|
SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Shiny tank /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1183167030 Message started by LANCER on 06/29/07 at 18:30:30 |
|
Title: Shiny tank Post by LANCER on 06/29/07 at 18:30:30 I have been working on polishing the steel tank...it is a lot of work. I have put in a bunch of hours so far, trying to figure out what will work and finding out what won't, which is at least half of the time. But progress is being made. There are still some of the deep manufacture marks in it and I do not want to spend the time needed to get it perfectly polished since I just do not have the equipment required to do a professional job. So I am pretty satisfied at this point and will do a little final polish and let it go at that. The marks left in it will be considered character lines, besides, the idea I was after was like a WW2 fighter plane wing and they were not polished like a mirror. Anyway, here is what it looks like at this point as best as I can get with my suffering camera. Well, not only the camera but also snapfish is kind of weird today. The pic's are very poor. Sorry http://images1.snapfish.com/34%3A639652%7Ffp3%3A4%3Evq%3D323%3A%3E639%3E697%3EWSNRCG%3D3235%3B79%3B795%3A%3Cvq0mrj http://images1.snapfish.com/34%3A639652%7Ffp3%3B2%3Evq%3D323%3A%3E639%3E697%3EWSNRCG%3D3235%3B79%3B855%3B7vq0mrj |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by serowbot on 06/29/07 at 18:36:13 Looks nice! Is it steel or aluminum? Reminds me of my old Hodaka. |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by Fido_the_Cat on 06/29/07 at 19:14:47 Doesn't quite do it justice. Can't see the wings. Is that a kind of blue tint to the tank? Expect a lot of comments with that on. |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by tuxedo on 06/30/07 at 17:33:21 that's a great idea. I'm thinking this winter I'm going to capitalize on my brother working with sheet metal geniuses and attempt to fill the speedo hole and remove the seam lips on the stock tank. I think polishing after that with a clearcoat and some airbrushing would be slick. |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by justin_o_guy on 06/30/07 at 18:16:56 In the Wildguzzi forum ther was a guy last year who sliced both sides off a tank & ran a strip O metal all the way around, widening it.Made a big difference in volume & he did a class job of it. Looked factory.This tank could be sliced horizontally & do that, then get it stable & cut it the other way. It would make a good sized tank then. You know, take something slim & trim, add an inch here, add an inch there, pretty soon, we look like tanks. |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by LANCER on 06/30/07 at 20:11:49 Yep, the tank is steel. I do not have the WW2 style decals on it yet, that will be the last thing I do. Finish the polish, clearcoat and then apply decals. There is no blue tint, that is just a bit of a reflection. When working on the tank it is easy to get drawn into the minute detail of every little line, and polish and polish and polish. Well, for me anyway. But when you back away from the tank even just a few feet it is virtually impossible to see the imperfections, and I believe that with a final polish and then the clearcoat (2 or 3 applications) it should really shine & glow. I really like working with the metal and seeing the changes. It is amazing how much plain steel can be polished. If I had the time and good equipment/supplies, it could look every bit as bright as a super chrome job but with a slightly different luster/color. It is fun. |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by justin_o_guy on 07/01/07 at 06:05:58 Yea, Lancer, knowing when to call it good enough is real hard. I've worked with people who didnt get "drawn in" to the little imperfections & work to fix them. They do shoddy work. Doesnt matter what kind of work is being done, details are always there. Those who ignore them get on my nerves. But, there is a place in a project to say" Good enough".In neurosurgery, its when its perfect. On a gas tank, well, you be the judge. Looks great from here. |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by LANCER on 07/01/07 at 07:32:26 I was not pleased with the way the pic's turned out ... before I tried to put them on this site ... they just do not show the tank the way it really looks. Even at this moderately rough stage there is real depth in the shine. |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by Savage_Rob on 07/01/07 at 09:27:29 LANCER wrote:
With the images being 96x72 pixels, it seems like maybe you've linked to the thumbnails instead of the actual full-size images. |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by LANCER on 07/01/07 at 11:29:38 Savage_Rob wrote:
