Is this KZ TANK unuseable?

Is this just surface rust or rust that has irreparably damaged the tank?

That tank looks to have a liner inside, Kreem most likely, which has a spotty reputation.  If it were my tank, I'd strip the liner, then properly derust it to see if there is any weakness in the metal.  If the metal is thick and strong, a decision about sealing the tank could be made at that point.

In other words, getting your green bike going isn't going to be as simple as buying a used tank and taking it over to a painter.  With ANY 40+ year old tank, the best thing would be to fully strip all the paint outside, then derust inside and out.  There are shops that will do this for you, but I have no idea how much they charge.  Radiator shops maybe?  A car body/frame shop with full dip tanks would be ideal.

Nessism wrote:

That tank looks to have a liner inside, Kreem most likely, which has a spotty reputation.  If it were my tank, I'd strip the liner, then properly derust it to see if there is any weakness in the metal.  If the metal is thick and strong, a decision about sealing the tank could be made at that point.

In other words, getting your green bike going isn't going to be as simple as buying a used tank and taking it over to a painter.  With ANY 40+ year old tank, the best thing would be to fully strip all the paint outside, then derust inside and out.  There are shops that will do this for you, but I have no idea how much they charge.  Radiator shops maybe?  A car body/frame shop with full dip tanks would be ideal.
 

Thanks

I have a tank on the bike already but ironically I dropped it the other day and it has a few more scratches on it. Nothing major but the tank needed painting anyway and had a slight dent upfront, so I dont care.

I was going to buy the spare tank, which you saw the pic of. I guess that makes no sense. I know my tank is rust free and solid, so I'll just take that over to the car/body shop with has agreed to color match (metal flake included) my tank and rear fairing, and paint them both for a total of $650.

Thanks so much for chiming in on this. As ever, your help and knowledge are quite useful.