the area that the tank sits on. Hopefully the paint will not react to the petroleum but I know that paint will not stick to it so, a little vasoline and it should keep the paint from bonding to the seat.
 
TheCafeKid said:
There has been talk, and I have actually SEEN the product, but never used it or seen it used, of a TWO PART clear and Paint in a rattle bomb. The can is seperated in two two sections, one with the paint and one with the hardener. You smack the can and it breaks the seal between the two and you spray. Apparently, it works just as well as any two part clear or paint, but the spray isnt as controlled as with a gun. I think it would be perfect for one colour tanks tho! I may have to give it a try sometime.
Click to expand...

Have heard good things about it on other forums:
http://www.alsacorp.com/killercans.htm
 
PaulC said:
Anyway, have reshot the tank and it's been about a week again. Before I put the tank and seat back on does anyone have thoughts/advice on how I can prevent this from happening again? Sometype of plastic "paintsaver"?
Click to expand...
3m makes a clear vinyl with an adhesive on the back. just the same stuff as you would use to patch a hole in a swimming pool liner, or use as a gravel guard to keep from chipping the paint on an automobile.
 
A few thick coats of clear coat is a must when doing a rattlecan job, Ted
 
What about just taping off the area where the seat hits and painting it with a matt black? Maybe something textured slightly.
It wont look bad if it is done right. It could look like a stock too.;)
 
here's a rattle can job.
3089169_22_full.jpg


however I had to use a two part clear to protect it from gas!! spray can clear will NOT work. I found out the hard way!!
 
This is rattlecan too... no clear. There is no benefit to adding rattlecan clear, all it does is make it much harder to repair the finish when you do spill gas on it!

IMGP4674.jpg


Buttonhook - What rattlecan paint did you use? I'm surprised there was no reaction with the two part clear. Did you leave the rattlecan to cure for a long time or something?

Dan :)
 
salty_monk said:
This is rattlecan too... no clear. There is no benefit to adding rattlecan clear, all it does is make it much harder to repair the finish when you do spill gas on it!
Buttonhook - What rattlecan paint did you use? I'm surprised there was no reaction with the two part clear. Did you leave the rattlecan to cure for a long time or something?

Dan
Click to expand...

That look good how does it hold up to gas and such??

I used Dupli-color metal specks copper. This was the second time I had painted it. I did the whole job the first time with the dupli-color base and clear. But gas ate it off down to the primer/metal almost instantly!! :eek: So I had to sand everything back down to metal and start again :mad:. I tried to get a two part paint in the same color (my wife had already seen that color on the bike and see liked it so...) but they could not match the amount of metal flake in the paint without going to a three part paint. So they found me a two part clear that would not react to the spray bomb. then I used is dupont hc7600s clear with dupont hc7607s activator mixed in a 4:1 ratio. I let the spray bomb dry overnight then I sprayed 4 "HEAVY" to "EXTRA HEAVY" (heavier than I've ever sprayed or even seen sprayed before) coats of clear on top of the dupli-color. put it this way I sprayed a whole quart of clear and a 1/2 pint of activator just on the two side panels and the gas tank!! The pictures don't do it justice..I promise!

**Warning if you use this stuff it dries really, really fast!**

Hard to the touch in about a hour. They said I could wet sand it in two hours??? I guess the fast dry time is why it did not bubble the spray can urathane, collect dirt, or run even though I sprayed it so heavy. It was like it was already drying as it hit the pieces. However....This stuff was not cheap like $63 a quart for the clear and $39 for the 1/2 pint of activator but it laid down perfect!!! no runs or anything!!! And I mean slick as glass even though I painted it outside in the barnyard with the animals still there!! UNBELIEVABLE if you only knew how dirty the area was and how clean it came out "ZERO DIRT!!" I didn't even have to wet sand it just three step buff and polish absolutely no orange peel or anything.

If I had done it the first time right it would have cost about $150 for the paint, primer, and clear. then another $25-$30 for the other stuff I needed. so less than $200 for the paint job. Not too bad for a custom job.

BTW, I used a test panel first and when it dried I hit it with everything from gas to carb/brake cleaner everything but aircraft stripper. You can't tell anything was ever spilled on it!! So I think it would be a perfect solution for gas tanks.

FYI(everyone)....I contacted the 2 part spray can clear company about gas resitantance, before redoing the paint job, they told me to use a traditional two part clear because their product is NOT gas/solvent safe!!

here are some more picts.
3089169_21_full-1.jpg


3089169_20_full-1.jpg



you can relive my saga here if you wish.
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=126301
Unfortunatly, I kind of jacked the thread from the OP...Sorry! again!!
 
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