Tank: Powdercoat or Paint?

So, I had my tank and bodywork painted the winter before last. A friend's father works in the maintenance shop here for American Airlines and painted it in a red that looks very familiar to anyone who has ever seen one of those AA jets.

I don't know whether it is single stage paint, or color/clearcoat, but it was supposed to be tough. I let it cure for a few weeks before I put it on the bike. Nevertheless, the first time I fueled the bike, some gas spilled on it. I washed it off with the windshield washer thing at the gas station, but it still left a fairly large dull spot.

Then I left it at mechanic #2s forever waiting on him to work on it. When I went to finally pick it up, there was a chip in the right side of it that lined up exactly with the misadjusted throttle cables when you cranked the handlebars all the way over. They'd been adjusted correctly when I installed the tank; I checked it carefully. Of course he denied it.

When I went to pick it up from mechanic #3 the other week, the first thing he said to me was "I owe you a paint job." and showed me where the front of the tank had gotten chipped, and the right side of it had goten messed up even worse than the damage done by mechanic #2. Of course, he doesn't owe me a paint job. The fact that he was up front and honest with me (as he has been in my every other dealing with him) means there's no way I'll make him pay for it. It was an honest accident versus damage that was caused by carelessness, in my opinion, and more importantly, he was honest with me. Besides, it was screwed up already with the fuel-duled spot and the chip. I was hoping I could buff the dull spot out and touch up the chip; now that's out of the question. When he presented me with the bill for the work he'd done, it was pretty light. I'm figuring he took the tank into account, even though I told him not to worry about it, so I'm calling it even.

I would think the paint American Airlines puts on it's planes would be pretty tough, but I guess not. As I look at refinishing the tank again, I'm looking for a finish that can take a punch.

Would I be better off powdercoating it, or painting it. if it's paint, what type?

This must not have been the regular paint they use for their stuff. The normal paint is aluma-grip and is very tough. This must be sprayed by a depot level maintenance person and is normally not available to the regular "Shmo" mechanic. Secondary paint is "Polane" and is also very tough. I used it to paint my engine and my frame. This also is a two part poly Urethane, but not as poisonous as Aluma-Grip. Most likely he did not use that either. Than there is a single part Enamel that is used for touch-ups. Most likely that is what he used. To do a paint job right you should do the standard automotive Base coat Clear coat as is done on cars. The most common process is PPG DBU. That is if you want a normal professional paint job. Here are some pictures of stuff which I have done.

Here is another.

This is a close up of a tank.

Here is another part.

Man, that is beautiful work!

Tulsa is a depot level maintenance base, and he is a painter there. I'm pretty sure he painted my stuff at work, as a matter of fact.

The tank and sidecovers came out beautiful, but there was some orange peel on the tail piece, so it seems entirely plausable to me that it was enamel.

Will the color coat/clear coat hold up any better against fuel and ham0fisted mechanics?

The base coat / clear coat is 100% gas proof. I have spilled plenty of gas on my tank by overflow. Even if you don't wipe it off and just let it dry, it will not be affected. When it comes to idiot mechanics, there I can't guarantee anything. I don't think that Idiot-proof paint exists. :laugh:

X2 on the paint. I've spilled avgas on aircraft wings too many times to count, and that paint is tough stuff. If your paint didn't hold up, it's hard to imagine that it was genuine aircraft grade paint. A hardened or activated automotive paint will also hold up to gass spills without incident like otakar stated. Thats they way to go for the most durable, highest quality finish

The paint looks great from a distance (it turns orange-ish when the flash goes off)



There's the chip at the front



And the screwed up right side. It's a lot worse than it appears here, but I can't get it to show up on camera.

Just looking at the tank with the large chip, if primer was used it didn't stick to the tank at all. Looks like no primer? No professional here just an observation.
Personally I would strip, and Prime/ re-paint/ clear. If you do get another chip, then it would be easier to repair with paint.

You can't see it in the pic, but there is primer under there. That little black spot in the upper right-hand corner of the chip? That's primer showing through.

I would hate to be the mechanic working on bikes with these repaints. oops I was drinking a glass of water and it trickled onto your tank and ruined it, I own you a new motorcycle. Ok I vowed silence, but couldn't help myself in this all too familiar scenario. sorry.