Paint/Clearcoat Repair

Hey guys, A big ole KY good morning to everybody.

Looking for advise on possibly repairing the clearcoat on an '86 Softail Custom fuel tank. I purchased a used bike that has deepscratches/scars in the fuel tanks clearcoat, but paint appears to be ok. They are the result of throttle cable tubes rubbing the tank. The rest of the tank is in great shape.

Can these be repaired by sanding and touchup? If so, can anyone recommend a product? Is there an off the shelf touchup solution?

Have a great day.

Ken,
Thanks for the tip. Some of these are pretty deep, so it may take more than hand rubbing. Do you know of a product that is used for such an application? Have a good one.

Thanks AF Nurse,

I have, over the last few weeks read a lot of these threads. I have noticed that there are many resources on this forum. I really appreciate the input from you guys. It's a great feeling to know that other people are there to bring you up to speed on this sort of thing. Chuck seems like a great guy and he can bring a lot to the table when someone needs help. I look forward to hearing from more of the guys.

By the way, San Antonio is a beautiful city. I was there in '73. Wuld like to see more of that area someday.

Have a good one.

Hey Chuck,

How much of a factor does air temp play in this process? My garage isn't heated. The damaged area is only about 1" x 1/2" in size but it is completely through the clearcoat. I will try your suggestion and get back to ya. It is something that can wait for warmer weather if temp is a concern.

Thanks and have a good one.

Waitin for warmer weather

Hi Chuck,

We've been having some real nasty, cold weather here. Over 700,000 out of power in the state. I got lucky and dodged the bullet this go round.

I'm hopin to get a chance this coming week. Temps are supposed to be in the 50+ range starting saturday and on through the coming week. Since your last post i did find some clearcoat in a bottle with a roller / brush application. I put on a couple of coats to see what it might look like. No sanding yet, but it's lookin like i should try some of the sand and elbow grease that ya suggested.

Figured i get back to ya and see how you might try the clearcoat spot repair ya mentioned last post. Thanks for the input.

Heres' to you, :cheers: Have a great weekend

You Could Tank It To A Paint Shop And Have Them Wetsand And Reclear The Tank Without Having To Worry About Losing The Factory Colour And For Something Like That The Cost Should Be Fairly Minimal Thats What I Would Do

Hey Welder,
Good KY evening to you from Murray.
I have done a little body work and paint (custom) on tanks and fenders.
I am not a professional body man, but my quick answer is that there are no shortcut solutions to what you describe. Although the wetsanding and buffing my help most of the scratches, if you get too deep you will have to clear again. Not just a patch of clear, but the entire tank to make it look right.

And don't worry about the temp. if it's to cold you can take in the house and convert the bathroom into a paint booth. That way you have heat and running water. The better half will get over being mad sooner or later; mine did. Also an aside note - if you tear down the engine and soak it in the bathtub make sure you clean out the oil residue before you bath the kids, they hard to hang onto if they have a film of grease on them. LOL

Thanks for the input guys.

Been busy with other priorities and haven't really tried to do anything with the paint yet. For the present the tank is not that bad. I really like the factory paint scheme (Silver and Maroon) that she has, and I also plan to follow through on Chuck's suggestions, and go from there. I am mulling over the prospect of a complete paint job including the frame, but that will come when ridin weather is over.

Anticipation's a bitch, but ridin weather is not too far off. Weather here is currently 16 degrees w/ 5" of snow. Been out a couple of times when the roads were not icy. Put in a couple of hours a few days back and can't wait for another opportunity to get her back out...

Hey Duecebones, did the ice storm/ weather hit you very hard? We dodged the bullet on that one here in Letcher county, only a few of us here were out of power. Some of the surrounding areas got hit real hard. Power for some was out for a week or longer and a lot of downed trees. Hope to see ya on the road some time.

Hey Sarge, as for the bath tub, you got more grit that me . All my kids are grown and on their own, but we do have grand kids that use the tub on occassion.


Have a good one guys and be safe. :cheers:

Hey Chuck, by the way how did that turn out for ya, paintin on the dining room table? Ya gotta have a good better half there to pull that off!