Yep, I was trying to get the full size but at the time my snapfish page would not bring up the full size so I just went with the thumbs as a last resort. |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by LANCER on 07/02/07 at 21:56:45 Man, it is hard to get a good picture of this thing. At least this time I was able to get the proper size pic from snapfish to this site. Anyway, this is the best I could do for now. I decided that I am going to polish some more. I brought it with me to my daughters place and we will be here all week so I will just polish my little heart out and whatever it looks like at the end of tlhe week is the way it will be. When we get home it will be clearcoated and then the WW2 star decals go on....fini ! This is the way it started out ... http://i15.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/83/ea/45b9_12.JPG http://i3.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/83/ea/8a2b_12.JPG And now ... http://render2.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3AxxWtUq4Pl-ofrj%3DQofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQQaxJQexJlGxv8uOc5xQQQ0aGlnG0onJqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6gXPaQ%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,590,442 http://render2.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3AxxWtUq4P0-ofrj%3DQofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQQaxJQexJlGxv8uOc5xQQQ0aGlnG00oGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6gXPeP%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,590,442 http://render2.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3AxxWtUq4P0-ofrj%3DQofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQQaxJQexJlGxv8uOc5xQQQ0aGlnJeoanqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6gXPeP%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,590,442 |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by Savage_Rob on 07/03/07 at 05:45:53 I like that look... almost as much as flat black! |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by vroom1776 on 07/03/07 at 07:30:01 wow! good work! |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by jkhulon73 on 07/03/07 at 09:10:47 After stripping one of the side covers for my bike, I think I changed my mind about actually painting it... http://home.comcast.net/~joehulon/left_side_cover_polished.jpg I really like that look. |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by LANCER on 07/03/07 at 11:02:36 I am really liking the polished bare metal, and it is fun to work on. It does take a lot of time but watching the look of the metal change is during the process is the fun part. |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by Hell_Billy on 07/03/07 at 13:27:35 Lancer, MSC.com -or many others- sell an abrasive polishing compound just perfect for this. It`s got grit in it and you dress a sewn wheel with it and let it dry for 10 minutes. It`s like a big crayon, comes in a lot of grits, but start with a 220, then a 400, then go to a black compound just made for steel, then tripoli, then rouge. It will give you a mirror finish. At that point you can go back and hand rub in a satin finish with steel wool or 600 W/D paper. Be careful on the buffing wheel, tho! Or you can do the whole job by block sanding-using W/D paper, and use WD40 for a lube as you work thru the grits. You can start w/ 220, 400, 600, 1200, 2000 and it will gleam pretty good at this point. Theres is nothing like a final rouge buffed finish for a real deep shine. Hope this helps... WB |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by Savage_Rob on 07/03/07 at 14:51:46 This makes me wonder how these would look blued - as in gunmetal bluing. |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by LANCER on 07/03/07 at 19:30:08 I really do appreciate all the info, especially from you Billy, and if I were going for a mirror finish then I would certainly back up and do the FULL MONTY. In this particular case though, I am after the look of a World War 2 fighter plane which was a bit on the rough side with just a touch of a glossy shine. The planes were bare aluminum which were buffed slightly to improve air speed. Some of the marks and irregularity's in the metal add to the character. |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by YonuhAdisi on 07/04/07 at 11:20:06 I forget, where did you actually get that tank Lancer? |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by LANCER on 07/06/07 at 05:10:15 YonuhAdisi wrote:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-OUT-DENTED-CHOPPER-HARLEY-BOBBER-GAS-TANK-38-5060_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35563QQihZ004QQitemZ140089344890 |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by ausmerican on 07/06/07 at 21:17:47 Lancer, That tank looks killer. Is it going to be an easy fit to the savage ? |
|
Title: Re: Shiny tank Post by LANCER on 07/06/07 at 22:04:56 ausmerican wrote:
No, the frame will need to be cut and rewelded on the back end. |
|
SuzukiSavage.com » Powered by YaBB 2.2! YaBB © 2000-2007. All Rights Reserved. |