I had my tank painted about three weeks ago, by a local body shop. Did a great job, until I dropped a tool on it and ruined it (some of you probably remember the thread...) and they repainted it. Installed it, looked great. Today, after a nice 60deg day I went for a ride and at the gas station while filling her back up, I noticed some flaking around the area where the gas cap gasket sealed against the tank. Rubbed it and the paint seemed wet and peeled off. I noticed a scuff on the paint around the circumference where a fingertip may have brushed the paint when turning the cap. So I *touched* the paint in another area and it left a mark. Just a light rub, but definitely in the paint. Apparently either not enough harder was used or something else is wrong. What a ****ing nightmare. At this point I have to drain, pull the tank and either have them redo it again or find another shop. I suspect the original paint wasn't fully cured when they sprayed over it to fix my damage and that never fully dried? No idea, not a paint guy. All I know is at this point I'm tempted to do what I should have in the first place and order a new vivid black tank from the factory. Goddammit to hell.

 

possibly a bad shop. most body shops are for production as fast as they can. find a good custom auto shop. they may cost more but you get what you pay for......been there, done that, got the t-shirt..

 

The paint should have been pretty much cured after a day or two. Something is wrong here as it is a chemical reaction drying moreso than temp related. Especially since they stated they baked it extra this second go around.

 

Nightmare! Sorry to hear about that. Oh well, lemons from lemonade and all that poop.

It's always possible they mixed a bad batch (was it two-pack stuff?) and will need to strip it right back and start from fresh metal. If so, given they seem to have done the right thing by you so far it might be worth giving them another shot (espec given they'd have to do it for free). I would avoid any suggestion that they strip parts of it and touch it up. Back to bare metal or nuffin' I reckon!

This is just a thought but If I ever strip my tank back to bare metal I'd be inclined to clear coat it and leave the metal showing, maybe with some cool graphics. A bit like this-guy-that-used-to-look-not-totally-bizarre's bike:

 

This was always one of my favorite motorcycles!

 

That's just an overused and tired cliche, which means nothing. People get more and less than what they paid for quite regularly. Sometimes I pay top dollar, and other times I find cheap stuff which is just as good.

 

Yep! I paid top dollar for a custom Dynamics LED tail light and wouldn't you know, the f'n lens cover is thiner cheaper plastic than some cheap ones. The board may be good, but if the cover breaks it's toast when it hits the pavement.

 

Real helpful. Thanks for the contribution.

 

That's what I'm figuring. However I'm not having an auto body shop disassemble my tank internals. Looking at the service manual, getting the pump and level float out doesn't look like too much of a challenge, but I don't see anything on the fuel line connector on the bottom of the tank - there's a hose going from it to the fuel pump. Any idea how that comes out? And is there anything else inside I need to look at? Thanks.

 

friend of mine did this and then used a 2" wire brush drill attachment to make an overlapping design.. once done he wiped it down with acetone and couple coats of clear... freaking thing came out GREAT!!!.. all has to be done quickly though as a fine coat of rust will form fast