Went with the olive green and white star...by no means am i a professional but i am enjoying the learning curve...i guess at this point there is no turning back but i would like some ideas or help or info or anything for really smoothing out the metal on the tank after the sanding its a little rough and each wheel or hand sander leaves more marks so feel free to help me out... its gonna be another long night tonight

 

For starters, to just paint your tins, you only needed to scuff up the factory paint with a 200 grit paper for adhesion purposes (the factory paint makes a better primer than you can lay down yourself) ... since you already took it down to bare metal .... well, now you need a good primer. Once you apply the primer, let it set. then wet sand it by hand with a 200 grit paper. If you see any metal shining through, prime it again and repeat the above step.

Once you have a solid primed surface that is smooth, apply your top coat. You mentioned Olice green. Not sure if you are applying with a spray can or if you have a sprayer set up. Either way, lay a top coat of color. Let it set per the instructions. Follow that with a wet sand at 200 grit. Repeat that paint/cure/sand routine about 4 times. then wet sand the last coat with a 600 grit. That will remove all swirls or marks you may have made.

Afterward lay a clear coat either gloss or flat depending on what look you are going for.

Good Luck

 

be sure to use build-able sand-able primer. This will help fill any marks on the tank. also do not let the tank rust while it is bare metal like that.

I would probably go over the tank with 600 grit paper to try to remove some of those scratches you have on it now.

 

nice...looking forward to the end result.

 

thanks guys im gonna have to put in some hours lol

 

Got that right, but you'll love it even more. I have never painted a bike, but I did paint my old Ranger many years back a few times. Thing I remember most was the wet sanding ... took forever, wanted to take short cuts ... only thing they lead to was a repaint.

At least the bike has less surface. Stay positive and enjoy what you do; that way you will enjoy the finished product that much more ... oh, and mask the stuff you dont wanted painted really well .. overspray will get into and onto everything it can.

And above all, post pics of the process and finished product.