Can a yellowed white yz125 gas tank be made whiter?

Brian_Bowles
Edited Date/Time 1/14/2019 4:13pm
It is raining outside again! Nothing else to do so..... I put some soft scrub on the bottom my my 1986 YZ125 gas tank. Soft scrub worked fantastic on the fenders. Here are the results:



Now I put some soft scrub on the bottom section of the gas tank. I doubt it will make any difference but we will see.
Here is the before picture:


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Mixon848
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Mixon848 12/28/2018 4:22pm
12/28/2018 4:22pm
Google: Making Vintage Nintendo's White Again.
Rocky739
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Rocky739 12/28/2018 4:54pm
12/28/2018 4:54pm
The vintage husky crowd have done some stuff with professional salon strength peroxide hair bleach and UV lamps. Seems there was some info over at cafe husky.
I can't imagine it does any good to the tank and perfer to look at the yellowing as "patina" after a good scrub with soft scrub or comet and a scotch pad.
EVO-MX offer decals to cover up the tanks.

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Brian_Bowles 12/28/2018 9:46pm
12/28/2018 9:46pm
Looks like a bust. I see no improvement. Here are the before and after pictures together:


KDXGarage
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KDXGarage 12/29/2018 10:04pm
12/29/2018 10:04pm
Look up Retro Brite. It might help. The problem with old tanks is that the vapors, chemicals, whatever... eventually stain the tank. I have seen some Kawasaki lime green tanks that looked somewhat brown like the commonly stained white tanks.

I have used the 40 hydrogen peroxide hair stuff. Works great on an Apple IIe.
calcoast
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calcoast 1/8/2019 1:11am
1/8/2019 1:11am
Brian_Bowles wrote:
It is raining outside again! Nothing else to do so..... I put some soft scrub on the bottom my my 1986 YZ125 gas tank. Soft scrub...
It is raining outside again! Nothing else to do so..... I put some soft scrub on the bottom my my 1986 YZ125 gas tank. Soft scrub worked fantastic on the fenders. Here are the results:



Now I put some soft scrub on the bottom section of the gas tank. I doubt it will make any difference but we will see.
Here is the before picture:


That fender looks really good! Can you go a little more in depth with your method?
Brian_Bowles 1/9/2019 8:57pm
1/9/2019 8:57pm
All I did was put soft scrub on the fender wth a brush. I let it sit for 45 minutes. When I wiped it off the fender was white again. I did this 2-3 times.
Tokyo_Tiddler 1/12/2019 2:09am
1/12/2019 2:09am
I would let some bleach/ tire white soak on there for a while to see what that achieves.
Bret
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Bret 1/14/2019 4:11pm
1/14/2019 4:11pm
Find a comfortable place to sit. Start with 220 wet sandpaper. I tried an orbital sander and a DA but had best results using a foam block. Wet sand until you get the majority of the yellow/brown out. Then work your way up incrementally to 1500 wet sandpaper. Then use a wool bonnet on a standard buffer and a product called Gel Gloss. It is for bathrooms and can be found at most hardware stores. Polish until you achieve the level of shine you like. The process is time consuming but it works. Another poster suggested bleach. I soaked the tank in a cooler filled with full strength bleach for one month and it did absolutely nothing. There may be some chemical that might work but I don't know for sure. The alternative is to cover the tank with a tank skin or some perforated white decals. Paint will bubble off.
Before and after below.

1
Bret
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Bret 1/14/2019 4:13pm
1/14/2019 4:13pm

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collinsvintage 3/30/2020 10:46pm
3/30/2020 10:46pm
Brian_Bowles wrote:
All I did was put soft scrub on the fender wth a brush. I let it sit for 45 minutes. When I wiped it off the...
All I did was put soft scrub on the fender wth a brush. I let it sit for 45 minutes. When I wiped it off the fender was white again. I did this 2-3 times.
I’m having the same issue with my YZ490. Tried everything from bleach to hydrogen peroxide with celofane + multiple days in the sun. Now I’ve decided to sand it but have only noticed a 5% improvement. Am afraid to keep sanding and end up damaging the tank. Very frustrating...

Did you find a solution for your tank?
collinsvintage 3/30/2020 10:47pm
3/30/2020 10:47pm
Bret wrote:
Find a comfortable place to sit. Start with 220 wet sandpaper. I tried an orbital sander and a DA but had best results using a foam...
Find a comfortable place to sit. Start with 220 wet sandpaper. I tried an orbital sander and a DA but had best results using a foam block. Wet sand until you get the majority of the yellow/brown out. Then work your way up incrementally to 1500 wet sandpaper. Then use a wool bonnet on a standard buffer and a product called Gel Gloss. It is for bathrooms and can be found at most hardware stores. Polish until you achieve the level of shine you like. The process is time consuming but it works. Another poster suggested bleach. I soaked the tank in a cooler filled with full strength bleach for one month and it did absolutely nothing. There may be some chemical that might work but I don't know for sure. The alternative is to cover the tank with a tank skin or some perforated white decals. Paint will bubble off.
Before and after below.

You got it like that with just sanding and buffing?

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