I picked up the freshly painted tank on Saturday, its looks really really nice and promptly installed the fuel taps to then mount on the bike, fill with fuel and take for its maiden ride – it didn’t happen quite as expected.
Having fitted the fuel taps I thought it prudent to fill the tank a little with fuel, swish it about and then empty again to get rid of any bits and pieces that may have found there way into the tank, I was shocked to see flakes of grey paint flowing out when I tipped the tank up-side-down.
It would appear that the cleaver chap that chemically stripped the tank thought it a great idea to not only spray the outside of the tank but to also stick a bit of paint inside then role it around inside to ensure it doesn’t rust – he shouldn’t have gone to so much effort. Its obvious his thought process didn’t include “This is a fuel tank, I should not put paint that gets stripped with flurocarbons inside”. Dim wit.
What a complete mess, after trying with a chain to scrap it off and multiple petrol swill-outs its still in there and its going to be a job to get it all out.
We will have to resort to a tank sealer kit I think with the hope that it will form a seal over both the bare metal and the still painted portions of the inside of the tank – my only fear is that the sealer will strip the paint as well causing all sorts of fun. If this fails it may need to be stripped again and repainted – something I don’t want to dwell on too much at this stage.
Wish me luck during the week.
