Quite please, Artist at work Hummm.

[Nelly]

Hi all,

I have now received the second hand fuel tank from e-bay (£20.00). That I aim to use as a practice repair for the real thing. I have done very little spraying or paint work before. I will use spray cans as cost is an issue. I got a cople of questions:

1. Do I need to undercoat the tank, it will require some filliing?
2. What grades of wet and dry will produce the best results?
3. How much do you rub down between coats?

I am going to do the rubbing down over the winter and wait till spring before I start to spray as it getting cold now. I am to use the repaired tank for when I do some track days so I can have a mint one to put back on.
Thanks in Advance

Neil

 

[wrightme43]

Well since I am a dumbass, and the job I had scheduled for today is closed and I set the freaking burgler alarm off at thier business I will just go ahead and tell you what I have learned by doing it wrong.

I have a blue bike. When recoating with the blue, you either have to remove all the paint down to bare metal/plastic or remove hardly no paint. Otherwise the color wont match and will also as a added benifit have a parting line where the paint goes from black plastic to blue paint. So dont do that.
I used 400 grit wet dry, then 800 grit wet dry, then 1000 grit wet dry with water each time.

With colorrite paints it says not to rub down between coats, and that you have to coat spaced out very specific times in minutes to make sure they adhear right.

The clear is insanely thin, a coat that is thin enough not to run, is very hard for me to get. I am usually very good at painting with cans, I have built many many models and model rockets. I am very disappointed in how mine turned out, so disapointed that I took it off and did it again. However the second time it turned out worse than the first.

I was wrong to try and paint it myself, I am now deciding to take my bike to a painter and have it shot black, or just order factory painted blue side pods and let the part of the main fairing I dont like just be the way it is.

I wish I had left it alone.
I do alot of wood work, and have made things turn out wonderfully, but this, not so much.
Steve

 

[Nelly]

Thanks Steve, Thats really the reason I brought the second tank. I was hiopefully going to learn from my errors on this one and then do a proper job on the first one. I will post picks. I also want to spray it black.
Neil

 

[bd43]

I am by no means an expert at painting, but some of the things I did learn, I’ll pass on if it makes any sense to you.

It’s tough to match any color on the same object, especially if there is no separation between the new paint and the old. Auto Body shops do a great job blending or fading into it. I don’t even bother; paint the whole thing if it’s feasible.

Patience is key. Sometimes you can’t resist that “lay it on thick” because the first couple of coats don’t seem to cover much. Don’t go heavy. Light coats spaced every 10 to 20 minutes apart. The idea here is to build up a thick coat first before you can wet sand. If you have obvious dust spots on a coat, lightly sand it out with 1000 grit. Get in around 5 to 7 coats of paint. Let dry at least 24 hours or whatever it says on the can. If you went light there won’t be any bleeding to sand out. If there are any ripples or imperfections at this point wet sand with 1500 grit lightly. It doesn’t look like anything is happening, but trust me, your taking paint off. If you have taken it down to no color after sanding, spray again, light coats until you get good coverage. When you get it to where you want the paint coverage, thoroughly clean and give it light coats of clear; same procedure as the paint. After your final coat of clear, if you think it needs sanding, use 2000 grit wet. Finally, use some polishing compound, wash, and then wax. Sometimes it's best to practice on a small sample piece to practice the technique.

Hopefully the end result works out. It’s kind of hit and miss sometimes and patience isn’t always easy to come by.

Good luck. :thumbup:

 

[Nelly]

I am by no means an expert at painting, but some of the things I did learn, I’ll pass on if it makes any sense to you.

It’s tough to match any color on the same object, especially if there is no separation between the new paint and the old. Auto Body shops do a great job blending or fading into it. I don’t even bother; paint the whole thing if it’s feasible.

Patience is key. Sometimes you can’t resist that “lay it on thick” because the first couple of coats don’t seem to cover much. Don’t go heavy. Light coats spaced every 10 to 20 minutes apart. The idea here is to build up a thick coat first before you can wet sand. If you have obvious dust spots on a coat, lightly sand it out with 1000 grit. Get in around 5 to 7 coats of paint. Let dry at least 24 hours or whatever it says on the can. If you went light there won’t be any bleeding to sand out. If there are any ripples or imperfections at this point wet sand with 1500 grit lightly. It doesn’t look like anything is happening, but trust me, your taking paint off. If you have taken it down to no color after sanding, spray again, light coats until you get good coverage. When you get it to where you want the paint coverage, thoroughly clean and give it light coats of clear; same procedure as the paint. After your final coat of clear, if you think it needs sanding, use 2000 grit wet. Finally, use some polishing compound, wash, and then wax. Sometimes it's best to practice on a small sample piece to practice the technique.

Hopefully the end result works out. It’s kind of hit and miss sometimes and patience isn’t always easy to come by.

Good luck. :thumbup:

Thanks mate,

I will give it a go, I am actually very patient, so this won't be a problem. I will do the rubbing and filling over the winter months and spray in spring. Have you an thoughts on undercoating? Some of the damage is down to the metal.

 

[pedwards89]

Agree with all the above points. If you are filling the dent in the tank with Isopon or some such, you may want a more agressive grade of abrasive to remove the filler material & get the right contour. Whatever grade you use, remember to use progressively finer grades to get the ultimate finish.