Paint or No Paint?

[Nessism]

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.

[850 Combat]

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..

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...

[LeeGS550E]

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.

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.

[atb1998]

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.

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

[atb1998]

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.

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

[salty_monk]

We've done a fair amount of powdercoating raw steel with a satin or clear powdercoat with work.

It ALWAYS starts to develop some kind of discoloration under the clear, Ed is exactly right. Some of our customers want that industrial look & they don't care. We do proper "pro" prep with the acid bath etc & our units go inside... Good luck!

No reason why you can't powder that gauge of metal.

You can't compare it to Aluminium.

I would suggest a brushed nickel or chrome plate, that will give you a stainless steel kind of look - big money though.

Dan

[atb1998]

We've done a fair amount of powdercoating raw steel with a satin or clear powdercoat with work.

It ALWAYS starts to develop some kind of discoloration under the clear, Ed is exactly right. Some of our customers want that industrial look & they don't care. We do proper "pro" prep with the acid bath etc & our units go inside... Good luck!

No reason why you can't powder that gauge of metal.

You can't compare it to Aluminium.

I would suggest a brushed nickel or chrome plate, that will give you a stainless steel kind of look - big money though.

Dan

Hear it from the pro.. I stand down on the clear issue, thanks salty monk.. Even thouigh a 'clear" will show through, the solid colcors won't. Like my header on my bike, numerous cars , wouldn't a silver ceramic coat be cheaper and then buff out be cheaper?? since a plating requires dipping in acid, the copper, then nickle the chrome and buffing between layers.. versus ceramic being sprayed after one treatment and baked similar to powder? I know my header when i polish shines like aluminum and i do it with scotchbrite pad . Just wondering?? Or a silver powder coat sanded and buffed would do the same??

[salty_monk]

We "time save" the metal (sanding with a 400 grit or so all in one direction on a machine, you'd have to do it by hand)... then plate, then add a satin clear over the top. That seems to be the best way. Never done it for a full on outside application though....

Gives a "brushed" stainless type of look. Chrome is a bit more blue than stainless, Nickel E plate is a bit more yellow. Chemical Nickel is spot on colour but the rust issues start to come back & not many places have that facility.

Dan

[Shin-Ken 1074]

I've stripped and polished a steel tank and the result was amazing. After stripping to check the tank was clean and straight I then used a buffing wheel starting with sisal and steel polishing compound and finishing with a cotton mop and perspex polishing compound. Many hours later the tank looked like it was highly polished nickel !!!!!! Now the problem is the finish, as the team have said a clear that will not yellow,craze,get damaged and allow rust to form is an issue that can be difficult to solve. I did the tank as trial to see how it would turn out, great look, but I never went on to clear coat it. The care and maintenance of a clear coated polished steel/non alloy material would be greater than most other finishes and would not be a low priced option even if you do most or all of the work yourself. One thing for sure, the look would stand out in the crowd and you wouldn't lose it in the carpark, cheers.

[Octain]

Shouldnt the metal be sealed with some type of primer before coating, similar to if it were painted?
Every paint job I've ever done or seen done is first sealed with a sealer type primer before paint.

I say just get the darned thing chromed. Prolly cost a little bit more but at least you'll get the results ya want and not have to worry about it not holding up to the eliments.

[muskies666]

I rode my 72 T250 with the raw metal look for 6 months with no rust. I stripped it and the side covers, luckily steel, with aircraft brand spray on paint stripper, then used dupli color spray on clear coat and had no problems. I switched to red dupli color because all the other cafe kids in town started running the raw steel look.