The stuff that happens when you are bored.

#1
Had a day off, weather kept looking like it was going to rain, so I'm out in the shop looking for something to do.

Had a spare Predator fuel tank laying around, and had seen some youtube videos on swirl painting with Testors paint.
Well one thing led to another and I ended up with this. Actually came out pretty good. Wife's not home so I used the oven to dry it, then shot a multitude of clear coats over it and then back into the oven to bake it.

170 degrees for 2 hours or until done.:001_tt2:

Think it will look pretty on my Coleman CT200U. Beats the heck out of the same old same old black tank.
I'll mount it up and take a look, maybe I'll do the flywheel cover and TAV cover too.

tank swirl 1.jpg tank swirl 2.jpg tank swirl 3.jpg
 
#4
There are quite a few videos on youtube, some using Testors, some using Rustoleum spray paint, and paints designed for hydro swirling.
For whatever reason it won't allow me to link to the videos??? Just look up hydro swirling with Testors paint.


And a side note, something I don't remember hearing reference too. The hemi and non hemi Predators have different tanks/caps.
May be why some had/have clearance problems. I'll check it out further once I get the tank off the bike, but the caps are completely different.
The non hemi has what I would call an old style cap,very short in depth and and cap height.
The hemi cap is much taller, and the inside portion extends about an inch and a half down into the tank. I'll take some photos once I get the tank off.
 
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#8
The important question is, did your wife find out about you baking a gas tank in her oven?!
Heck no! Luckily she's up in PA for the week so lots of time for smells to go away. Actually paint didn't really leave any smell.

Anywho would take some work to make the tank fit, at least on the CT. And an explanation as to why there are slots in the engine block mounting area instead of holes.

Okay, first the difference between non hemi and hemi gas caps, tangs are different widths along with the obvious depth/height.
tank diff1.jpg

#2, the view showing how much different the tanks are.
tank diff2.jpg

#3 and the reason for the slots. Look how the mount bolts are between the two.
tank diff3.jpg


Looks like I'll have to swirl the other tank too.
 
#13
I'm surprised you guys haven't tried hydrodipping. It's pretty easy to do and looks great. Plus there's hundreds of various films you can buy from camo, to flames, to skulls, to graffiti prints. You name it they likely have it.

Your swirls are looking great though EVOL. :thumbsup:
 
#14
Yeah the hydro sheets are great, but I couldn't see getting one of those to wrap completely around the tank.

Cheap thrills, and was something fun to try. Had right around 10 bucks in the paint. And already had a spare bucket, stuck a garbage bag inside so no paint on the bucket. You can wipe up the excess paint with a paper towel or old newspaper, dump the water, and reuse the garbage bag after it dries.
 
#15
I haven't tried wrapping a predator tank yet, but you'd likely do it in 2 sheets: dip the top half with one piece, then dip the bottom half with a 2nd versus trying to do it all in one. A secret to not having to tape off when worrying about overlapping the film is to do one section then let it dry without washing off the goopy clear stuff. Once dry, then dip the other section. When you rinse off the entire part you've dipped, the 2nd dip that may have overlapped the dried dip will rinse right off and create a perfect seam.

But yes, when you have materials lying around and you feel the urge to do something you'll always come up with something creative. :001_tongue:
 
#16
...Wife's not home so I used the oven to dry it, then shot a multitude of clear coats over it and then back into the oven to bake it. 170 degrees for 2 hours or until done...
Does the surface feel smooth or a little lumpy? The Honda motorcycle fuel tank in my post above was smooth as glass. I wonder if this is something you would want to color-sand before the clear goes on.
 
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