Topic: Painting Gas Tank! Tips!

[Jarhead12]

I'm goin to go get my tank professionally painted but i was wondering how do i prepare it? Will emptying it of all the gas and giving it to them dry and empty be bad for the tank, like rust or stuff? Or what? What do you guys do

[Stev-o]

I'm in the same boat and plan to drain it and take the petcock off.
Then I will strip the old paint off and deliver ASAP before it can rust.
BTW, he gave me an estimate of $125 to do the tank and side covers

Good Luck.

[Kong]

If you were bringing it to me I would ask you to remove all the attached parts (petcock, mounting hardware, that sort of thing) you could but that would be all.  I wouldn't want you taking the old paint off, putting on primer, or trying to fix any dents first.  That's all part of the prep work and the only way I guarantee a job is if I do it all, prep to finish.  Your painter may have a similar policy, many do.

[somesuch]

I have been unsuccessfully looking (for a long time) for a way to paint a tank in such a way that would make the paint as durable and fuel resistant as the newer Japanese tanks. It seems that the newer tanks are completely impervious to the fuel spillage (or even soaking!) no matter they are scratched or not.  All that paint guys explain that even if catalyzed primer and clea r are used, the base coat is not fuel resistant and if the clear is scratched the fuel will start eating away at the base coat resulting in lifting......all is well, but OEM paint does not suffer from this, how do they do it?

--Nick

[Jarhead12]

Thanks guys and yes i think my tank and side cover paint will be under 100$ professionally done, i found a really good company.

[benjamin550]

Tank and sidecovers for 100 bucks, is that normal? Im about to look at getting mine done and was expecting to pay much more.

Kohl

[Stev-o]

$100 is a good deal, I've received quotes for up to $500.

Don't pay in advance and only if your satisfied.

[Kong]

Thanks guys and yes i think my tank and side cover paint will be under 100$ professionally done, i found a really good company.

Jarhead,  You may title this post "rantings of a painter" if you like.

Buddy, if you found someone who will paint your tank and sidecovers for under $100 then I can guarantee you one thing, you did not find a really good company.

When I paint a bike for a guy here are the first things I charge him/her for.  First I hit them for a quart of epoxy and its hardener, that is approximately $40, then a roll of masking tape, which is another $5.  Then I hit them for a quart of high-build (2k) primer and a gallon of reducer, which is another $50.  A couple of sheets of sand paper will run $5 and there my dear friend is your $100 and I haven't so much as turned on the compressor yet.

Base coat paint is cheap and clear coat is expensive, hardeners are very expensive and time sensitive (meaning you have to toss old stuff).   I think I've mentioned elsewhere that when I did a free-bee paint job for a kid who lives near here last year the cost to the fellow (I painted for free, he still had to pay for the materials) to do his bike was $250.

That's just material cost.  Do you have any idea how much good spray guns cost?  Even my small touch-up gun cost more than most guys pay for their project bikes and for what my clear coat gun cost you could build a bike.  There there is the compressor, piping system, filters, and desiccator elements, not to mention a few grand worth of welders, grinders, buffers, and every-day use body tools.   Then there is the question of labor cost.

Steve-O, I would not even think about starting a paint job if the customer had not given a down payment sufficient to at least cover the cost of materials and if they don't pay the balance due they will never see their tins again, at least in person.  They can admire them on E-Bay if they like, because if they don't pay for the job I will sell their finished tins to recover my labor expense in a heartbeat.

[jneuf]

I was thinking the same thing as you Kong...I didn't think the $100 would even cover materials...let alone labour. Heck, even the vintagehondapaints.com kits are $149 for materials (and I'm sure that doesn't include everything, like masking tape, etc..), and I thought that was a steal!

I may be wrong, but the only way someone can do a paint job for under $100 and come out ahead is a rattle can job, with not even good quality rattle can paints.

[daytonajoker]

I just repainted my Buell with House of Colors Chartreuse an my son's Yamaha RD with Dupont Red....so when it comes to painting my latest CB550 project, color choice was easy....It'll go bad in 6-8 months...so my new CB Cafe will be Red with a Chartreuse stripe

[somesuch]

I don't see how anyone can paint a tank and covers for $100....Just labor should be more than that, or just  materials will be more than that.....the two combined plus the rent/etc.    I would think $250 plus is the cheapest you can hope for an OK paint job.

I have sanded sidecovers before, and it could take over an hour in prep each!

--Nick

[Silverback]

Maaco paints entire cars for $300-500. For the most basic of paint jobs, I can see spending about an hour total in work. Minimal prep, no repairs and no cut/buff. The only taping required is to cover the tank holes. If you buy 500 gallons of black paint every year, the few ounces it takes to paint a tank and side covers is negligible. Just don't expect the same results as a $500 job.  Actually, the OEM Honda finish is pretty horrible (Major orange peel/light on the corners). Our standards are much higher these days.

If I were you, I would get the parts as ready as possible for paint because it doesn't seem like they are going to do anything other than do some minor sanding and spraying. I would normally tell my customers to let me do all the prep work.

[Duanob]

$100 is a good deal, I've received quotes for up to $500.

Don't pay in advance and only if your satisfied.

I had a member on here quote me $700 for a pro job that's when I decided to do it myself. Supplies alone cost over $100 not including the striping or trim or badges. Remember, you get what you pay for.