RIDE-RED 250r/Badass350x/Jason Hall Gas Tank Refinish

[Mr. Clean]

Joe is building a second 250r and we have been working some sweet deals, and I sent the cherry for the top of the sundae last week.

Here is his tank finished and ready to RIDE-RED!!!

Blue TRX tank is for Dean.

Red TRX tank is for Jason.

[bkm]

All I can say is great work as always, plus my filler neck joke is a little played out.:lol: I'll put that one away for a few years and then get you when you least expect it.:D

How does a fella go about re-Mr. Cleaning one that has been siting in a dusty garage for a couple of years now?

[atc007]

Never gets old looking at beauty :). Superb as always.

[Worden18]

Man that is sweet :)

[badass350x]

As always mike top notch!

[Cave Rider]

Trike porn !!! Nice work man,nice work....

[t65h]

That is beautiful. Do you have any "before" pictures of the tank?

[sp8twn]

Nice job,looks great!!

[Darius1502]

Absolutely awesome!!

[fire1]

Great work as always!

[Mr. Clean]

Finished up one more tank yesterday afternoon for a person who chooses to remain "anonymous".




That is beautiful. Do you have any "before" pictures of the tank?

I do not have any maybe Joe does, there is a thread around here where I showed the whole process on a pretty beat up tank. The TRX tanks were pretty nice and the last ATC tank was painted. Had to strip multiple layers of paint and primer with lacquer thinner and then wet sand and buff.

[Mr. Clean]

How does a fella go about re-Mr. Cleaning one that has been siting in a dusty garage for a couple of years now?


Go to your FLAPS (Friendly Local Auto Parts Store) and get car wash soap, a chamois and a quality finishing wax.

Get a fresh bucket of car wash soap and water, as though you would wash your car. Wash the tank, then use a chamois to dry, NO bath or terry towels.

I like to use Eagle One Nanowax as it comes with a microfiber towel. The most important thing when choosing wax is not to get anything that brings an old finish back, Pure finishing wax.

167003

Apply wax liberally and do NOT use your fingers but rather the palm of your hand to apply and remove wax......WAX ON WAX OFF!!

Also apply the wax in the shade on cool surface. This process is true if the tank has been sitting on the shelf or for general maintenance.

Sit back and enjoy the shine.

If minor scuffs are on the tank from shelf wear etc a guy can take a polish (purple bottom below) and apply by hand followed by wax.

If the sides of the tank are getting more than scuffs from riding, then you can start with the 3M or equivalent rubbing compound (black bottle below) designed to remove 1200 wet sanding scratches. Below are the products I use.


http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/miked1957_photo/DSC_4788.jpghttp://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk179/miked1957_photo/DSC_4809.jpg

[El Camexican]

That’s it??? I figured for sure there was some sort of full Moon bloodletting ritual, or soul selling pact with the Devil required to get that kind of shine. Especially on some of those chalky white tanks you've revived. Just wax-on wax-off? Heck I’m already half way there even if I did start at the end!

[Mr. Clean]

That’s it??? I figured for sure there was some sort of full Moon bloodletting ritual, or soul selling pact with the Devil required to get that kind of shine. Especially on some of those chalky white tanks you've revived. Just wax-on wax-off? Heck I’m already half way there even if I did start at the end!

Ha!! No, the process described is only for what bkm was asking about. Basically the maintenance of one that has been polished up already.

Here is the process I use for the beat tanks.

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php/73033-Gas-tank-polishing-Fix-your-old-faded-and-oxidized-plastic-tanks-to-like-NEW!/page6

Keep in mind I use the finest grit possible to start and have all but stopped using the razor blade, just start with 220 wet sanding. Then 600 wet sanding, then 1000 or 1200 then 2500. Followed by high speed buffing with foam pads first with rubbing compound then polish then wax.

[atctim]

Literally looks better than new! awesome job.

[Dirtcrasher]

You do excellent work!

[t65h]

Mr.Clean
Thanks for the reply and link. You are an artist! I have two nice tanks to talk to you about. I have to wait a while because I spent my extra money on a second r. It was too cheap to pass up. I plan on taking apart one or both of the r's next winter.

Joe,
Thanks for posting the "before" pics. You have seen my two tanks. I hope they are good candidates for this. They both looked good to me. What do you think?

[RIDE-RED 250r]

Mike, sorry I haven't seen this thread till now. I had a busy weekend and today has been my first chance to really cruise the forum.

As an unbelievably satisfied Mr. Clean customer all I can say is....umm.....uhh....I really don't have words to describe what nice work he does! :beer The tank I sent him was white and chalky, and it came back to me looking like an NOS part, or even better! Pictures really don't do justice to the quality of Mike's work. It's shiny, color is nice and bright, and the finish is uniform all the way around.

Mr. Clean is getting a custom decal on both of my trikes. :)

Oh, and I just got done out in the garage. The restored tank is going on my BB as that trike has nice newer, shiney plastic on it and the one I am just finishing up building has old school Maier rough finished plastic from back in the 90's. Next winter I plan to send my other tank to get the Mr. Clean treatment. :)

I have a build thread in Trikesylvania..


Here is what the tank looked like when I sent it..

[RIDE-RED 250r]

Mr.Clean
Thanks for the reply and link. You are an artist! I have two nice tanks to talk to you about. I have to wait a while because I spent my extra money on a second r. It was too cheap to pass up. I plan on taking apart one or both of the r's next winter.

Joe,
Thanks for posting the "before" pics. You have seen my two tanks. I hope they are good candidates for this. They both looked good to me. What do you think?

Tom, if your tanks hold fuel (which they do) then I'm confident Mr. Clean can get it done.:beer Both of your tanks look better than mine did.

Your brother Mike asked me if I could go to his place and spend a little quality time with the 2 of you and your R's in the shop sometime when he gets back in town... I'm looking forward to it!