Painting Fuel Tank

[KitNYC]

Pretty sure Acerbis has no clue what works or doesn't with their tanks...

Cheers,
-Kit

[Grae_ST]

Thanks for all the input guys

So, the basic upshot is don't need to strip the parts completely, but the preparation needs to be 'spot on' ie:- the better the prep = better result!

Now... just have to find a paint I like and a painter... lol

Cheers, G.

[DaveM]

Originally Posted by KitNYC

Pretty sure Acerbis has no clue what works or doesn't with their tanks...

Cheers,
-Kit

Kit if it were me I wouldn't be leaving it to chance without contacting them first.
Unless you know for a fact Acerbis don't know or won't say.

Grae keep us posted we want pics if the finished product please


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[IRIDEA955]

I painted my tank three different colors for my final paint scheme

Scuff it all up very good and spray away





I'm gonna do a new paint job over the winter using white black and silver to give it a more sinister look


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[KitNYC]

Originally Posted by DaveM

Kit if it were me I wouldn't be leaving it to chance without contacting them first.
Unless you know for a fact Acerbis don't know or won't say. <...>

You do have a point, Dave, I'm just pointing out that they seem to be clueless about the effect of the stuff that goes inside their tanks...

Cheers,
-Kit

[Ferris Wheels]

IRIDEA955 that tank looks killer. Can we get some more shots of the tank?

[IRIDEA955]

Originally Posted by Ferris Wheels

IRIDEA955 that tank looks killer. Can we get some more shots of the tank?

Thanks, it's the union jack all over my bike

It was the first paint job I thought of while trucking it home

I just started painting so I wanted something I could pull off

I knew my van was gonna be a giant saw blade so I was gonna match my van but couldn't pull it off

So the union jack won out I'm thinking changing the colors to silver white and black next year though all these pics are before clear




here's one in clear



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[oldndumb]

Originally Posted by KitNYC

You do have a point, Dave, I'm just pointing out that they seem to be clueless about the effect of the stuff that goes inside their tanks...

Cheers,
-Kit

Oh, I believe Acerbis well knows the effects of what goes into their tanks.......now. I'm certain that Ducati saw to that.

But in their defense, when the nylon tanks were specified, the consequences of U.S. produced ethanol were not in the equation.

The bike mfgrs also were caught flat footed. They wanted plastic tanks they could paint, so went with the nylon, using the current ethanol information which did not put much emphasis on phase separation effects. The longevity of the black plastic tanks were known, but they could not be painted and required additional covers/fairings.

What is interesting is the manner in which the bike mfgrs handle plastic tank warranty claims. I don't know about the rest of the world, but in the U.S. the tank is considered part of the emissions system and comes under the 5 year or 18,641 mile emission control warranty. I have heard of some dealers who repeatedly seem to forget that and will not support their customer without some re-education.

Ditto re all the stripper advice re plastic specific stripper. But emphasized dittos re just sanding down to good paint and avoiding the stripper if possible.

Myself, if I were determined to keep a plastic tank bike, I would do an interior coating before considering a re-paint.