Topic: Terry's F2 tank rattle can respray.

[Terry in Australia]

Okey Dokey, the engine is back together and just needs shoving back into the frame, so time for the tank. When I restored this bike in 04/05, I bought a tank from a guy in New York, but sadly it was full of rust, and within a year of painting it, I got the dreaded bubbles in my shiny candy maroon paint.

Luckily for me there are some great guys here on this site, and Tim Kasper from Texas (KGhost) sent me a rust free black F3 tank with tired OEM paint, but no damage.

Today I got stuck in, and using a nylon 3M "strip disc" on my 7 inch sander/polisher, I stripped all the paint and decals etc off the tank.

The beauty of the nylon disc is that it only takes paint off, not metal. Never, never, never, use an abrasive sanding disc on a tank, that metal is thin, and it's gotta hold fuel, and protect you from exploding in a "get off".

   

There was one tiny ding on the front right of the tank, so I layed a little bondo.



I removed most of the excess bondo when it was in it's "plastic" state with a "surform file", then used a speed file (coarse sanding paper on a board) to knock it down, then some 280 grit dry paper (never ever wet sand bondo, or it'll absorb it then bubble it back thru your paint later when it gets warm) to smooth it out. I also masked off the cap and the tank flap hinge screw threads in anticipation of some paint!



I cleaned the bare metal with some "prep wash" solvent, wiped it all off, "tack ragged" it to remove any dust or lint, and sprayed some "Etch primer" on the bare steel to protect the bare metal from flash rusting, and to provide a chemical "key" to bond the primer/surfacer (next step) to the metal.



Once the etch primer had a couple of hours to dry @ 20 deg C (about 60 deg F today, it was a tad cool) I sprayed on a couple of coats of primer/surfacer.

 

Now as everyone here probably knows, the "top coat" is always a direct result of the prep work you do before the shiny stuff goes on, so to get a really nice finish, at this stage I "fogged" a contrasting color (black) over the primer/surfacer, then let it dry overnight.



Tomorrow I will "wet rub" the primer/surfacer with 600 grit, and any high or low spots will be easy to find, as they'll either be bare metal (high spot) or black. (low spot) Not much you can do about a high spot apart from shrinking or tapping it down, but I don't anticipate having any, so more likely I'll have some tiny dings that I can fix with "spray putty". (next step)

Sadly I won't get a great deal more done this weekend as I'm going away to visit my folks in the country, but I'll do as much as I can as quickly as I can, without cutting corners. Cheers, Terry.

[troppo]

I`ve just been through the same process mate (with spray guns not cans), its hard to believe the huge difference a coat of paint makes to the look of a piece, especially a major piece like a tank. I couldnt believe it was the same tank after the colour was done on mine. I`m sure yours is gonna be bloody great, what colour you doing yours?
cheers
troppo

[Terry in Australia]

G'Day Trop, I'm using some special "Candy" acrylic laquer, it's a translucent color over silver base deal, the color is a true "Candy Apple Red", but it looks maroon out of direct sunlight. I'll order the decals from motographix in Sydney ($88.00, ouch!) and by the time they arrive the tank should be painted and ready for their application. Cheers, Terry.  

[troppo]

sounds good, and very coincidental...
i`ve just done mine in ford burgandy pearl, sounds like a very similar colour and mine looks different in the sunlight to the indoor lighting, actually leaps out at you in the sunlight
dont forget to post some picks when you get done mate, i`ll do the same when i`m done too
cheers
troppo

[Terry in Australia]

Well before I left home for the Easter long  weekend I got some more done, I rubbed the primer back with some 600 grit wet and dry paper with a little dishwashing detergent which works well as a "wetting agent" and also helps wash the paint sludge away. You can see why I fogged on that "guide coat" more clearly now, any minor imperfection becomes evident as a black mark, contrasting against the grey primer. Using a soft sanding block, you just keep rubbing it back until the black has disappeared, and you can be reasonably sure that you've got a nice flat surface.



When I got around to the little dint, I could see that it'd need a bit more work.



I sprayed a little "spray putty", which is pretty much just a thicker, denser spray primer, to clean up the repair around the ding.



Once the putty was dry (I baked it in my drying cabinet) I rubbed it back, then hit the tank with another complete coat of primer.



