painting of a au tank

[monark]

seems to be a lot of ques about painting tanks so they can resist fuel,this is how i did it.wanting a 2 tone and some graphics would cost to much to leave to a paintshop (even my own time isnt that expensive , this isnt the first time im doing this so i know it works,it aint deadcheap but a lot less than a living painter would charge you.... first i started with a 1 comp acidetching primer (love that but only works on bare metal),second i laid a brown on the sides of the tank,masked it and then laid the black on the rest.since the whole tank is going to be clearcoated with a 2 comp the colours got to be base.all the cans are of the 1 comp kind accept the clear that have a activator in the bottom for the hardener.ill be back with painting of the name tomorrow.

 

[donphantasmo]

Wow, looks great, man...

 

[2door]

Very nice job. Have you ever used vinyl electrical tape for masking. It seems to work much better than masking tape. It leaves a very crisp line and can bend around compound curves and corners. For very sharp bends it can be sliced thin then run masking tape up against it. It also doesn't have an aggresive adhesive so it is less prone to lift a previously painted area.

That's just a suggestion. Your jobs looks great as is.
Tom

 

[silverbear]

Not just the tank, but the whole bike looks great!
SB

 

[Russell]

Great looking tank & bike! Thx for the info.

 

[monark]

thanks guys,funny you should mention the masking tape, the result struck my mind about half an hour ago,not a problem with the "basecolours" but when i was doing the lines with goldcolour (aint as bould as "nueva lost" who does the pinstriping the right way!). the goldcolour for the nittygritty is of rather thin density and that made it "float" out a bit under the maskingtape,DAMN! to much whiskey again should come out okay after some retouch.

 

[truckd]

Very! Very! nice Monark the color is WAY TO COOL! you can slide into the 1900's on that one and fit right in

 

[snday]

What you said it is very interesting.Thank you.

 

[thegnu]

Very nice job. Have you ever used vinyl electrical tape for masking. It seems to work much better than masking tape. It leaves a very crisp line and can bend around compound curves and corners. For very sharp bends it can be sliced thin then run masking tape up against it. It also doesn't have an aggresive adhesive so it is less prone to lift a previously painted area.

That's just a suggestion. Your jobs looks great as is.
Tom

or you can also use 3m's blue masking an pinstriping tape available in sizes from 1/8 to 1/2 inch , I never thought about using electrical tape Tom , that could come in handy in a pinch .Thanks (ya learn something new every day !)
Gary

 

[2door]

or you can also use 3m's blue masking an pinstriping tape available in sizes from 1/8 to 1/2 inch , I never thought about using electrical tape Tom , that could come in handy in a pinch .Thanks (ya learn something new every day !)
Gary

Yeah Gary,
I've been using it since way back in the R/C airplane days. I've tried all of the masking tapes but I've never found anything that works as well. I really like it when you have sharp bends such as masking flames and very thin lines or points. Another old trick for those who don't know it is to use a #400 sandpaper in small pieces to sand off the ridge left by any masking tape after you take the tape off. Of course the paint has to be dry before sanding. Just run the paper down the ridge. I always wet sand the color coats before clearing and that helps knock off the ridge but giving them a little extra attention prior to color sanding keeps things smooth.

Tom

 

[monark]

Iiiiiim back! took you advise on the maskingtape idea, at work we use a type of constructiontape thats wider and of the same "rubbery" buildup like elect.tape.worked like clockwork!thanks,
Having the basecoat done i sat myself at the pc in Wordmode and picked and printed out the name in scale 1:1,then i turned the paper and with a ordinary pencil filled in the outlined the name,then fix the paper the right way on the maskingtape on the tank and start fill the outlines,that makes the backside leave a marking on the tape that you then can cut out with a scalpel (remember this is the DIY method).then its just to fill out the name,in this case gold.remove the masking and there you have it! after this i took 400 grid wetpaper and soapwater and carefully sanded the tank and the name to get rid of the little harsh parts you get left after the tape edges.then i took a ordinary black fineliner markingpen and outlined the edges of the name to make it stand out a bit.have just sprayed the clearcoat on and it seems to work,welcome with ques if you got them! puh...

 

[silverbear]

That looks wonderful!
SB

 

[truckd]

"FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY STING LIKE A BEE" (quoted from the great Mohamid Ali)
Yha Buddy that's a good looking stinger!

 

[2door]

That's something to be proud of. Great work, Monark. Keep us posted on the rest of the project and thanks for sharing.

Tom

 

[curtisfox]

That looks AWESOME! Doesn't fineliner fade after a while? Just cureious, nice steddy hand you have. ..................Curt

 

[thegnu]

NICE WORK ! looks very authentic.

 

[monark]

thanks you guys! have the main buildthread under the btr section,but when it comes to some special bits i try to seperate them from the "frame" sts.next runner up is the dynamic balancing of the Briggs 5hp thats going under the non kit eng.section (can be interesting,hmmmm).if i just can get that to work the rest is a breeze,hahahahaha!!! seriosly,theres so much that you dont think about in the beginning when you do it "diy" but i still have a rather good feeling myself over this one.

 

[monark]

That looks AWESOME! Doesn't fineliner fade after a while? Just cureious, nice steddy hand you have. ..................Curt

Hello cf,just havnt given that a thought,when i was taking of the edges of the name down with 400 grid and soapwater i took a little more on the edges for that "barnyunklook".gives really good control with soapwater and finegrade paper so the fineliner can fade as much as it wants in this case.somebody that really strives after that "barnfind" look should chose a not so shiny clearcoat thou.

 

[truckd]

Hey Monark.......... where are you?? haven't seen or heard from Ya lately, whats go'n on with the bike??