Repainting the Tank - Fuel Vapors

[topher0268]

I'm looking at repainting over the winter. I've seen where lots of you have repainted your tank but I haven't seen any information about sealing / dealing with the fuel vapor seeping that causes the decal bubbles. Can this be sealed completely? Does anyone have a long term solution for this or can anyone comment on what painting process they used and how it's holding up?

Thanks guys ...

[gilly527]

Part of my job is painting aircraft, I have painted over metal wing tanks and only once or twice has a rivet had a slight leak which has caused any trouble with bubbles in the paint or with any decals.

If you keep all the plugs in/on the tank and tape them off really well so that paint won't get on the fuel pump cover or the fuel cap etc. I don't know why there would be any problems with any paint or decals. Once painted make sure immediately before you put decals on the tank you wipe it down VERY well with Iso Alcohol and let it flash off for a few seconds then put the decal on, another method which we use extensively is mixing about 10-15% alcohol with distilled water... then spray this on the tank and when it is still wet, apply the decal and it will move and slide into position and with it still wet use a squeegee over it to wipe the mix out from under it, once this is done there should be no bubble, dirt or anything which can in the future cause any issues with your decals.

We use HVLP painting with PPG Global and sometimes PPG Evolution paint schemes... we use others too but those are the most common, they are both extremely good and come in a vast range of colors at industrial grade level, they are pricey but the end result is worth it.

[topher0268]

Thanks for the reply.

My concern is that these Tiger plastic tanks have a reputation for being vapor porous and allowing fuel vapors to leak through the plastic itself and then ends up under the paint and or the decals. My question is more has anyone successfully sealed this problem. Though maybe that's a quality of primer / paint issue or maybe there's a particular sealing primer that should be used.

I know there are several members on here that have either had their tanks repainted or have done so themselves. I'm surprised no one has chimed in with a long term report on their paint job.

[pineygroveshop]

My brother's '06 Tiger has bubbling stripes; but, my '02 does not. 

[Mustang]

My brother's '06 Tiger has bubbling stripes; but, my '02 does not.

it will eventually ...............it took my steamer 12 years before the bubbles showed up under the decals.

[topher0268]

Let me try a different approach. Mine bubbles so I'm not worried about the factory paint job. I want to REPAINT and when I do I want to know .... "can I stop the vapors and with what product"? Has anyone successfully repainted WITHOUT this problem coming back?

[benebob]

I too am planning a winter repaint.  Would putting the decals on top of the clear do anything aside from making it easier to swap them out if they do develop bubbles.

[John Stenhouse]

Google the problem there is a guy on one of the posts I came across who used a fuel tank sealer that seemed to work. When I last looked it had been fine for about 6 months.

[topher0268]

When I go to paint I may give this product a try:

http://www.caswellplating.com/restoration-aids/epoxy-gas-tank-sealer.html

Says it bonds to plastic so we'll see. Not sure if I'll tackle this job this winter or not but if I do I'll try to give a short term and long term update for those looking to do this for themselves.

[gilly527]

Has anyone ever tried sealing these tanks from the inside instead of the outside? In aviation we 'slosh' tanks with a sealer which is brilliant stuff, it will seal anything from gasoline. It makes sense to stop it going into the tank from the inside instead of coming at it from the outside as over time things on the outside usually always deteriorate.

If you took the hoses, gas cap and pump etc out of the tank and covered these spots temporarily and then added the sloshing mix this could really do the trick... has anyone tried this? This is probably overkill, my 01 Tiger paint is spotless so I don't know how bad your tanks are getting with these bubbles.

[thetolleyman]

I looked into this a while back and found a product specifically for sealing plastic/fiberglass fuel cells from the inside. I'll see if I can dig it up and post it.

[PeteH]

Had a bubble on my tank sorted back in April / May, no signs of re occurance and it was just a standard fix, decals are still bubbled, but I reckon this is from the top through the laquer and not due to fuel issues..

[trequad]

I'm curious to find out about experiences with sealers also, as I may have my tank repainted this winter. Thinking of having the stripes painted as well, as the bubbling issues are bothersome to me.

[Bixxer Bob]

Funnily enough, some plastic tanks, newly-made for the MT125 race class, have decal bubbling too I noticed at the weekend.