Moving forward slow but sure. I cleaned the inside of my newly repaired tank using the anode/battery charger method to get as much rust out as possible. That worked great. Then I went through the 2 step POR 15 process to clean and etch it for coating, and finally the sealing.
It might be hard to tell from the photo, but this stuff gives a nice thorough, strong sealing of the inside of the tank. Since I still had a couple of pin holes, this did the trick.
Then on to replacing the front wheel bearings. For all you guys who say, "oh I don't need to change my wheel bearings, the old ones are working fine. This is what a 38 year old bearing looks like with 38 year old grease in it:
Yep it is nasty, and the grease on this thing is thick, not real viscous. So, on to the replacing portion of this task for those who are curious.
Keep whacking until the bearing breaks free.
Once it's out, knock out the other one.
Frozen bearing slides right in with a light tap.
Flip it over, install spacer, infuse with grease all around it.
Tap in the other bearing.
And install dust seal. Unfortunately, the new bearings I ordered were for a disc brake hub so I had to use the old dust seal.
But, it still has some life left in it. The frame and swingarm are painted, Rustoleum gloss black appliance enamel. Great stuff.
Matt has been updating me with my spoke refurbishing and eventual nickel plating. Man, he does great work. Here's a shot of the spokes after he painstakingly cleaned them up before sending them in to be nickel plated. I can't imagine how nice these are going to look when they're finished. They look great now! Highly recommend Matt (Sonreir) if you have a spoke wheel restoration.
While waiting for those I've started smoothing over the outside of the tank.
I really like the Evercoat product, Metal Easy Sand. It's a an easy to work with gel coat that has great adhesion, and like the name, is easy to sand. The photo shows the 3rd coat. It's close to the finish coat. I'll know once I sand it down.
Once the tank is ready for paint I can start on the seat!