Finally got around to deleating those pesky gas tank stickers under the clear. The process wasn't that bad at all. I used the girlfriends hairdryer and a  few of those plastic, disposable spoons. Took about an hour to do both sides. looks sooooo much better. I was thinking of sanding down the tiny ridge of clearcoat with some 600 grit and the trying to cover the spot with some rattle can clear. Does anyone know if a rattlecan clear will be o.k. for the factory paint & clear?

thanks

You were not satisfied with the removal of the sitckers or the re-clearcoating of the tank? If you tell me that doing a rattlecan clearcoat is defianately going to look like sh*t, then I wont do it. I can easily live with the small white line.  

Nightrain wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:04:



i loved the removal, i was not satisified with my clear coat work. i'm sure with more practice i could do better.

Perhaps I can make a suggestion about getting rid of sticker line edges.
While I was playing with my CDI (refer to subject: Derek doesn't have an ignition problem anymore) I repainted my fuel tank. I did not remove the Suzuki stickers on both sides of the tank. Instead I taped them up but with 3/4" overlapped greater piece of tape after a thorough sanding down to 1500 grit. Then, after each successive coat I retaped, but moved the tape 1/8" smaller (toward the sticker). So, 2 coats primer, 3 coats flat black later, the tape was right at the outer edge of the sticker. Then a fine sanding of the original clear koting on the sticker, then clear koted the whole tank twice. With each successive coat I taper the edge of the edge around the stickers. Now, the tank looks like new and the edges around the side stickers are not noticable and I did not have to buy new stickers. It blended very well. The point of this is that you can taper sand the edges of your removed decals before your coats of clear are applied. I'm sure it will work...if you can decipher the jist of this description. Good luck.
Derek

I wish I still worked in Dallas.  We had an enclosed parkerizing machine.  Glass bead blaster.  You could smooth anything out.  You could bring that tank to bare metal in about 5 minutes.  I used to do parts on my little Ranger pickup when they got rusty.

The black on mine was the same color underneath.  It's just the hairline edge of the original clearcoat that is barely visible.

WD, any suggestions on a rattlecan clearcoat that is fuel resistant?

So what kind of sticker are you guys talking about?  My 05 had some safety sticker dead center under the speedo but it was applied over the clearcoat and came off fairly easy with the hairdryer method....no edge at all.  I'm guessing it's some other kind of sticker?

Took a while, but every sticker on the tank, frame, chrome has been removed.  Why do they junk the bikes up like that?

Fuel safe bomb can paint? Regardless of what it says onthe can, there is no such thing. Even wheel paint can wrinkle, blister, melt off or "streak out" if gas gets on it and isn't cleaned off right away. It's the alcohol in modern fuels that truly  kills the paint, not just the gas itself.

I like bomb cans because it is cheap to repaint the bike if it gets dingey or i get bored with the look. If you want the paint to last, go to an automotive paint store and ask for a "project pack". That is real car paint, pre-mixed, ready to spray. Usually in a bomb can that they fill in front of you. You'll have MAYBE 12 hours before it becomes unsprayable.
-WD