Being a nice warm day, it only took an hour or so to dry, so I rubbed it back again, washed it off with clean water, used a combination of towels and compressed air to dry the tank completely, and hit it with the silver base coat.

This is the stuff that sparkles thru the translucent color coat, so you have to get it right first time, if you get a run and you need to rub it out, then you'll need to re-coat the area again, so it's best to spray on light coats, and just build it up slowly.



Once again, it was nice and warm (about 80 deg F) when I was doing all this, and so after an hour or so I was able to hit it with the translucent "Candy Apple Red" color. Sorry about the "flare", but this paint is so bright, it's really hard to get around it.




 

 

[Terry in Australia]

I gave it a few coats of clear laquer to protect the candy red earlier in the week, then yesterday my stripe kit arrived from "Motographix" here in Oz, so I wet rubbed it back once more with the same old piece of 600 wet and dry to further "flatten" the finish, then when it was clean and dry again, I (with the assistance of my son) applied the decals.

This was real "heart in the mouth" stuff, the decals cost $110.00 with tax and shipping, but apart from that, if I stuffed up the application, I could well have damaged the paint too, meaning I would have defaulted back to stage 1. Luckily I got them on and they look pretty good, with a couple of tiny wrinkles, but otherwise, pretty good.

Now I could have used more clear laquer from the spray can, but sadly the weather has really turned to shiit, it was only 50 degrees today, wet and humid misery, which is death for acrylic laquer. Instead, I dusted off the air compressor and my little touch up gun, and I mixed up some "2 pack" clear, really nasty stuff that will give you cancer quicker than a semi-trailer full of Marlboro's, so a good mask is an absolute minimum.

The benefit of 2 pack, apart from anti-humidity properties, is the ability to lay on a nice thick coating with a minimum of coats. This stuff is essentially a hardened enamel, so it "flows" very well, and covers brilliantly. I squirted on only about 150 mils (about a quarter of a pint) and carefully hung the tank in my drying cabinet (just an old fan forced clothes drying cabinet) for a couple of hours at approx 100 deg F, when I pulled it out again, it was all done, and looking lovely.

All I need to do now is fit my new tank badges and the trap door lid, and once the engine is back in, (tomorrow, hopefully) it'll be right to go! Cheers, Terry.



   

[toycollector10]

Nice work Tell!

[troppo]

DAMN!!!!!!!!
That is looking so good mate, but the badges will only ruin that sweet paint...
Better send them to me so they are out of reach and no longer a temptation to you
Cheers mate
Troppo

[Superbiker_uk]

Brilliant job!! Looks awesome!!

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, for a rattle can job I'm very happy with it, I want to do a couple more tanks but sadly I think the weather here might have beaten me................ Oh well, I'm happy I got this one done! Cheers, Terry.

[Bob Wessner]

My first peek at this thread. Very nice, Terry.

[Steve F]

I'm impressed!  Super job, and the best "can" job I've ever seen!      

[andy750]

Excellent work Terry and great write up!

Looking forward to seeing it on the bike.

cheers
Andy

[UnCrash]

Terry,

That looks awesome.  Thanks for proving that one can do a quality rattle can job.

[dusterdude]

very nice sherriff

[CrisPDuk]

Terry, I think there's likely to be a 750K0 tank wing it's way to your neck of the woods very soon

I'm absolutely sh!te at that sort of thing

[SteveD CB500F]

Brilliant job Terry and worth of a place in the FAQs I think:

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=371.msg336591#msg336591

Just make sure that you post the final results.

[fishman_Phil]

The tank looks great Terry and the step by step how to do it and being able to see the results of each stage, even better.
Cheers ... Phil in NZ

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, I appreciate your compliments and I really like it when a plan comes together and the result outweighs the effort, as has happened with this tank.

I don't usually do "rattle can" jobs, not because I'm a "spray gun snob" either, but there was a company here selling candy paint in rattle cans, so I bought some to try out.

