Shaving a tank

Unfortunately guys, I didn't think to stop and take pics while I was doing this, so I'll give you a step by step.

1) Remove emblems from the sides of the tank.

2) Take a punch and a small ball peen hammer. Put the punch on the ends of the carrier for the emblem (the part it bolts into) and give it a few taps to sink it into the tank recess as far as you can get it.

3) Mix up some bondo. You want it to be a light pink. Follow the directions and practice a few small mixtures. If done right you'll have about 5 minutes to apply before it starts to catalyze and harden.

4) Let it cure until it's hard.

5) Use a tool like the one below to rough cut your bondo and get excess off. DO NOT try to get it smooth with this. You'll overcut and have a lot of backfill. I don't remember what this tool is called, but they are at most hardware stores near the files...



6) Once you've got a rough cut start sanding. Use a small rubber sand block and some 100 grit sandpaper. I am assuming you are okay with painting over this later so the paint isn't real important right now. Start your strokes outside of the bondo'd area and end them on the other side. That way the block will follow the contours of the tank and you will get a good sand.

7) Now, after your first sanding you'll probably find some pinholes from air bubbles. Mix up some more bondo and apply small amounts to those areas. Cure it, and resand just like before. No need for the cheese grater thing this time.

Once you've got a good sand here you will sand again. First 150 grit. Than 220 grit. Than 300-340 wet paper, then 400 wet paper.

9) By the time you do all that you will have SMOOTH bondo covering where the emblem used to be and you can paint over and it'll look like there was never anything there.





Post edited by: caffcruiser, at: 2007/06/08 09:00

That's the way Ron does it on all his repaints.:pinch:

well, it's either that or try not to warp it when you're welding it up. lol

If done well, there's nothing wrong with Bondo.

Post edited by: caffcruiser, at: 2007/06/08 09:14

that's how I did it on my bike.. got one small air bubble on the left side I couldn't get rid of, but the rest of the tank looks perfect..

..well it did until I started riding it. Now it's yellowed (clear coat), and got some non-slip mat melted to it. I used the mat to keep my magnetic tank bag from moving around on a trip, but the heat from the engine melted the stuff on the sides! :pinch:

Gonna have to repaint again this winter I think..

Caffcruiser is such a hardcore kz guy that he uses a Honda as a workbench!

Please post more pics of your project (or point me to them if you already have).

Post edited by: lowbuck, at: 2007/06/08 10:44

If you want to avoid the problem with air bubbles described in step #7 add a little bit of fiberglass resin to your bondo mix to make it a bit soupier and mix it up well with the hardener. Should make it a one step process instead of a two step process.

I use icing after I cut the bondo. Icing will get into all those air pokets, and not creat more.

lowbuck wrote:

Caffcruiser is such a hardcore kz guy that he uses a Honda as a workbench!

Please post more pics of your project (or point me to them if you already have).<br><br>Post edited by: lowbuck, at: 2007/06/08 10:44

haha

That Honda is the wifeys future cafe racer.

Spot and Glaze putty could be used to fill the air bubbles. No catalizing, easier to sand than Bondo.

caffcruiser wrote:

5) Use a tool like the one below to rough cut your bondo and get excess off. DO NOT try to get it smooth with this. You'll overcut and have a lot of backfill. I don't remember what this tool is called, but they are at most hardware stores near the files...

This my friend is affectionately known as a "Cheese grater". You can try this trick. before the bondo gets completely hard you can use this tool to knock off the high spots.

sun form tool;)

Hey Snakebyte what is icing?