Preparing a tank for pre paint prep work.

[Via]

Stupid question time but one I genuinely can't find an answer for online.

I will be painting a tank which has aprox. 1 inch rust patch on the outside from a small dink where bike has been dropped in the past. This was obviously a few years ago as it is quite set in. I have my trusty wire brush on angle grinder which will take this off in seconds but produces some nice sparks, these obviously won't be very clever around petrol.

Whilst tank is drained as well as I can, I can feel a few ml of petrol sloshing about in bottom still plus there's vapour to worry about (which we all know is the bit that goes boom).

So what is the best way to empty the tank completely prior to messing about and sanding it down? The obvious method is fill with water and then drain but from what I can see there's no rust on the inside of tank and would preferably like to keep it that way and not tempt fate putting a load of water in there (plus the obvious issue of making sure I get it all out afterwards).

Second thought is hook up air compressor to the it and just pump a load of air through for 10mins or so, would this be sufficient? Or has anyone got any other ideas?

[Stu]

That tank has probably had more moisture in it over it's lifetime than you are going to put in it when you fill it with water!

It will also get moisture in it while it's sat in the garage warming up and cooling down

I would just fill it up drain it off and dry it out

[Via]

Ok cheers simple answer it is

[fastbob]

Ok cheers simple answer it is

 

Remember Pony Power? He's got at least one vid on painting and prep .

[Via]

Didn't think of him looked at plenty of the other videos lol.

[fastbob]

When I painted my parts the hardest part to get my head around is when you have done all the rubbing down , the filling , the primer, the colour and finally the clear coat and achieved a good looking finish, you then have to flat it down with wet and dry paper. It just feels so wrong ! By the way you do use 2500 grade paper and soapy water so it is almost a polishing process. After that I use G3 colour restorer and then it all makes sense as a glass like surface appears . A coat of wax and your done. Immensely satisfying. http://i.imgur.com/FFin4tG.jpg logos from Serernvinylgraffics via eBay.

[Via]

http://i.imgur.com/FFin4tG.jpg

 

Lovely finish to that, when you did fairing did you take it back to bare plastic first or just scuff the top layer?

Really wishing I took tank to Wales with me now so I could have sand blasted it.

[fastbob]

Definitely just scuffed the top layer using the FINE grade pad from a pack of Tool Station Contour Sanding Pads. By the way don't forget that the clear coat on the tank needs to be fuel proof. Can't help there because my tank is a replacement, I painted the plastics to match the tank .

[Via]

By the way don't forget that the clear coat on the tank needs to be fuel proof. Can't help there because my tank is a replacement, I painted the plastics to match the tank .

 

Cheers, good point I did forget that

Want to at least start it this weekend, plus got a box of new things to attach

[fastbob]

By the way don't forget that the clear coat on the tank needs to be fuel proof. Can't help there because my tank is a replacement, I painted the plastics to match the tank .

 

Cheers, good point I did forget that

Want to at least start it this weekend, plus got a box of new things to attach

Oh yeah, forgot to mention how absolutely essential a pack of Tac Cloths is for removing all loose material immediately prior to spraying. Panel wipes are also a must, there's nothing worse than spraying a panel with a grease spot on it. Both available from Halfords.