Recommended paints and tank repair?

[Fenixgoon]

My gas tank has quite a few scratches on it so I'm considering repainting it and the plastic bits of course. At the same time, the tank also has a fairly large dent that I'd like to fix if possible (it tipped over in the shed, I had the crash guards off at the time). I read a little bit about tank repair and it seems DIY repairs are only good if there's no crease in the tank. What exactly is meant by a crease in the tank?

Does anyone have paints they can recommend? Can vs. spray vs. gun?
DIY dent repair systems? I can try and grab some pics of the tank if that's helpful.


Thanks!

[ukilme]

IT depends on what you mean by 'crease'. For example, if there is a crease in the dent itself, they are generally harder to fix then say a dent that looks like a ball hit it.

If the dent is on a crease/bend/corner of a tank, they are harder to remove but can be done with patience.

The best tool to use to remove the dent is a stud welder and slider hammer. These are 250-400 bucks to buy at Eastwoods.

This link will show you what I have done. I am a little further down the road then the thread now but you'll get the idea.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=152511&page=4

What I did was took a night class at a local college. The course was for motorcycle body work but I am sure you could fine an automotive as well. And used their tools (stud welder) rather then spend the few hundred dollars. Plus, I got to use their paint booth for the primer. It is not hard to do an okay job but it not easy at the same time. And is difficult to master. There was a guy with a 74 Duc tank there and it looked like someone hit with an ugly stick several times and he was able to get it looking pretty good before the filler stage and after priming there was only one dent left but you had to look for it hard.

IF you can not take a course, you could get a local body shop to do it without the body filler and see how much it would cost. Then bring it home and do your own body filler work. If then dent is very swallow, you could just use bondo or such but I would not use it for more then 1/8 of an inch depth as it may crack at a later time.

As far as paint goes, there is a ton of different paints and brands to use. If you are just painting the tank, bring a small sample of the body work to a local autobody shop supplier and get them to match the paint. PPG, Dupont, House of Color, AutoAir (waterbased) are all good. Easy clears to shoot are Nason 476 or 496 which is Dupont and Omni clear which is PPG

Personally, I would stay away from spray bombs for paint and clear. However, I just used SEM high Build primer and it was great for plastic stuff.

As for spray guns, do a search for spray guns. There was a recent thread with a lot of good info about them.

Also, do post pictures.

[almarconi]

I had a tank, 2 fenders and 2 side covers painted. The tank had a large dent in the top and side, rust around the name plates and several other rust spots. Total cost was $300 for black urethane base coat and clear coat. Just a tank and side covers would be even less money. The results were far superior to anything I could have done.

IMHO by the time you buy all the supplies and equipment it is cheaper to have a professional do it. There is a certain amount of satisfaction painting it yourself but from an economic standpoint it is better to have a pro do it.

[ukilme]

I had a tank, 2 fenders and 2 side covers painted. The tank had a large dent in the top and side, rust around the name plates and several other rust spots. Total cost was $300 for black urethane base coat and clear coat. Just a tank and side covers would be even less money. The results were far superior to anything I could have done.

IMHO by the time you buy all the supplies and equipment it is cheaper to have a professional do it. There is a certain amount of satisfaction painting it yourself but from an economic standpoint it is better to have a pro do it.

This is true. I started ding my own work because I have the stuff to paint but that was because I bought stuff to airbrush a helmet figuring it was cheaper then go to a pro. Nope, it was not.

I spent just as much money on the guns and airbrush stuff as it would have cost to get done by a pro. But there is a strong satisfaction of 'I did this'. I have now painted one zx7r and several helmets. It turned into a hobby of sorts.