Topic: clearcoat over gas tank stripes?

[jcarthel]

Hi.  I bought some gas tank stripes off of ebay from classic cycle city. They are reproductions of the original gold stripes that came new on my k2. Didn't Honda paint clear over these stripes new? Instructions that came with the stripes described them as "paintable with 2K acryl paint." I believe Honda applied clearcoat over the stripes and I want to do the same. Does anyone know if clearcoat sprayed over the reproduction stripes will damage them? Do I need to mix a milder concentration of clear than normal to prevent stripe damage?  If so what mix of clear?   Justin in Texas

[Powderman]

Why would you not follow the directions provided and paint them with the best clear coat on the market right now and have an extremely durable finish that is not effected by fuel? Any clear should work without damaging the stripes, but many are not fuel resistant.

[greenjeans]

2K is a just a 2-part clear coat with a catalyst/hardner.   So, pretty much any 2-part clear will be fine.  I normally mist on 2 coats of clear, letting it flash, before hitting it with final coats.  If you have enough coats of clear on there, you can sand  the area where the decal is flat and polish it so you won't
feel the decal at all.

[Pecantree]

Justin, yah finally painting your tank?
You do that and you'll have to start primping up everything else.
Before you know it, you'll be knee deep in parts


http://www.spraymax.com/index.php?id=361&L=1
One vendor
http://www.66autocolor.com/SprayMax_2K_Glamour_High_Gloss_Clear_coat_Aerosol_p/spm-3680061.htm
Use a respirator!!!!!!!

Tell Eli I said HI!
Steve

[Lostboy Steve]

Yes, I used a urethane enamel clear over my brothers vinyl "Ninja" Decal... It worked very well, again like Greenjeans said, mist it on and wait a few, then apply a wet coat. It helps with adhesion to the decal.

[jcarthel]

Thank you guys for all the helpful replies! I really appreciate it!

Justin

[Lostboy Steve]

Just to answer your questions specifically- no, there was not clear coat over decals or stripes. You can paint over them, but you should spray the entire tank. To do so, depending upon your current tank condition, you'll need to scuff the paint for the clear to bond to it successfully.

After spraying the clear, you can wet sand and buff the clear coat for best possible results.

Spraying clear over the stripes "won't necessarily" prevent damage to the stripes. In fact, damage to them from keys, rocks, etc will be much harder to repair if there is clear over them.

Hope that helps answer your questions and gives you some guidance on your options (combined with the above responses)

Are you sure? My 77 stripes seem to be under the clear. I doubt anyone gave it an extra coat out of the factory but I guess anything is possible. If not then the decals and paint have become one with time.

[bjatwood]

No clear over factory striping on my bike. And I would never do it. Decals are cheap compared to a new paint job cause a 40 dollars decal started to lift. My .02

[Powderman]

The chances of the decal lifting after being clear coated is greatly reduced because it not only has it's own adhesive it has a sealing layer of clear making it almost impossible to lift. When was the last time in 40 years you saw a tank decal lift? The chances of damaging the decal from rocks or keys is also greatly reduced because the clear coat will take the damage and it is easily fixed by touching up the damage and sanding and buffing it out. I am a firm believer in preserving decals under clear, even with clear powder coat.

[jdubb1977]

I used the Spraymax 2k clear over my emblem decals.  Went on just fine and didn't affect the vinyl at all.  That said, make sure the decals on there nice and good, and put multiple coats of clear over them (3+).  Some of my decals were pretty skinny, and I only did 2-3 thin clear coats.  Consequently, a few of them have started to peel up.

[Lostboy Steve]

The chances of the decal lifting after being clear coated is greatly reduced because it not only has it's own adhesive it has a sealing layer of clear making it almost impossible to lift. When was the last time in 40 years you saw a tank decal lift? The chances of damaging the decal from rocks or keys is also greatly reduced because the clear coat will take the damage and it is easily fixed by touching up the damage and sanding and buffing it out. I am a firm believer in preserving decals under clear, even with clear powder coat.

Exactly what I was thinking. Do decals hold up under the 400degee bake?

[Powderman]

calj, if the damage is enough to reach the stripes then it would have gone through the decal and into the paint requiring the same significant repair. I think the clear coat will be tougher than the decal so it's safer IMHO to cover the decals.
lostboy, I clear coat decals and vinyl graphics under powder coat on a regular basis. Most do handle the heat, some don't I usually run a sample piece to test a similar decal material to make sure it will work before finding out the hard way and having to strip and redo the whole job.

