Need advice on painting my tank

[Scorpio1963]

Hi guys I need some advice on painting my tank.Should I strip the tank to bare metal then primer and paint or should I just sand the paint thats on it and scuff up the surfave primer and paint?My tank is dark marron I want go with a metalic royal blue.
Suggestions welcome.

 

[faber]

What's the paint condition now? any dents that need to be filled? How nice of finish are you looking for? =)

 

[Scorpio1963]

What's the paint condition now? any dents that need to be filled? How nice of finish are you looking for? =)

Theres an earlier thread I posted about the dents in the tank I have.Overall it isnt bad.It has one Im using body filler on to fix the other Im going to try and pop it out with air or rub it with dry ice.Im looking for smooth as glass finish for the paint.

 

[jboyer]

for a glass look i would use a coat of primer sand it with 120 then sand with 300 to get out any light
imperfections

 

[Scorpio1963]

Well I decided to strip down to bare metal since I have seen other people doing their tanks this way.Besides I dont want the old color to bleed through.I just wish I could glass bead blast it.

 

[jmd_forest]

Once you get it down to bare metal, I'd paint with a good Direct To Metal (DTM) epoxy primer even before the body filler. Then body filler followed by another coat of DTM once the body work is done and followed by a good 2K high fill primer. Of course, sanding between coats. Once the 2K has no imperfections you're ready for your choice of base/clear finish!

 

[Scorpio1963]

Once you get it down to bare metal, I'd paint with a good Direct To Metal (DTM) epoxy primer even before the body filler. Then body filler followed by another coat of DTM once the body work is done and followed by a good 2K high fill primer. Of course, sanding between coats. Once the 2K has no imperfections you're ready for your choice of base/clear finish!

Thanks because I wouldnt have thought about epoxy primer.

 

[Scorpio1963]

I also took off the side covers and stripped them down.Got those all primered along with the bottom of the tank.I hope to get the side covers painted today and more primer on the tank.

 

[Scorpio1963]

This what I got done so far.Fixing to fill in the 2 minor dents today.

 

[bcware]

What kind of paint are you going to use? My rattle can job came out well enough, but it has absolutely no resistance to fuel.

 

[Scorpio1963]

Im going with an epoxy enamel,then when I get done Im going to clear coat the crap out of it just for protection purposes.On the tank Im going to bake it before the clear coat goes on.

 

[Drewcifer]

BC you haveta spray clear PPG over anything to make it fuel resistant!

 

[Scorpio1963]

Well I had to change my color scheme to much darker color blue,still going to look good I think has a very high gloss but not the royal blue I was expecting.I post pic tomorrow

 

[Scorpio1963]

Well major changes in the color scheme,went from royal blue to toule which is kinda a goldish silver color.
The reason for this is I put the tank in a kilm to bake it and overed the bondoed areas where i filled dents it bubbled up big time.Think I could just peel the paint off around the bad spots it lifted up whole sections of paint over the entire tank.Not be able to get another batch of the blue I was using I found the new color which was kinda a plan B anyways.So I stripped down the tank again and got better primer.Primered the tank up and let dry,Then resprayed with the new color which has alot of metal flake in it.The bad thing is this type of paint cant be clear coated for protection from scratches or fuel.I painted the tank and side covers with several coats and im going to let it cure overnight before touching anything.I think the problem originated with to high of temps used to bake it.Anyway I`ll have new pictures soon to show ya`ll

 

[jmd_forest]

What kind of paint are you using. If its a polyurethane paint (standard auto type for last ten years or so) they are "moisture cured" via water vapor in the atmosphere. I'm not sure what the benifits of baking would be. If you used the DTM epoxy primer over the bondo it should have provided a barrier between the bondo and the paint to help avoid any incompatibilities. But ..... the overcooking may have adversely affected the bondo causing outgassing from the bondo that migrated thru the paint.

 

[Scorpio1963]

The batch of paint I used the 1st time was epoxy enamel I figured baking it would harden the paint and make it more scratch and fuel resistant,so much for that idea
This time I use a acrylic enanel based paint.I said screw the dents I just removed the bondo and didnt go back.I hate the stuff anyways, no matter how many times i have used it I have had problems with it cracking,flaking off or rust coming back through it.

 

[jmd_forest]

Bondo is not really for filling dents, it is for filling in the imperfections in your dent removal. Optimally, it should bever be more than 1/8 inch deep. Bondo will not cure body cancer. The cancer will ALWAYS come back thru the bondo after a few months Also, bondo will not permanantly stick to an ill prepared surface. Any surface where you will be doing body work should be thoroughly wiped with a degreaser (I use acteone) to remove oils and silicone based wax BEFORE even starting the body work. Silicone wax, if not removed prior to sanding, will simply get ground further into the existing paint and eventually ruin any bondo or paint applied over it. Getting bondo perfect is an acquired art/skill. I've been a "professional amatuer" bodyman/painter for around 25 years and it still takes me more time and effort than I'd like to get bondo perfect. Perfect to me means you absolutely positively cannot tell by eye there has been a repair.

As I mentioned earlier, spraying the tank with a good DTM epoxy primer (and giving it 24 hours to cure) before applying bondo will go a long way to preventing rust. The DTM after the bondo and before a high fill 2K primer will seal the bondo from the paint.

Acrylic enamel can poduce a nice finish, especially if you add a gloss enhancing hardener, but it is not particularly durable. It is especially suseptable to fading from the sun.

My suggestion would be a 2 stage polyurethane (base/clear), particularly if it is a metalic color. Poly is durable and reasonably easy to spray. A single stage poly would be my second choice.

Whatever you choose to do, best of luck with your project!

 

[Scorpio1963]

Well given the fact I couldnt use a welder to tac something on the small dents to pull them out air or bondo was my only choice.My compressor didnt have enough pressure to pop the dents out.Bondo was my last resort in which i applyed in several thing layers.I sanded it down and in a few hours you couldnt tell the dents were there.My 1st choice of primer probaly wasnt a good choice.I beleive what you said about the gas escaping from the bondo is what cause my paint to bubble up.Thanks for your tips and i appreciate your thoughts thankyou.

 

[Scorpio1963]

Well after I couple of try`s I found a polyerthane Clear coat for my tank and side covers.I sprayed on about 4 coats and im letting it dry right now.I have been working on this since about 9am today.Im very happy with the results and it has a very wet shiny look to it.I`ll post some pics later this pm.

 

[Scorpio1963]

Ok everyone sorry to keep you suspence for so long pics are here of the paint job