the next step in finishing the tank was getting the gas cap mounted.
first things first... gotta cut a hole. What this photo doesn't show is the two hours it took me to fine tune this hole so it was a tight slip fit on the Ducati 999 aftermarket gas cap.
the way i decided to mount the cap was onto an aluminum plate which you can see here:
But i didnt want gas or rain water to corrode it, so, i anodized all the tank fittings. the cap base, the petcock mount and the equalizer mounts.
in the acid bath
out and ready to go into the dye. (they will all be black)
with the parts anodized, i needed to seal the gap between the cap and the base. so i used some modeling clay to fill the gap.
this was then trimmed flush, and some high gloss tape was applied around the cap and clay(which supported and sealed it) but not around the base, as i want the resin and carbon fiber to stick to it.
then i sealed up against any possible gaps with a little more clay. This also served to reinforce the positioning, though it was very snug in the hole.
i laid up the carbon fiber around the assembly, (sorry no pictures of that, but i will get them) and once cured, popped out the cap, clay and tape. I also used some really fancy tape to keep the clay and resin off the sealing surface of the base. this is right after i popped the cap out.
So here you have the mount and recess. The cap is vented, and there is enough room for air to get in, but the cap is sealed against the base around the gas inlet.
and with the cap in:
the splitter plate was slightly off center, so i will need to run a stripe down the center of the tank, but this is all i am going to cover of the seam. the rest of the raised section will just be clear coated.
Now i just need to mount the petcock and equalizers before it gets a final clean so i can seal it and put it together permanently.
thanks for looking
~Chris