A little How-To...

For the painting inclined. I decided to take an old donor sporty tank I had on the shelf and give it a go at the ol' DIY paint throw-down. The Shovel has been screaming for a different tank setup for some time now, and since I now have another bike that has a billion gallon tank, I figured it was time to move. Some know me to be artistically inclined, but painting sheet metal has always eluded me. I got some paint, some supplies and some gumption and got to work. This time around, I'll talk about the knock-down and prep. It's all basic stuff, but there's bound to be someone out there who can get some help from it...

I started with this-

Not in bad shape actually, so body work is at a minimum, which is fine by me. I got a set of stripping pads for the angle grinder and got after it. About an hour later, and you have this -

Even found that old AMF logo burned in under all that primer. Stickers do the worst shit over time...

After cleaning it up, I had a couple dings to take care of, so out comes the Bondo.

I ain't a pro, but I like to keep the body putty to a minimum and layer even on small dings. Finally got this -

Not too shabby. A couple other little ones around the other side and I'm ready to start working on the tabs. These stock rear mounts won't do on the Shovel, so off they go, and I have to make something else. 

pretty clean...

I took some 1/8" flat stock I had laying around and heated it up laterally to a nice glow with the torch. Then I pounded it into a radius using my jack handle as a dolly. Once I had the right bend, I simply cut the strip off the stock and shaped to my liking. 

The shape I need...

The shape I got...

And lastly, the cut tab all shaped up and ready to get stuck to the tank...

As it turns out, the way the tank sits on the backbone of the shovel allowed me to leave most of the original mounting bracket underneath the tank rear. That's good, because it gives me a good base to weld to without worrying so much about blowing through the tank or creating pin-holes for leaks. Like I said, I'm no pro at any of this shit, but I'll take my chances with pretty much anything.

Got the tab cleaned up and drilled and then welded her up real quick.

Here's what we got.

Bondo break again to clean up that tab area since it's a little uneven. I don't like grinding to clean up too much as you loose strength in the weld especially with MIG.

Removed the old rear mount for the fat bobs that were on the Shovel, and tested the tank to see how she fit and looks. I'm pretty stoked so far.

Off with the old...

On with the new...

Alright, that's enough yappin' for today. I actually got the tank primed and a first coat of the base on too, but that will have to wait for tomorrow to post. Don't want to give everything up all at once!