What not to use to clean your tank

swest wrote: You're right. I've done it both ways. As I dug deeper it is obvious the primer and paint seperated somehow. Could be there were too many coats. Being cold and using glass cleaner plus the part that cracked had no gas in it created a condition that led to this reaction. I never had this happen before. I also never had this many coats before ether. Like I said, I had a problem with humidity, wet sanded and coated over it again. Perhaps I should have waited longer before I clear coated it. It did say in the directions to apply the clear coat no longer than 20 minutes after the final coat or wait for a few days for it to fully cure .

I would think you would have to sand the surface with #600 if you wait a few days before top coating.

I was wondering if maybe the clearcoat was urethane and the color was lacquer? I don't think those play together.

I'd strip the tank down to bare metal and then soak in it Kleenstrip Metal Prep (sold at Home Depot).

Epoxy primer and then urethane top coat. I've been using Transtar epoxy and House of Kolor base/clear lately. It's good stuff and reasonably cheap. You could dump a gallon of glass cleaner on that paint and it won't hurt a thing.

KZ750E body work below using this technique.

Nice work.
Steve

swest wrote: Nice work.
Steve

I'm thinking that because the paint job wasn't done cleanly, there was inconsistancies on how the primer and paint was applied. From what it sounds like to me the paint didn't bond itself to the primer properly (sanding the primer too smooth before painting in areas), and over time with expansion and contraction over the winters it could've been just it's time to fail. It's weird that ALL of this damage occured in one night, as usually this process occurs over weeks or months. Perhaps it was happening earlier on and you just didn't notice it yet (not the top of the tank, you'd notice that right away, but the bottom side and areas you don't normally see).

The more I think about it now, I believe you did cause this damage on top of the tank but not in the way you think. If there was a poor bond of the paint and primer to begin with, and it was slowly separating over time, the paint may not have been cracking yet but there could be separation between the layers. By washing the tank those separated layers would be disturbed by you putting force on the tank, causing cracks in the paint layer and accelerating the peeling process, leaving you with your situation on the top of the tank. This makes sense to me because the tank is basically egg-shaped, and this shape is stronger than a flat surface, and the paint could withhold it's shape while still being separated from the primer for some time.

Regardless, you have to repaint your tank, and that sucks. But it was a good brain teaser for me.

As far as clear coat goes... has anyone used the spray MAX 2K 368 0061 gloss clear over generic Dupli-Color Acrylic Lacquer?
The Dupli-Color clear coat is crap and disolves in water.... almost... and don't dare get a drop of fuel on it because it melts and don't rub it with your bare hands or it will scratch.

I used PJ1 clear coat 20 years ago. It was great. I found some on eBay but at $27 a can it's outrageous. It's probably NOS so it is junk anyway. I saw it for cheaper too but I don't trust eBay sellers anymore except a few.
Like I said, I'm squirting some color on this tank to use until the other one is done right.
Steve

missionkz wrote: As far as clear coat goes... has anyone used the spray MAX 2K 368 0061 gloss clear over generic Dupli-Color Acrylic Lacquer?
The Dupli-Color clear coat is crap and disolves in water.... almost... and don't dare get a drop of fuel on it because it melts and don't rub it with your bare hands or it will scratch.

You're right about the clear coat. I tried it, faulty gas pump handle and wasted the whole tank in a second. The Lib's at it again. You can't buy the good stuff anymore.
Steve

Since I posted on this thread, I've been sanding and prepping the extra tank for paint. I squirt on some color, wait until it cures and sand out the blemishes. No rush, a lot of other things to do. Humidity is low this week for a few days so I decided to finish it if I can. 27% today. Going from 220 to 320, then 600 grit, painting in between, it's starting to take shape.
F it, I bought a extra can of color and went for it. Didn't need it. Got 4 1/4 full cans left and clear coat is on. Two light coats and one wet coat, ten minutes apart. Looking good. Got plenty for the side covers and tail








This is my daughter's bed room. Before I could paint the walls, she decided to draw on them. She was 12. Kayla was born so she was included in the art work. I can't bring myself to paint over it all. When she comes to visit, I can tell she likes it. Oh well, history preserved .
The tank will sit in there for 24 hours before I do anything with it. This time I dug out a respirator I bought 15 years ago.No smell, Why didn't I do it sooner? I hate the smell of paint and the high is horrible. I don't understand me sometimes. :dry:
Steve

If you're going through all the requirements for desired results, only one way to go about it.....

Steve the clear lifted because the base color was not clean you just thought it was.
As for glass cleaner I us windex all the time for a quick clean up.in fact a bottle is
part of my track supplys along with the tools.

missionkz wrote: As far as clear coat goes... has anyone used the spray MAX 2K 368 0061 gloss clear over generic Dupli-Color Acrylic Lacquer?
The Dupli-Color clear coat is crap and disolves in water.... almost... and don't dare get a drop of fuel on it because it melts and don't rub it with your bare hands or it will scratch.

I did 5 years ago, still looks the same.

www.kzrider.com/forum/11-projects/375078-75-z1-resto

zukdave wrote: Steve the clear lifted because the base color was not clean you just thought it was.
As for glass cleaner I us windex all the time for a quick clean up.in fact a bottle is
part of my track supplys along with the tools.

It was the color that lifted. I think it did have a poor bond to the primer aggravated by the cold, lack of fuel in that area and my using Windex. The temperature got down to freezing that night. The directions for my windshield say not to use any window cleaner products, just soap and water. We'll see what happens this time. About the same time of year and I won't use window cleaner. :whistle:
Steve