| Author | Message | ||
     Jaggerts |
Has any one had a problum with there tank bubling? I had the tank on my thunderbolt painted cuz it had a couple of scraches. I noticed that the paint was bubling in some plases so I took it back to the paint shop and had it redone. ( no charge ) Iv had it back for about 2 mo and now its bubbling up again.. I decided to pop one of the bubbles and it had gas weep out of it. I know it a plastic tank, but was wondereing if the guy dint seal it properly. Im not taking it back to him so I need to know if there is a sertin sealer that should go on before paint.. Its very strange.. | ||
| Dannybuell |
welcome to the curse of tube frame buells! That shop was extra nice doing it 2x. I don't think there is an answer to this. | ||
| Jaggerts |
Well its not the bike with fule in the frame. Its the fule tank itself.. I know its plastic so... Yeah he was cool to paint it twice. He never saw that befor so I think he wants to make it a point that he can paint it and not have it bubble.. Maybe 3rd times the charme... | ||
| Nukeblue |
sounds like a porous tank, is there a coating for the inside that works? i thought it only happened to the earlier ones. like 96-98 s1's & stuff ? | ||
| Littlebuggles |
The answer can be allowing for a super long cure time, I had my bike painted in 2006 and the paint is still adhering well. I allowed a couple weeks of cure time out on my deck in the hot August sun, then a few more days in the garage. Put fuel in it while you can smell even a hint of paint curing fumes and you will see a bubbled tank eventually. There is also a proper prep procedure as well. the tanks are nylon and will bubble if you don't follow the proper paint procedure and allow plenty of cure time. Interestingly enough, my vinyl letting and race stripes have bubbled in places, but the tank paint is fine. They call it "outgassing". Shoot me a pm with your email address, I have an email with paint prep and brand info for your painter. | ||
| Rjn |
Having the Same issues with mine tank. Painted it twice and is bubbling again. Put a sealer compound in the tank after the first time, but it starts again. This time only à small bubble but that's the start i assume. If this continues i'm going to put à carbonfiber layer on top of the tank. | ||
| Cyclonecharlie |
If somebody made a few M2 and S3 tank covers similar to the X1,S2 or Blast....I'll bet they could make a few bucks and be Inshrined in the Tuber community...  | ||
| S1owner |
There is a bad webber that made a cover for his manta tank look great! I had my tank painted last summer in June no problems and the painter new exactly what material he was painting | ||
| Cyclonecharlie |
Ken, My Manta tank is no problem as for bubbles....but my small tank, another story.Had it painted twice, first time, within a month, left it in the sun(the bike) for an hour and the bubbles started. By the end of the week it looked like one of those dogs with the skin hanging loose.(funny now,not then)Took it to another painter and started over...it's been a couple of years now and only a couple of small bubbles, but I don't park it in the sun anymore. | ||
| Rsm688 |
Coat the inside of your tank to seal it up so the fuel vapors dont seep through and cause the paint to bubble. Shouldnt have a problem if you coat the inside of the tank -spencer- | ||
| Kc_zombie |
What is the exact material? | ||
| Jolly |
I recently tried coating the inside of a tank (its probably in the archives by now), took on a whole project as a test..lots of photos...it was a disaster! the product did not adhere to the material at all. admittedly, this was my first time coating a tank but it was a disaster! Ive been trying to research options for this for years..so far the only thing I have come up with is: expensive aluminum tank...over a grand!, keep multiple tanks on hand and swap and repaint when they bubble...of course follow the paint steps exactly! I had a manta tank repainted by a buddy who used to paint aircraft and he used an epoxy based paint that remained flexible yet strong...aircraft are exposed to temperature extremes by altitude and friction....and it still developed one tiny bubble...he also painted a small tank for me that has been sitting on a shelf "curing" for three years now, and has never had fuel in it. Ive also been trying to find someone that can wrap a fuel tank in carbon fiber...someone used to do it years ago, but he went out of business when he started making helmets out of CF and got sued in a liability issue......Ducati has the same problem, only their tanks expand instead of offgassing....ive investigated hydrographis as well, even sent a donor tank in, the company ultimately sent it back and said there was nothing they could do and that their product would not solve the problem. Sadly, I now have a small collection of fuel tanks all undamaged for the just in case it goes catastrophic one day. | ||
| Hootowl |
This looks promising. http://www.caswellplating.com/restoration-aids/epo xy-gas-tank-sealer.html | ||
| S1owner |
My small tank i painted flat black and used a cheap flat clear first time i parked in the sun it looked like it had a disease! I am not sure what my painter used but it worked so far. But i do plan on making a cover like I stated above someone on here did it and it looked great! | ||
