| Author | Message | ||
     Milar |
I know this is going to be heresy to some. But thought it important to pass along because there is so much conflicting info in repainting S1 tanks. Before repainting my 1998 Molten Orange S1 I did all the research about how to prevent further blistering. Aircraft primer, long curing time etc. No one seemed to have a definitive answer. So I printed it out and took it when I took the bodywork to my painter. A guy who paints motorcycles for a living and does many bikes each week. Here's is what he told me. I've painted many Buell tanks. That advice is old. Sounds like 1990's technology. No one uses acrylic paint anymore. Unless you want absolute authenticity, everyone uses urethane paints. They are very different. They aren't hard and brittle like acrylics. They aren't slow to dry like acrylics. They have a deeper and truer color than your old faded acrylic paint. None of the Buell tanks I've painted have blistered (yet). In a nutshell I'm going with urethane paint. We'll see what happens. Maybe it will blister, maybe it won't. Anyone who has experience with urethane paints on an S1 tank feel free to respond. Below is a link to an article in Hemmings about the differences between acrylic and urethane. Mike https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hcc/2007/11/Acry lic-vs--Urethane/1538643.html | ||
| S1owner |
Fyi I had a very experienced painter also paint mine in urethane. It cured also for 6 months waiting for me to get to that point. First off any of these tanks left that long will shrink and the gas cap ring will not fit. So you have to put gas in it and let it sit in the sun mine took 3 hrs to expand. But back to bubbling mine looked good for 2years then a few bubbles came out | ||
| Oopezoo |
No experience here, but I'm certainly watching. I have 2 small tanks and a Manta tank for my S1 in my garage that I would love to get painted at some point. I had seen so much conflicting info and convoluted mumbo jumbo, I had pretty much just given up on ever having a nice looking gas tank. | ||
| S1owner |
The best solution I have ever seen was a badwebber making a cover out of carbon fiber. You could easily do fiberglass but thats 100 percent solved no question. And yes this is a manta tank not an X1. I remember he had to redo it as the tank was shrunk when he made it when it expanded it did not fit correct.   | ||
| Oopezoo |
As dumb as it sounds.....I had considered a coat of self etching primer followed by a few coats of Plasti-dip from a spray can. I've had really good luck with that shit in the past. No idea how it would hold up in this sort of situation. I'm sure gas drips would screw it up if not wiped off immediately | ||
| Phelan |
Gas drips will immediately ruin plastidip. If you wipe it, you only make it worse. | ||
| 1313 |
The best solution I have ever seen was a badwebber making a cover out of carbon fiber. Thank goodness I won that tank cover (and tank, too) on eBay a year or so ago. The PERFECT solution for my '98 S3T Defender restoration (project), 1313 | ||
| S1owner |
I remember that good score although not as good as mine $75 shipped  | ||
| Oopezoo |
Ken.....are you shitting me? $75+ shipping. Damn, that was a hell of a find. This tank thing sucks. One of the small S1 tanks I have is, as far as I know, NOS and never been mounted on a bike. Doesn't even have any marks in the paint from a hold down clamp. The paint on that one is perfect.....and it matches the color of my bike. But the decals are all bubbled up so it still looks like shit. The small S1 tank that is on my bike was repainted at some point. It looks good except for a few random bubbles and they must have put some Pegasus stickers on it after painting. I'm assuming they bubbled up and were removed because you can see the outline of the decals and when removed they took a good bit of paint with them. The Manta tank I have was one I picked up cheap off Ebay. It has some minor tipover rash on one side, bubbled decals, but no bubbles in the paint. I'd love to paint it once and never have to dick with it again. I have a good paint guy. He said he will gladly do whatever process I want, but is reluctant to give advice as he is uncertain of a bulletproof fix and doesn't want to look like an ass if it bubbles up in a year. Can't blame him for being honest. I figure I will give one of the Caswell plating products a shot as I need to use it on a metal Honda tank too right now. I just wish their website gave a little more info. Their product descriptions are all pretty much identical even though they make 4 different variations of their gas tank sealer. Guess I'll roll the dice at some point (Message edited by OoPEZoO on November 17, 2016) | ||
| S1owner |
Yes 75 shipped. Found it on craigslist in utah I think. Guy bought the bike all custom done by the boing engineer that owned it. I called him and said if you can ship it and text me the tracking I will paypal you 75 right now and he did. He actually contacted me about 2 months ago wanting it back as he did not know what he had. But that was not going to happen!  But all eniugh hijacking please let is know what you gind out on painting | ||
| Milar |
Just another piece of the puzzle, have owners in Europe had this problem? I've not heard of any. If not, perhaps it's the ethanol in our gas? Mike | ||
| Davekh |
Yes we have the same problem over here in the UK. Though we don't have ethanol in Esso super unleaded or 98 Ron. I'm not sure what you call it over there. Anyway here's a tale that will get you thinking. I had my white lightning repainted in the standard pearlescent white almost five years ago. I even had the under laquer decals fitted as standard. I've only ever run it on Esso super unleaded and up to now it's remained bubble free. A mate from the buell forum saw this and asked me if the paint guy would do his white lightning as well. This was done two years ago and his tank bubbled within six months. Now mine hadn't bubbled prior to painting, it was just blemished with zipper marks etc where as his had bubbled prior to painting. Is it because I haven't used ethanol based fuel and he has or is just the luck of the draw.......Dave H | ||
