bro

Member
Mar 21, 2002
60
0
Is there a way to seal the outside of a plastic gas tank so the vapors don't leech out and cause the paint to lift? Maybe a special type of paint?

I can't afford a new bike so I try to trick my bike into thinking that it is new by disguising it with the current color schemes. The original colors on a '91 YZ were white and pink so it needs a lot of disguising. I use ordinary spray can paint and it works fine everywhere except on the tank, after a few months the paint starts to bubble and lift off.

Thanks for any suggestions.
 

MrLuckey

Fire Marshall Ed
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Feb 9, 2000
3,718
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Someone posted a long time ago about plastic dye! I have no idea how well it works but try a seach on 'dye' and see what you find. I also have no idea how the dye would handle gas fumes, vapors.
 

Dragmeistr

Sponsoring Member
Oct 14, 2002
149
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I had a 91 CR that I painted the tank black (original was an ugly orange). I used rubber bumper paint. It worked very well, the only thing I didnt like was it was flat. I could not find any gloss colors, but maybe you can.
 

jmics19067

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Jan 22, 2002
2,097
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The vinyl dye is good for seat covers. Bumper Black I never luck with, peels right off.

I have had luck with lacquer paint although it really doesn't make sense.

this is what I have done.

drain gas tank and leave the cap off for a couple of days.
used a razor blade to shave off any furry plastic < them wierd strings along side of a scratch>
scrubbed everything I was going to paint with Soft Scrub cleaner using a stiff brush on the scratches and a fine Scotch Brite pad on everything else.rinsed well and dried.

clean with acetone

masked and spray painted.since I had two different colors to paint and by dumb luck had one spray can of lacquer an one of enamel. Since lacquer will attack air dried enamel and not the other way around I painted the lacquer color first.

after drying applied PC Renew over everything.

I figured since lacquer is a brittle paint compared to enamel I figure the lacquer would crack and flake off and the enamel would peel. What I had afterwards surprised me.
The enamel pretty much just peeled right off as I expected but the lacquer is holding surprisingly well. I am wearing the paint off ,either by my pants, scrubbing the bike clean or scratching it by dropping the bike. Out of curiousity I bent my radiaor shroud seeing if the lacquer was cracking and it doesn't. I am assuming that the the strong lacquer thinners is "melting" the plastic a little. Providing of decent bond and some of the pliability of the plastic is leaching to the paint making a "flex additive" before it dries.

There was only a small amount of paint on the tank itself so I am not sure what would happen if you had a lot of the tank painted.

Oh and bythe way the bike hasn't had much riding time on it maybe 7 trail rides but the bike always has gas in it since I use it to dispense my lawnmower and wheedwhacker fuel.
 

A-RustyDemon

~SPONSOR~
Dec 9, 2002
152
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Yes you can paint gas tanks check this out. I use Industrial bonding primer from Mfg. by Benjerman & Moore, this stuff sticks to anything but you must use their cleaner or you'll ruin you spray gun. Or you can use NAZ-DAR vinyl ink to change the color just use a soft lint free rag to apply to a even color or get the reducer for it and spay it on.. Let dry.. spray a few coats of clear Krylon or a automotive type clear coat over it. Works just fine. I've rework a KX using the bonding primer + paint and a blaster using NAZ-DAR ink. I've only had one small blister developed on the KX tank which was easily fixed with a pin pick and pushing the trapped gas/air out. Has not come back and has been almost a year. I can't post pic's yet or I'd show you them. Both have been rode hard with not sign of wear or tear.
 

Peer Lovell

Member
Nov 25, 1999
601
0
Someone a year or so ago, was advertising some kind of slip on covers for older tanks to make them look new. You might try and hunt this down. It would be way easier than trying to re-paint your existing tank.
 
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