This was an old original XR tank which had been repaired many times. It was in just terrible shape. The outside was totally buggered but the inside was even worse. I cut the top and bottom apart and saw the mess you are looking at. See that shiny black stuff in the tank bottom? That was ¾” deep fiberglass someone poured in to solve a leak. I ground the bottom crap out and roughed up the inside of the top. I coated both insides with Caswell--the best liner--and rejoined them.
The customer was more than happy with the result. I even installed a new filler neck because his was so rusty. A friend of his saw the work and is sending me an aftermarket CB750 tank he wants brought back to life.
Costs
- Repair leaks from outside with no damage to exterior gelcoat. $100 or less
- Old gelcoat is almost impossible to match. I will have to recoat entire tank with new gelcoat, sand and polish. Minimum $295. If I have to do a gelcoat color match add $150
- If the inside is a horror show, I’ll have to split the tank and coat with Caswell. $650 area
- If you are looking at a tank with a rolled lower edge, like an OSSA, it could nudge into the $700+ area
Obviously, this service applies to rare tanks and tanks with no NOS option.
Repair Options
- Grind smooth a lumpy surface
- Repair/replace/fill missing chunks and holes
- Sand surface and spray on new gelcoat. Need color sample.
- Re-sand and polish the tank to new
- If you want to paint tank, I can spray with DuraCoat, a great two-part primer
Procedure
- Call me and we can talk about your tank 952-607-6063-cell 7 days a week.
- Ship the tank to me with your complete contact info.
- Then wait. These repair jobs are inserted into my new production so it will take time. I will update you weekly with your status.
Notes
- If I can, I’ll reuse your filler neck, petcock bungs and petcocks
- Never, ever use ethanol in your fiberglass tank. If you live in a state that does not sell it, make your own.
New Life for an Aftermarket Honda Fiberglass Tank
August 2024
Don Duffin of San Antonio really liked his tank but it was in terrible shape. See here the massive bubbling of paint. The tank was built from general purpose resin which was eaten away by ethanol and the painter didn’t rough the surface for paint to adhere.
I split the tank and discovered a disaster zone.
Here’s a close up of the bottom. Just awful.
The far rear corner had one inch of fiberglass. Someone’s feeble attempt to perhaps stop a leak.
The rebuilding begins. I sanded off all the bubbled paint.
Don’s filler neck was badly rusted and I removed it. (See it sitting on tank.) The filler neck area was filled from inside and outside. (The blue/green Duraglass is reinforced filler.) I will replace it with a chromed filler neck which won’t rust.
Don’s tank with first coat of Duratech, a two-part high-fill coating. I’ve started what I call sand-shaping. I use 320w/d to speed the process which means I’ll keep coating and sanding with finer paper until the surface is paint worthy.
Caswell liner in red. Notice I didn’t coat to edge. That I do after the tank is rejoined.
Tank re-joined. Don’s bottom exterior was a mess so I coated it in red gelcoat.
Don’s finished tank. That gray stuff is Duratech a two-part primer. I polished so I could confirm all the surfaces were level and straight. Don’s painter will sand the tank, prime and paint.
Leak in an Old SXR Tank
August 2024
Dan Kjeer from Oklahoma bought a street tracker from the original owner. It had a major leak on the left font corner.
On close inspection, it was a series of weak spots in a line. I have no idea how that could have happened.
Happily, I was able to seal the leak from the inside without splitting the tank. Sadly someone had clear coated the tank and that caused a mis-match in the old and new oranges.
I couldn’t let the tank to go back to Dan looking bad. So I sanded the entire tank and recoated it with orange gelcoat and sanded and polished the tank.
This is how it turned out. Just like a brand new tank with new graphics.
