tank body filler

[cintidude04]

I am running a streetfighter and trying to smooth out the look of the gas tank. Particularly the bottom half of the tank where it would usually meet the fairings.
I've seen this on a few forum brother's bikes and I think it really cleans up the look of the tank.
From my searching on here it would seem my best option would be some type of body filler (ie. bondo). I also read a post about possibly using lead for the main filler, then body filler over that.
Got most of the winter to decide how I will do it, but any advice you can give will be appreciated.

Cintidude04

[cintidude04]

bump?

[cintidude04]

cool, my uncle also brought up the sheet metal idea as well. probably go that route

[teddy]

You could go the route of using a filler called All Metal from USC. It is an actual metal based filler and can be applied thick...you could also use DuraGlass from them as well. Nothing will substitute using a piece of sheetmetal for strength and durability, but I've seen it done by applying it with a gradual taper(you know, level at the edge and thinning out as you move down the tank) and last a long time.

[loudnlow7484]

Another option would be to fill it with expandable foam, smooth it with a very light coat of filler, and then do a fiberglass shell/wrap over it and the tank. Probably not the lightest option, but I think you'd get the desired effect.

My tank is a 'glass wrap job. I did it exactly the same way you do free-form fiberglass speaker boxes: stretch fleece over the form, and then apply polyester resin with a paintbrush until it's completely saturated. It definitely made the tank a lot heavier, though.

It also looks different depending on which method you use. If you want the tank to go straight down from the ridge, you'll need to use sheet metal or body filler; using the fleece method gives it a contour on the lower part.

I can't find any earlier "in progress" pictures, but this should give you an idea.....

[hardlydangerous]

FOAM AND Glass it
dont use heavy fillers or weld it unless you plan on sealing the tank afterwords.
Use momo foam and fill up the areas you want built up, then trim it and fiberglass over it with fiberglass cloth or fleece.
make sure not to leave the void hollow under there or it will resonate and can cause vibrations that can crack the flillers and paint as well as moisture that can cause it to rust