Sadly it looks like they've "gone under", so I'm going to have to start using my compressor and guns again, but no biggie, I can buy the candy paint from a company here called "Spray Chief" who say they can match any factory color as long as I can provide a good sample, and I'll be ordering some K2 candy gold to do another bike I'm finishing off to sell, to further my ambition to buy a Harley Sportster. (don't throw rocks at me guys, I'm not deserting the clan, I'll still have my cherished K0 and K1 "Power Kruiser" once the dust settles)

Crispy jokingly mentioned sending me his tank to paint, and to be honest, I've been thinking about offering this service for awhile. I painted a tank and plastics for Sean Condon a couple of years ago and I'll be doing another lot for his "Sum#$%*" bike soon, so if anyone else is interested, let me know, and we might be able to work something out. Of course, shipping prices might kill the deal, but if you can get past that, I think you'll be happy with the result.

This time of year the weather is tricky, we can get a run of nice warm days, or it can all turn to shiit like it did yesterday, but today the sun is shining again, and it should stay warm enough for painting for another month or so. If you do want me to paint it, you might be better off sourcing your own decals, I can get them from Motographix, but they're pretty expensive, because they have no competition here.

Thanks for elevating my painting thread to the FAQ's Steve, I'll post another pic with the badges etc, once the tank is back on the bike and I've washed three years of dust off it. I better get that engine back in while the sun is shining! Cheers, Terry.  

[TwoTired]

Crispy jokingly mentioned sending me his tank to paint, and to be honest, I've been thinking about offering this service for awhile. I painted a tank and plastics for Sean Condon a couple of years ago and I'll be doing another lot for his "Sum#$%*" bike soon, so if anyone else is interested, let me know, and we might be able to work something out. Of course, shipping prices might kill the deal, but if you can get past that, I think you'll be happy with the result.

I saw Seans "paint by Terry" tank a couple weeks ago and I can attest to the fact it was very nicely done.

I wish I could still get acrylic lacquer where I live.  But, the caring government has banned it's sale in Kalifornia, favoring the taxable income and revenue from licensed paint shops.  If the local government found out I used 2 part paints and solvents here at home (which is only what I can buy, anymore), they'd probably haul me off to the pokey.   So, don't tell anybody, OK?

Oh, and Terry, what do you do for control of overspray?  Prevailing winds?   

I'm just abut done with my plans to build a paint shop out back.  First paint task is to paint the shop in some kind of camo scheme.  Any suggestions for urban camo? 

Cheers,

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Lloyd, well as far as "overspray dispersal" goes, you're pretty much spot on, I normally spray that stuff outside the garage, I only risked spraying it inside yesterday as it was pisssing down with rain.

I've heard about California's laws regarding paint, and to be honest, I think it's a good thing, and I'd be much happier to use water based paint, when and if we ever get it over here. I already have a HVLP (High Volume Low Pressure) gun like you guys use, and I actually like it, it takes a few more passes to lay the same amount of product on, but the overspray is minimal, and you don't waste as much paint, either.

I attached the badges and trap door this morning, then spent the rest of the day re-installing the engine. It's really nice just having the engine back in the frame, and even though there's still a bit of work to do before I can fire it up and tear up some miles, I'm happy that it's looking like a bike again. All going well, next weekend will see it finished and ready for the road! Cheers, Terry.

[troppo]

You can get it over here terry, but its worth more than its weight in gold, and not easy to find to boot

[Johnie]

Hey Terry...this is the first time I had to go through this entire post. Through the process I thought you were using a spray gun.  When I got to the "rattle can" part I was completely amazed.  WOW...very nice job.  Gives a guy a great sense of accomplishment.  Guess that is why we are all here.  As for me, I don't have any experience with a job that large and do not have any confidence in doing a tank.  I do my own small black parts (foot pegs, etc.) but I have my KO candy apple red parts in to the pro now.  Should be done in 3 weeks.  But nice job and great post for us.
John

[ofreen]

Nice looking job.  I'd like to know more about the paint.  I did some spray can jobs years ago that looked OK, but the problem I ran into was the finish was soft and not particularly resistant to fuel, either.  The two part clear you put over the top probably takes care of those problems.

I built a portable paint booth that I put up in the shop as needed, but have been out the painting business since October and probably have a month at least before I can start again.  A climate controlled shop would be great to have, wouldn't it?

[HondaMan]

Boy, a home in the FAQ is an excellent idea!
It gives me hope for my upcoming HS projects, too.
Thanks for all the posting work, Terry!  Great job!