Tank Overlay Project

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#1

A friend of mine has the same bike as I do, CBR900RR. He wanted me to overlay his fuel tank with red hybrid twill. I started with a bare steel tank ( thanks to him for being so courteous ). I primed the tank black then proceeded with the overlay 4 days after priming .

The left side and top look great (imo), but the left side is screwed up because of the weave getting pushed around. I should have done a two piece overlay; left side with one piece, right side with a sperate piece meet in the middle. I may have to redo the overlay. Any ideas on how to do a two piece overlay with a nice clean line going up the top center of the tank? It seems that may be the only way to prevent the weave from distorting on both sides of the tank.

So here is a photo of the tank overlay. I have not coated it with resin or clear coat yet.
http://s210.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/Fastrr_photos/?action=view&current=overlay1.jpg
http://s210.photobucket.com/albums/bb186/Fastrr_photos/?action=view&current=overlay3.jpg

#2

left and top look great! any pics of the right?

where did you start laying the fabric down?

perhaps try laying down a coat of resin and let it get tacky and they lay the fiber down. this way you can have the fiber stick to the tank and let it cure a little more but not fully and then finally come over top again with a fresh coat of resin…

looks really good though!

#3

The right side looks like crap. The fabric is all laying down flat but the weave is all distorted. I started on the left side and worked my way to the right side. If you ever do this or a fuel tank this large, use two pieces and split it down the middle for the very best results. Otherwise, plan on painting the tank lol.

lesson learned for me.

#4

personally I’d try working form the top middle down either side, this way you can still have no seam line, and you will minimize distortion between the 2 sides, it probably won’t look unnaturally distorted either… I might be doing this for a buddys’ gixxer tank.

do you have any pics of the rigth, I want to get an idea of what it looks like?

#5

tape all four sides of your material first. laydown the material so that it is centered on the top. its good to have a pole on both ends to keep the material straight. cut the poles off and pull the fabrico on the taped ends, never touch the fabric with your hands where the part is, use a brush or roller to stick the material down.