If you really want it stripped to bare metal find a shop that will media blast it ...should cost you $20-30 at the most.

 

yea, media blast with walnut shell

 

Thanks for all the input. I didn't even think of media blasting. Great idea. I will check around town and see what that runs. Otherwise, I will most likely sand it myself. After I am all done sanding down to bare metal I was just thinking of clear coating for protection so it doesn't rust and whatnot. Any other ideas on what to do with the bare metal?

 

yeah.... Paint it!

 

ha ... sarcasm never gets old

 

I don't want to paint it howver, I don't want to worry about it rusting etc.
so I feel I need to put some kind of a protective coating on it. I thought a clear coat would be an easy and cheap way to protect the tank.

 

if you are just going custom paint, the factory paint is the best primer. scuff it up and spray new sealer on..if you want to strip it. brush on aircraft stripper from autozone is the best stuff to use.. sanding or blasting will leave a rough finish that will require even more work to cover up.. you just brush the stripper on, wait a little while, and scrape it off with a plastic spatula or power-wash

 

Strip it and take it to a bodyshop for clearcoat, wetsand and buff. it will look good.

 

Screw all that, paint SUCKS, and you don't want that **** anyway. Also, as I said before I tried and tried to get the Airplane Stripper garbage to work and on denim, I literally could have washed it off and slapped it back on the bike and no one would have noticed. That was after an hour and well over sprayed. Maybe it works differently over clear or something, or the brush on type works better. Just sayin, unless you KNOW it will work, don't waste the $12+.

Find someone to media blast and clear ceramic or similar coat. Not sure how the inside of the tanks are treated from the factory so I can't comment on inside finishing. Are they factory sealed or raw?