The Antique Motorcycle Club of America magazine has detailed instructions on repainting a fiberglass Norton tank.

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nortonmargie

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It's by Ted Borman, the AMCA technical editor. He goes into great detail and if someone here plans to repaint their fiberglass tank, find someone who has the March/April 2025 issue. The instructions will continue in the May/June issue.

However: QUESTION: Why go to all this trouble for a tank that will sooner than later leak, no matter what you do to it? AMCA rules specify bikes must run to be judged, so you will have to put gas in that tank.
 
nortonmargie said:
It's by Ted Borman, the AMCA technical editor. He goes into great detail and if someone here plans to repaint their fiberglass tank, find someone who has the March/April 2025 issue. The instructions will continue in the May/June issue.

However: QUESTION: Why go to all this trouble for a tank that will sooner than later leak, no matter what you do to it? AMCA rules specify bikes must run to be judged, so you will have to put gas in that tank.
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Non-ethanol fuel for show ponies will work.

Not my cup of tea, but perhaps originality?
 
I'm curious to know how hes'e going to get around the ethanol also. I'm hoping he has a trick up his sleeve that we haven't heard before to preserve all the work he's doing
 
FWIW: Been using my fiberglass fastback tank, purchased new from Burton Bike Bits since 2008 with no difficulties whatsoever. It is constructed with (per them) ethanol resistant resin and I coated it with Caswell sealer before its first use. No attempt at finding non-ethanol gas. Never used anything but normal pump gas at whatever gas station I'm near when it needs refilling. No leaks, no seeps and no signs of any issue over these 17 years.
 
I coated my 1970s Ducati fiberglass tank with Caswell a few months ago. It was a good amount of work, between cleaning, rattling screws, cleaning, then making the old fiberglass tacky with acetone and using that moment to assure a chemical bond between old and new resin… but I’m confident it’ll stand the test of time. That said: let’s check in in a year 😉
 
When I was a kid, I had a Triumph 650 which had a carburetor with a float bowl rigidly mounted but off to one side. One day I was out riding with one of my mates, and I felt my legs go very hot. Fortunately a car driver stopped and helped me fight the fire - my tank was made of steel. So I did not lose the bike. The float bowl had snapped off.
- the last time I raced a fuel line came adrift and pissed methanol all over the motor. I was able to stop and turn-off the tap before the bike went up in flames.
 
MexicoMike said:
FWIW: Been using my fiberglass fastback tank, purchased new from Burton Bike Bits since 2008 with no difficulties whatsoever. It is constructed with (per them) ethanol resistant resin and I coated it with Caswell sealer before its first use. No attempt at finding non-ethanol gas. Never used anything but normal pump gas at whatever gas station I'm near when it needs refilling. No leaks, no seeps and no signs of any issue over these 17 years.
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I think the real key is "before its first use". Once the inside has started to break down, it's probably very hard to impossible to get the fuel out of the pores. And doing it on a mass-produced 50-year-old is certainly not the same as a new tank with "ethanol resistant resin".
 
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