Gas Tank Polishing

[xs650special]

I've come up with the idea to do a new scheme for my '81 XS650: black paint for the side covers black and give my gas tank a polished look. I know that stripping the paint will take some time but I was wondering if anyone has had any experiences doing a high polish job and what would be involved. Ideally I would like to coat the gas tank with clear coat or something so I won't have to constantly polish it.

 

[OakBehringer]

Polishing steel is definitely possible, but much more time consuming than aluminum. You will need a good (>= 3/4 HP bench top) buffer and a myriad of wheels and compounds. Order them from Caswell (sp?). Google the process. It can be a very rewarding of not time consuming and messy process.

 

[Paulrxs650]

Hi, I did it on a triumph build a few years back. Oakbehringer is right, it takes ages, about twice as long, if not more than alluminium. However, the results are excellent and a good petrol resistant clear coat keeps it looking that way

 

[xs650special]

Cool, thanks for the input. I've sanded a tank before and it took a while so it's good that winter is coming up. Plenty of time to work on the polish job.