Possible to polish tank?

[mystahagy]

I plan to be painting my bike soon, and I've got color schemes running through my head constantly. The other night while riding with some buddies we met a guy that had the paint stripped on the tank on his zx6r. Nothing more was done to the metal as far as sanding or polishing goes, and it looked great on his black bike. I didn't notice if he had it clear coated or not.

My question is, can this be taken one step further and the tank be polished to a shine and then clear coat? I was looking to paint the plastics black. There are other pieces polished on my bike, so there's plenty for it to match. I'm just not sure how that metal may respond to polishing, whatcha think?

[ThAzKat]

That is something that has been around for about mmm, say 8 years. The clear coat changes the color after a while. I haven't seen a Kat that way and would like too. I hope you go for it!

[Yellow]

I thought the tank was standard steel, can it be polished with as good results as aluminum or stainless?

[SweetLou]

I dunno about polishing it. There is a big weld seam that runs down the middle of it.

Maybe chrome it?

[crazymofo]

steel would be a pain to maintain and get shiney, as its naturally dull and dark due to the iron ore.

if your keen, do as lou says... chrome it.

one concern i would have would be the fact you'd be blinded by light refections... not good when u splitting cars or carving your mountain road.

cheers.joe.

[KatanaO215]

A guy around here has a TLR that has custom paint, and the Tank is chrome. It looks pretty cool

[tzortn]

Last year at the Gap there was someone with a polished tank. He just striped the paint then sanded away. You can get a mirror finish in steel, but if you do not lear coat it maintaining the finish could be a PITA. I may some have pics of it if you are interested.

[md86]

Spray chrome maybe ? I spraypainted a helmet chrome a few years ago that looked kinda cool . Woulda looked better without all the runs in it , though !

[toobalicious]

right.... untreated mild steel begins to rust in MINUTES.... you would have to clear it, or plan on waxing it everyday.... trust me, you dont want a rusty tank, inside or out...
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[ThAzKat]

I dunno about polishing it. There is a big weld seam that runs down the middle of it.

Maybe chrome it?

That would look awesome, HEY BEEKMAN and SPEDEE!!

I have seen Busa's with chromed front fenders also, SWAAAEEEEET. Hmmm, another idea to ponder!

[irenekat]

do it! i wanna see how it'd look...maybe just strip & clear..and if it starts to discolor or rust, you can paint or chrome it

[WildKat]

steel would be a pain to maintain and get shiney, as its naturally dull and dark due to the iron ore.

if your keen, do as lou says... chrome it.

one concern i would have would be the fact you'd be blinded by light refections... not good when u splitting cars or carving your mountain road.

cheers.joe.

and blinding others too..similar to those tractor trailers w/ the mirror'd back doors on the trailer..

[KatanaO215]

right.... untreated mild steel begins to rust in MINUTES.... you would have to clear it, or plan on waxing it everyday.... trust me, you dont want a rusty tank, inside or out...
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Im with stupid!

You do not want a rusted tank inside. Im dealing with that right now and its hell. The tank and the carbs are all fubar. Dealer is covering it though

[Black_peter]

I wouldn't think about polishing the Kat tank..
Not for the blinding mirror reasons either.
Chrome it if anything..
Maybe nickel..

You may find by the time you get the welds pretty you could strain spagetti with it.. (holes that is)
Polished steel will not rust in minutes..
(and there is no Iron Ore in it BTW)
The diminished surface area will put that off.
But by the time you did the work required to get it to the state of "passable" you would be disgusted with the process. IMO.
Also every single tiny imperfection would need to be delt with..
Plateing like paint, covers and fills scratches and tiny dings.. Chrome is several layers.. each layer is buffed, or should be so before the actual chome is put on the surface is smooth as a baby's butt.

[ThAzKat]

while you are at it Copper it