| Jaggerts |
WOW!! Im kind glad that im not the only one this is happening to.. I might try the carbon fiber.. I work at a aero craft company and have acses to fiber and an oven to cook it in.  From what im seeing that might be the only way to go. + it might look sweet!!! I just dont want to pay $ for a job that will bubble in just a month.. Ill keep ya posted.. With picks if I decid to do it.. | ||
| Brother_in_buells |
Here is the custom cover for the manta tank http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/476 23/684743.html And Jolly's tank project, http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/476 23/672583.html?1334634053 http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/476 23/676413.html | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Kc_zombie, it's some sort of nylon, I haven't got anything more specific than that. I wonder if 1313 could shed some light on it if you want more specific information than "nylon". | ||
| S1owner |
Thanks brother thats the one! | ||
| 4traxx |
Mine was decent for a couple years . last spring i left it parked in the sun and it really popped and blistered . | ||
| Rex |
wow, the cover is cool. My first time to ever see...$2000? wow | ||
| Littlebuggles |
The cover isn't two grand, the hand formed aluminum tank linked in the thread is the $2G item. The cover was a home grown solution by a board member. There have been some really awesome ideas presented by various members over the years, that cover is one of the coolest things to come on the board in my opinion. I wonder if Someday would consider making some more covers and selling them to folks wanting to skip the bubbled paint option. | ||
| Brother_in_buells |
Rex here is the $2000 one! http://badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/47623/6 27078.html?1302924443 And this in progress in the UK http://www.ukbeg.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=156 99 | ||
| Jolly |
Here are some photos of a CF wrapped tank. I would think that the epoxy resin would adhere to the tank (scuffed up and sanded of all paint) and would form a layer that might stop the problem. So here I go again...I stayed up all night reading and watching videos on vacuum bagging and CF molding and laminating. I would also think that by completely covering and wrapping under the bottom some what that it would encase the tank and it wouldnt grow with fuel added which would keep it from riding off and up...? now all I need to do is by the pump, materials and fix this problem once and for all.....I think Im going to go for it.....winter project!!   | ||
| Harleyelf |
Whatever you try, don't use the Kreem coat that works so well on the insides of metal tanks. I tried it and the entire lining came off in one piece. | ||
| Jolly |
I think Im gonna invest in the gear to do CF vacuum bagging...... now I just need a small donor tank once I buy the gear..I have a Manta, need a "look what I found in the corner of my garage..." small tank that can be used as a "test dummy"...anybody got a small tank thats so ugly they would part with it cheap if I head down this path? It may be a month before I get into this...my next project is tearing down my Thruxton motor and doing cams, higher compression pistons and head work....about to retire from the Air Force...maybe I can create my own next job...ok,...maybe not... | ||
| Possumtrot |
Used caswell sealer on s1 tank, so far so good. | ||
| Leftcoastal |
Jolly- I used to have a vacuum bag system for doing woodwork. It worked awesomely, but some things you need to know - you can quite easily crush items that aren't properly supported. Some of the first curved forms we made to make glued up panels collapsed when we had them under vacuum conditions. Hopefully the system you are thinking about getting will 'splain you' how to not turn a gas tank into flattened scrap. | ||
| Jolly |
yeah, i had only briefly thought of that but quickly dismissed it....guess I ought to make sure of that! so I dont need top of the line high draw pump...just enough to do the job as a hobbyist....surely they can help me pick the correct system... I may have to pick your brain about set up and process if you dont mind... clearly it can be done, check out the photos I attached earlier, Al from American Sport Bike gave me those a few years back but the guy that did this has since gone out of business... | ||
| Hootowl |
If fiberglass resin will seal out the fuel vapors, how about coating the tank in resin, and then painting it? | ||
| Jaggerts |
Ok so Im doing a little research about this tank and cant find out much about it.. What is the tank made of? Im thinkingf about CF this bad boy and I will need to bake it out in an oven at work.. The only prob is the carbon and the bacelayer of adhesive I will be using requires a certin temp to bake it out properly for cure..Once it comes out of the oven it needs no time to cure. It cures in the oven.. So All I will need is to put a coate of clear on it and good to go.. So!! What is the max temp this can handel? I belive the carbon Im gonna use requires 340 Deg.. For 200 min.. Thoughts? |
