So I just got a 1983 Honda Magna v45 (750). It's super clean, very good condition, the paint on the tank looks pretty good, with the exception of a small bit of marring from where there was some gas spilled on it. I'm pretty sure it's not the oem paint job, because there is no Honda logo on the sides. I wanted to give the tank a little polish to try to get the gas damage out and just make it shine a bit more. But I'm not sure how thick the paint is, clear coat etc. So what are the risks of trying to polish this tank? I apologize, I don't have any pics at the moment, the bike is at my brother's house, I'll have it on Monday, I can post some then. Just wanted some opinions on trying to polish this tank. Thanks!

I'd rather wait for the pics. but generally you can kind of see what you might be working with by doing this....get some rubbing compound, pick an inconspicuous area and hit it rubbing by hand with speed. Check the rag..,.do you see the "color" of what you are rubbing in the rag? If so, it probably is some type of single stage. Single stage could be a urethane (that would be good), an enamel (just okay), or a lacquer (not good, especially on a tank). If you see NO color on the rag that would be best as that means base/clear which would be the most responsive to compounding/polishing. It bothers me that you are seeing some marring from gas spills though....that usually means it is some type of weaker single stage. I've seen some guys lately using Duplicolors's Paint Shop series which is a lacquer system on bikes and it is NOT what you want on a gas tank. Gas does eat at it...... If it would turn out to be a single stage urethane or enamel you probably could buff it up but I would not waste my time on a lacquer.

DarrelK wrote:I'd rather wait for the pics. but generally you can kind of see what you might be working with by doing this....get some rubbing compound, pick an inconspicuous area and hit it rubbing by hand with speed. Check the rag..,.do you see the "color" of what you are rubbing in the rag? If so, it probably is some type of single stage. Single stage could be a urethane (that would be good), an enamel (just okay), or a lacquer (not good, especially on a tank). If you see NO color on the rag that would be best as that means base/clear which would be the most responsive to compounding/polishing. It bothers me that you are seeing some marring from gas spills though....that usually means it is some type of weaker single stage. I've seen some guys lately using Duplicolors's Paint Shop series which is a lacquer system on bikes and it is NOT what you want on a gas tank. Gas does eat at it...... If it would turn out to be a single stage urethane or enamel you probably could buff it up but I would not waste my time on a lacquer.

That's great info thanks. I'll try to get some good pics on Monday, and then do as you suggested.

I haven't tested compound on it yet, but here are some pics of the tank in the mean time. It does looks pretty old, there is even some cracking around the gas cap. If it's not original, it looks like it was re-painted a long time ago. And I can't find any evidence of overspray anywhere. (Of course even the laziest painters would probably at least remove the gas tank lol)

Well I just took a Meguires light compound to a spot of the tank by hand and gave it a good polish. No paint ended upon the rag and my short little turn of the tag actually removed a few very small things I think. Definitely improved the look the of the paint. I think it's safe to say I'm ok using that compound with a light pad on it for now, and then see how that turns out.

Well I think this paint is in worse shape than I thought. I took a closer look at where I had tested the compound the other day and noticed these delta shaped cracks in the paint where I polished. And now that I look closer, I can see these cracks very faintly throughout. And by polishing that portion it looks like I just brought the cracks out more. You can't see them unless under a light, but I was able to capture them in a photo. If you look outside the ring of light and swirl marks you can see them. Little 3 pointed stars. This tank needs a whole repaint. Not up for doing that right now so I guess it's just going to have to stay how it is. Unless you all have any great ideas. Here is the best Pic I could get of them. You'll have to click on it and zoom in. You really can't see them without a bright light on them, but under the flash of my camera it's pretty obvious.

Nope, you figured it out....no miracles to save that paint. So I'll just throw this out there. I once had a beater Honda I needed to unload that was black. Had a few of the same things going on as that tank. This was just going to be some future teenager's car so I wasn't even going to do any paint correction on it. I had some high end "black wax" which essentially just filled in the paint here and there and buffed up decent. Your going to repaint anyway....throw 10 bucks at it....
https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-Black-W ... 9899&psc=1

DarrelK wrote:Nope, you figured it out....no miracles to save that paint. So I'll just throw this out there. I once had a beater Honda I needed to unload that was black. Had a few of the same things going on as that tank. This was just going to be some future teenager's car so I wasn't even going to do any paint correction on it. I had some high end "black wax" which essentially just filled in the paint here and there and buffed up decent. Your going to repaint anyway....throw 10 bucks at it....
https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-Black-W ... 9899&psc=1

Ha that's interesting. Thanks I'll have to take a look at it. Could also plasti-dip lol.

Plasti-Dip....I had a really sensitive set of aluminum wheels and they just keep hammering the roads around here in the winter with brine. Got pissed a couple of years ago and did a charcoal metallic with their low luster clear. Looked pretty good. Left it on all winter and just peeled it off in the later spring. Nothing got through it and it was a cheap fix before selling the car the next summer.

DarrelK wrote:Plasti-Dip....I had a really sensitive set of aluminum wheels and they just keep hammering the roads around here in the winter with brine. Got pissed a couple of years ago and did a charcoal metallic with their low luster clear. Looked pretty good. Left it on all winter and just peeled it off in the later spring. Nothing got through it and it was a cheap fix before selling the car the next summer.

Yeah I really like the stuff. I plasti-dipped my Suzuki Boulevard M50 a few years back, it had a hideous purple paint job, which was pretty scuffed up. I rode it with plasti-dip on for 2 seasons before selling it, and it looked pretty much as good as when I did it. The guy who bought it from me told me later he spilled gas on the tank and ruined it a bit, but he was going to repaint anyway.