Tips for bare metal tank ?

[raoulduke]

Hey Guys,

I am totally stoked by this bike http://thetarantulas.net/post/459558445/the-natural-seat and now I am trying to achieve this look on my 1992 Ducati SS aswell.
Well only the tank.

If anyone of you has done similar things please tell me about it.
I really would like to know how to get the paint off properly without grinding off to much material and how can I prevent the tank from rust ?
Any help will be appreciated !

greetings

 

[mrhondada]

i just did mine last weekend. a lot of paint stripper, wd40 and brillo pad. good luck.

 

[milehighcj360t]

if you leave that shit bare, its going to rust like a mofo. put some spraymax 2k clear on there and it'll still be bare lookin' but won't be rusting. Also the 2k is gas safe, so it won't yellow or get nasty.

Good luck, happy building.

 

[raoulduke]

Thanks for the quick replys.

@milehigh: I thought about 2K clear aswell have you used it or do you have good experience with it ? And does it really keep the bare metal look because it makes it a bit shiny doesn't it ?

@mrhondada: Do you have a picture of your finished tank that would be nice to see.

Or anyone else got some pictures ?

 

[milehighcj360t]

pics: http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=32133.msg371950;topicseen#new

It does leave it nice and shiny, but it looks fucking awesome. Bare metal on a vintage tank is just asking for trouble. even just the climatic humidity will result in surface rust if you try to leave it bare...which is obviously no-bueno. If you want to go bare, get some aluminum.

 

[raoulduke]

Wow you are right it really looks fuckin awesome !
I guess tomorrow I have to get myself lots of time and the 2k clearcoat and make my tank shiny and metalish

Thanks so far.
But I am still open for other Pics and Ideas

 

[Thunderchild]

To get the paint off, use Aircraft paint stripper. Powerful stuff! Don't get in on your skin.

To protect the bare metal look into Gibbs.

http://www.roadsters.com/gibbs/

For now, I'm running a bare metal tank on my CB400T1.

TC

 

[milehighcj360t]

Where were you when i polished my CJ tank to a high shine??? shite. well, looks like you've got a couple options, one offering lasting results, and gibbs where you can keep the bare metal but have to recoat... lets see the finished product!

 

[djelliott]

There's also a product called "Shark Hide".

http://www.sharkhide.com/sharkhide_metal_protectant.htm

I've been interested in this stuff for awhile. Might have to give it a try.

 

[raoulduke]

Yeah there are lots of ways to do it, i just have to decide.
Today i started by applying paint stripper to my tank, maybe tomorrow i will get it paint free.

I also asked a guy here in germany and he just used old oil and covered the tank in it, only a thin layer.
He said over the years it will give the tank a nice patina, but will not create rust holes

Maybe another shot to try out^^

 

[mrhondada]

here is my tank. i used a can of stripper from HD. it will naturally look old and crappy after letting it dry in the tank, after stripped. i used brilo pad and a bunch of wd40 on the top and front of the tank. the sides look good dirty. first pic so i hope its not huge. hope this helped.

 

[mrhondada]

nice. huge and upside down (shakes head and walks away)

 

[Thunderchild]

^^ You're in Australia, right?

 

[zuehl666]

Scotch Brite and WD40

 

[ryzeabve]

looks great. ive been wanting to do the same. looks like this is the best/ eziest way to it..