Powder coating a tank?

[Guest]

Hi,
Has anyone had a tank powder coated? If so what did the cosmetic result look like?

[TheCafeKid]

Hi,
Has anyone had a tank powder coated? If so what did the cosmetic result look like?

Ive seen a powdercoated tank. It doesnt look bad really, they even had clear powerdercoat too. BUT, my worry is what would happen to it subjected to the heat they have to be subjected to. If it distorted the metal at all, caused it to pop a seam or whatever, you might not know untill it was too late, and then both your tank, and your powdercoat job are ruined.

There was a guy on the Do The Ton board i think that spent a LONG time getting his tank down to bare metal, then polishing the crap out of it, then had it powdered in clear. Looked great, dunno how well it worked.

[psyguy]

one prob is that you cant use any pinstriping tape or anything else "plastic" (emblems etc) as it's going to melt in the process

also, with powdercoating, even though you can clear-coat, you cant get the depth of the color that you can get with regular automotive finish - this is due to the limited thickness of the powder-coat clear finish - whereas with regular paint you can keep adding layers

[Matchless]

Thanks for those comments. I just asked my powdercoat guy and he said he can do it, but he just about guarentees that once I get my tanks paint off there will be dents and even new tanks have some that have been filled. That would be the first problem.

It was just a thought. In actual fact what prompted it was someone had just had a sheetmetal item hot dip galvanised and then powdercoated. I thought galvanising the tank inside and outside and then powdercoating would give quite a durable finish and tank rust would then never be an issue.

[80GS750]

dents would be your only real issue....

you have to have it down to bare metal and it would show all the tanks flaws.

powdercoat is very thick and will self level and hide lots of flaws, but not dents.

its also very temp resistant,

they would bake the tank at around 4-450 degrees for a couple hours so as long as your seams hold up to that you would be fine.

i thought about this too but my tank has a couple small dings so i cant do it.

[Matchless]

I think that I will rather stick to the normal strip, fill, prime, and spray way as there are sure to be some filling under the present paint, seeing it is not the original paint.
Thanks for the replies.

[Skyboy8950]

I knew a guy who had his tank powdercoated with copper color paint for $100 and it looks like your standard paint job. Only problem with our bikes is that all painted surfaces are not metal...

Also, you can always spray a clear coat ontop of powdercoat. Put decals on then, the clear over that.

[GQROD]

It couldn't hurt to strip the tank in and out and have it galvanized then start regular metal prep and paint at least it would last for years and no rust. Just my 2 cents.

[psyguy]

against the rust, other than galvanizing, you can also zinc plate the tank

[hampshirehog]

We used to powdercoat the tanks on the team race outfits as it's tough and those bikes got abused. Looked ok, a bit dull compared to paint finish, but we used to cover them in stickers and they certainly looked the part.

[Matchless]

against the rust, other than galvanizing, you can also zinc plate the tank

psyguy, very good idea. That will be perfect if the metal can be cleaned enough, hardly any extra weight as when hot dipping. Pity Suzuki did not do the inside of the tank in those days.

Hot galvanise dipping will also bridge the seams and any pinholes, but add a bit of weight, it will also allow some sanding of the surface as it is quite thick.
If the tank is already quite rusted it may not survive their acid tank used for cleaning!

[Matchless]

We used to powdercoat the tanks on the team race outfits as it's tough and those bikes got abused. Looked ok, a bit dull compared to paint finish, but we used to cover them in stickers and they certainly looked the part.

Hampshiredog,
Could you recall if there was a clear powdercoating over the colour? I know if you just select the basic colours the appearance is not always striking. The pinstripes and decals can always be applied on top of the clearcoat and in themselves are also quite durable in this way. Obviously those bikes were never polished, but someone mentioned that powdercoat polishes and waxes up surprisingly well, so one may not even need a clearcoat.

[hampshirehog]

Hampshiredog,
Could you recall if there was a clear powdercoating over the colour? I know if you just select the basic colours the appearance is not always striking. The pinstripes and decals can always be applied on top of the clearcoat and in themselves are also quite durable in this way. Obviously those bikes were never polished, but someone mentioned that powdercoat polishes and waxes up surprisingly well, so one may not even need a clearcoat.

We never put clearcoat over the top but it can be done - an old guy just down the road from me has it on a (very) bright orange Triumph Tiger special (he's painted white racing stripes over the orange and beneath the clearcoat).
Powdercoat does polish up well and shines but you never seem able to get the depth that you can with paint and clearcoat.

[CraigS]

Powder-Coated Tank

I actually had my tank coated, along with several other bits and pieces on the bike. My coater had several color and gloss options from which to choose. I like matte black. I attached a photo so you can get some idea as to the appearance.

[Matchless]

That looks great! Was your tank smooth and without any dents?