[Retro Rocket]

Honda did put clear coat on decals and continues to do so, not all the earlier model Honda's were clear coated but I have seen both on factory paint, not exactly sure when they decided it was better to clear coat. There are added benefits of having a clear coat, it slows down the fade that is common on uncleared decals, decals will always last longer if covered in clear.  It really makes no difference if a tank is damaged and has clear on it clear or not, its no big deal to remove clear as it is generally much thinner than paint, and if the repair is done properly, everything should be removed anyway...  You need to know what type of plastic has been used when buying after market decals {most will state somewhere that they can be clear coated}, clear, or the thinners in it, will soften , dissolve or blister lots of types of plastics. I have a friend that does wraps on cars for advertising and has a huge printing machine and he told me that if I wanted decals to be clear coated they would have to be of a certain type of plastic, that was confirmed on this site by one of the members here that make decals....

[Lostboy Steve]

Yeah Retro, I was going to say, Mine are DEFINITELY cleared over on my 77.

[lucky]

Why would you not follow the directions provided and paint them with the best clear coat on the market right now and have an extremely durable finish that is not effected by fuel? Any clear should work without damaging the stripes, but many are not fuel resistant.

+1  Max 2K two part fuel proof paint.

Make sure to spray a little on the bottom as a test for compatibility.

[Lostboy Steve]

The tank in question is a K2, and there was no clear in that application. Certainly, later models did use clear coats as paint schemes changed quite a bit and technology evolved.

Lostboy- you indicated you painted you Ninja with Urethane enamel? That's like saying you painted it blackish-white. Urethane and enamel are different paints altogether. Was it Acrylic enamel or urethane?

Modern urethane paints are more common and have a different appearance than original, acrylic enamels, even the clear coat products. Urethane "shines" differently and produces a more transparent lustre. Enamels can be made to look beautiful, but they always can be identified because of their unique results. If I were restoring a vintage auto, I'd definitely want to use enamel, but a resto-mod, urethane all the way.

Sorry, I meant Urethane Enamel. It laid out very well, and is still looking great after a few years.

[greenjeans]

decals and powder coat won't work.   Heat is too high and the powder needs an electrical charge to stick - the decal would diminish that.

[jcarthel]

Just for the sake of knowing, does anyone know if Honda sprayed clear over the tank decals on the early k's? My k2 gas tank paint and stripes are 100% original from 1972. The stripes appear to have been cleared over from Honda at the factory. Thanks again. Justin

[Lostboy Steve]

decals and powder coat won't work.   Heat is too high and the powder needs an electrical charge to stick - the decal would diminish that.

Thats what i was thinking. Vinyl is more of an insulator than a conductor.

[Retro Rocket]

Just for the sake of knowing, does anyone know if Honda sprayed clear over the tank decals on the early k's? My k2 gas tank paint and stripes are 100% original from 1972. The stripes appear to have been cleared over from Honda at the factory. Thanks again. Justin

As i 've said earlier, i have seen both, it may have had something to do with different markets, Aussie climate is hot and quite savage, uncoated decals would fade very quick without clear. My old K2 and K4 had stock paint and clear coat on both, i know because i repainted them...

decals and powder coat won't work.   Heat is too high and the powder needs an electrical charge to stick - the decal would diminish that.

Thats an assumption, the only powdercoater in the thread said that he does it regularly, why would he say that if it doesn't work, and the charge required for the powder is plenty strong enough to hold powder on the decal, i've powdercoated my tool box over a different color powder that was far thicker than the decals, no problem at all...

[Powderman]

decals and powder coat won't work.   Heat is too high and the powder needs an electrical charge to stick - the decal would diminish that.

You don't know what you are talking about. You are absolutely 100% wrong on all counts.

Here are some sample bottles I shot for display. All of them are aluminum and all the graphics are vinyl and sealed under coats of powder clear. The first 3 on the right are die cut vinyl, the 4th is a vinyl decal I had printed and the fifth is printed multicolor vinyl graphics. The vinyl and the ink hold up to the 400* temps we cure at. I do stuff like this on a regular basis. When I do a graphics package on a bicycle I usually do a matching bottle to sell them as a conversation piece.

Photo bucket is pissing me off, it won't show my pics in correct orientation, screw it.

[jcarthel]

That powdercoating you did sure looks nice!

[Powderman]

That powdercoating you did sure looks nice!

Thank you. I'm pretty meticulous with my work as I do this for a living. I do a lot of stuff the other shops won't take the time to do. My company slogan is "What you mind can conceive we can achieve, your imagination is your only limitation." And so I get a lot of intricate off the wall stuff done.

[Powderman]

decals and powder coat won't work.   Heat is too high and the powder needs an electrical charge to stick - the decal would diminish that.

Thats what i was thinking. Vinyl is more of an insulator than a conductor.

Cured powder is an insulator also, yet I can do up to 10 coats of powder. I can also coat glass, wood, rocks, what ever.
Here's one for ya. This toilet tank is made of porcelain but I was able to coat it in 3 coats, the black, the orange and the white are a second coat and a clear top coat. All the graphics are powder NOT vinyl.

[jcarthel]

All I can say is wow! That is one pretty toilet tank!