powder coating as gas tank?

pitbull · August 16, 2011, 06:08:54 AM

Why not?

good idea......bad idea?

I've heard it depends on the type of powder coating.

any thoughts on the idea would be appreciated.

He Man · August 16, 2011, 06:25:38 AM

no problem. Just need to watch the heat. Those panels are quite thin.

Speeddog · August 16, 2011, 12:19:24 PM

IMO, a bad idea.

If you need to do even a tiny repair, you're screwed.

ducpainter · August 16, 2011, 02:19:55 PM

Quote from: He Man on August 16, 2011, 06:25:38 AM
no problem. Just need to watch the heat. Those panels are quite thin.

I don't think the heat will bother it as you heat the whole assembly together so warpage should be a non issue...

but...

Quote from: Speeddog on August 16, 2011, 12:19:24 PM
IMO, a bad idea.

If you need to do even a tiny repair, you're screwed.

This^^^^^

pitbull · August 16, 2011, 05:20:53 PM

why would it impede repairs and differently than a painted tank? ........and I ask this sincerely as someone who's fairly ignorant about the process of powdercoating.

Speeddog · August 16, 2011, 06:04:14 PM

You can't do a 'spot' repair.

When powdercoating, the part is *completely* covered with the powder and then baked to fuse the powder to the part.

pitbull · August 16, 2011, 07:19:26 PM

so you couldn't then repair the powdercoat as you could paint, after a spot repair?

if that's the issue, it makes sense to me now.

He Man · August 16, 2011, 07:41:41 PM

some areas on the tank are thicker than others, like where the tank is weldd together id assume those places might be problematic. really not sure.

powdercoat is really (in most cases) just plastic in powder form. when you melt it, it becomes 1 piece. so you cant spot repair it. ive tried, it looks very very odd.

and you really need to think about why you need to spot repair first. If the tank has little chip of paint on it. Are you really going to try and fix that? any leaky areas should of been taken care of first.

Me thinks you are thinking abotu PC cause its cheaper (and it is), but its up to you if you think its worth it. if you ever need to do a legit repair, it needs to be stripped completely.

pitbull · August 17, 2011, 02:03:44 PM

I was actually thinking of PC because I thought it might be more durable than paint. I use the 2000 m900 I rebuilt a couple years ago as a touring bike and I'm not gentle or careful with it at all. At the time I had the frame and lots of stuff PC'd and the tank painted. Since then I've got a small chip in the tank and a few scratches. I thought I might just get it PC'd and then not have to worry about it as much.

I'm presently rebuilding my 2001 cromo and just had most everything but the tank PC'd. After 100,000 km's it will now become my bar hopper and the 2000 will pick up the touring duties.

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powder coating as gas tank?