| Milar |
Dave: do you know if the paints used were acrylic or urethane? If one was urethane and one was acrylic it might add a piece to the puzzle. Mike | ||
| Brother_in_buells |
Found this yesterday when looking for frame colors http://k-wallbaum.homepage.t-online.de/my/paint.ht ml | ||
| Milar |
Many thanks for the paint codes. A couple of thoughts: 1. I told my painter I had the original paint codes and give him that list. His PPG rep said those codes are no longer in his books. IE: the colors are no longer available. I had to use an original front fender and color match. 2. Those are all acrylic paints from the 1990's. The EPA doesn't like acrylic paints so they are mostly no longer available, replaced by urethanes. Urethane paints are a different animal. All instructions, formulas etc. are obsolete. 3. The effects of urethane paint on S1 tanks is unknown. Maybe it will blister, maybe it won't. Only time will tell. Unfortunately time waits for no man. The formulas and the original paints may be lost in the mists of time Mike | ||
| Harleyms |
The Molten Orange for a 1998 Buell changed numbers...I Spent 12 years in a body shop and the last 4 working for a PPG Platinum distributor...any PPG rep that told him the colors were no longer available is lazy and didn't feel like looking, it took me all of two minutes on my phone to find the revised number.I couldn't just punch the number in and have it come up, I had to use the advanced search and put in Buell as the Manf and 1998 as the year as well as the number and it comes up just fine... #91853 is a tri-coat (white base layer #91853ALT/1 and orange mid layer #91853ALT/2)and the urethane ice white pearl on my S1W sat for 4 years empty after the PO (a friend) had it repainted...it stayed perfect until I ended up someplace that had no ethanol free gas and had to use it, now it has a nice wrinkle effect on half the tank and a few small bubbles...I don't think it's only the ethanol in our gas that causes it but it definitely speeds up the process imo | ||
| Harleyms |
btw http://badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/47623/3 16370.html?1194328096 if the part in blue was the actual factory method of painting them those are all urethane products (K36 is an old tech primer but still a 2k product) | ||
| S1owner |
Yes that is all from Al at American Sport Bike (rip American Sport Bike) he was / is a very dedicated bueller and that is to the best of everyone's knowledge the factory method | ||
| Milar |
Thanks for the info Harleyms! I've forwarded it along to my painter. Mike | ||
| Milar |
"I Spent 12 years in a body shop and the last 4 working for a PPG Platinum distributor...any PPG rep that told him the colors were no longer available is lazy and didn't feel like looking, it took me all of two minutes on my phone to find the revised number" This is why I love this list. My painter went back to his rep and of course Harleyms is right. Had I not posted, I would have never known. Now the paint will be done right. No color match needed. Thanks again! Mike | ||
| Zhen13 |
Very nice tanks but not cheap http://www.holtworks.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d51.html | ||
| Newmans3 |
I also looked at these, really great quality, but only for carb'd buells. No fuel injected option except buy one of these and have it modified by another fab shop? | ||
| S1owner |
And moding the tanks after is expensive! My metal tank was for a fuel injected X1. I had to remove the sump area do to the xb shock then install a pet ••••. All that and pressure testing sost iver 300 | ||
| Ralph |
I have a feeling if you asked them to make one for fuel injection they'd be happy to do it. It's not like they stamp them out a hundred at a time. | ||
| Brother_in_buells |
If you have a look at order form ,there is a option to write down the info for having something other then a fuel tap. It's no problem to send a noncommittal message and say what you have in mind! Michelle and Tony are very helpful with that! | ||
| Lakes |
very nice ( those gas tanks in the link ) would they last long if you ride the bike a lot? Like England a very small country so they generally don't ride long distance, i like riding longer can ride my M2 sun up to sundown & love every minute. all the stainless steel mufflers i have had all cracked on the mount's, so no more stainless mufflers for me!! the stainless headers have been trouble free, so has the D&D full system. i fitted billet front engine mount & like i have posted before fitted a Stenzel bar and the engine mounts & isolators have been trouble free original gas tank still original paint but lot of k's up still paint not too bad for age. would love a hand made polished alloy gas tank but not if it could crack on a run & let me down. do you think they would last? | ||
| Brother_in_buells |
Lakes ,if you put some long lasting isolation material between tank and frame as originally ,then i say why wouldn't the tanks last a long time to!? Best is to ask the British buellers! And in the meantime have a look here, http://www.ukbeg.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=156 99 | ||
| S1owner |
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| Lakes |
Thanks For that, that bike is Beautifull! I might try & contact them after Xmas. | ||
| S1owner |
That bike is about 20 miles from me. He had it for sale a couple years ago but I think the adking price for the avverage person looking is high For buellers it was spot on. |
