Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Custom Corner I am prepared for you to tell me I'm crazy, but...

I love the look of bare metal. I have an 03 speedie, which I absolutely love, except for the black and red paint scheme. I may end up just painting the tank all black, but am intrigued by the idea of having the tank nickel plated or similar (open to alternative ideas).

Anyone have any thoughts on how hard the plating would be to have done, or how much it would cost? I could do all the prep work myself I think. I sure wish it was an aluminum tank, so I could just take it down to metal and polish it...

At least one person has chromed a tank, member GaryJames, I believe. I'll see if I can find a picture.

I found some. Go to the link in my signature and look for Gary James, close to the bottom.

Can you strip the paint off and clear coat the bare steel?

Yes, you can. But, usually it doesnt weather well. Most clears will usually turn yellow after a while and water white clears usually dont offer much protection against rust.

Soren

IIRC, you can clear coat bare metal but besides the discoloring Soren mentioned there's a problem with adhesion. Clear is meant to bond to paint, not metal. Primer/Etcher/sealer is meant to bond to metal. I believe there is a clear powder coat though.

There is a company that applies a chrome paint to items.
They may be a possibility for performing this job.
http://www.coatofchrome.com/default.php

I think the idea of a chrome tank would be cool. Maybe with scallops of paint and the base being chrome?
The older Triumphs and the Enfields had chrome & paint tanks.

A neighbor of mine had an old bike he used for running around on the dirt roads where we lived. He took his tank down to bare metal and basically polished it the same as you would aluminum. It didnt shine up mirror like, but looked good. He then hit it with a bare metal sealer I think called Gibb(s?). It was like a gun oil or something. That bike sat outside for at least 2 years that I know of. The shine dulled a bit, but I never noticed any rust. Might be worth testing on some scrap metal?

Thanks all for the input, much appreciated. Not sure if I'll go this route, but it's on the top of my list. That Gary James' bike is nice. I'm not a fan of chrome so much, but it gives you an idea of what can be done.

Thanks all. Any more input, keep it coming!

a good painter can recreate the look of bare metal easy enough, and could even give it the look of being rivoted together with pieces of metal.

I remember seeing pics of one done in what appeared to be a brushed finish.
I think it was done by a shop in Tx. & then changed hands after it was done.
Really nice machine.
Anyone have tracks on that'un?

Hey John, here's a suggestion for ya....

Instead of having the entire tank chromed, how about chroming just the sides of it and painting the top of it which faces up, kind'a like how the old BSA tanks were done in the '50s and '60s. That's a very "British Look" too, ya know. And, that way the sun reflecting off it wouldn't blind ya while you're ridin' it around.

Y aknow , Dwight , that's a really good idea. I always liked that look.

Thanks Ian.

(ya see, sometimes I AM good for more than just crackin' cheesey jokes around here, dude!)

My first bike was a Bridgestone 350 GTR that came from the factory with a chrome tank. Not only was it garish and aesthetically unpleasant, it could be absolutely blinding under full sun. This is definitely one of those ideas that works better on paper.



Jack

EDIT: Here's a photo of my old Bridgestone (and ex-girlfriend).

My grandfather had a 1966 YL100 Yamaha that had the chrome tank where the sides were chrome and the top was black. Always liked the look.

I like the chrome tank on that Gary James bike nix the knee pads and if you are blinded by the light , and deafened by the noise you know it was me that just passed you LOL ..I wonder how much that tank cost to chrome ,

Gah... no thanks... the chrome on the binnacle is more than blinding enough at midday.