How do i sand down a motorcycle gas tank to repaint, i want take it from black to shiny silver?

Question

i want to sand , prime, and paint. What grit do i use of sandpaper. Will interior/exterior krylon work for this application? cuz i already have it and it's a perfect color.

Answer 1

Every time you get a drop of gas on the tank, you will see paint run off. If you just have an old POS, that isn't going to hurt anything. If you want it to turn out nice, go to an automotive paint store and tell them what you want do do. I did that for a project and I walked out of there with real automotive paint, hardener, and a clear coat and a little sprayer to shoot the paint with. I could post the process here, but the paint store will be able to tell you everything you need to know way better than I could.

If you are just doing the Krylon, just be sure to wash the tank really well and wipe it with solvent. Sand the whole thing with 360 grit paper and then wipe it back down with solvent. Shoot a few coats of primer and let that dry overnight. The next day you can sand that with 360 or 400. Don't wipe rattle can primer with solvent. Use rubbing alcohol or something like that. Then shoot several coats of color following the directions on the can.

Another thing you can do is look on ebay for a tank that has the color you want. Then you just have to put it on.

Good luck.

Answer 2

i'm assuming this is a metal tank? if so, don't risk sanding it, get a paint stripper (sanding lead paint releases lead dust which is bad, i have no idea whether your tank has lead paint or not but it's best not to risk it.)

and i'm not sure about the paint you're asking about.... if it's a spray paint, most likely it would work, as long as the primer you use is made for bare metal...

i just got done painting my entire bike's frame, i used dupli-colors engine paint, and used a clear coat as well.... it dries very hard and is very durable (i had painted it once before but used a cheaper paint, and it looked like ****, i could send pics of my bike)

Answer 3

I would use liquid paint stripper, for the paint, use automotive paint with a clear coat finish.