Restore White fuel tank

Joey23
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Joey23
Edited Date/Time 1/22/2021 5:39am
Anyone know how to get this xr200 tank white or close to white? Have tried sanding and scraping with razor blade but didn't do much.
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Joey23
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Joey23 3/8/2020 11:58pm
3/8/2020 11:58pm
I might try hydrogen peroxide and then place it in the sun for UV light.
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PN27416
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PN27416 3/9/2020 2:01pm
3/9/2020 2:01pm
Take a look inside, if the color is tinted all the way thorough? I think its going to be next to impossible
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Joey23
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Joey23 3/9/2020 5:48pm
3/9/2020 5:48pm
PN27416 wrote:
Take a look inside, if the color is tinted all the way thorough? I think its going to be next to impossible
It looks ok on the inside
PN27416
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PN27416 3/10/2020 3:48am
3/10/2020 3:48am
PN27416 wrote:
Take a look inside, if the color is tinted all the way thorough? I think its going to be next to impossible
Joey23 wrote:
It looks ok on the inside
Then hopefully its just surface and you can get the outside stripped to a nicer white. Goggle it. I have had great luck with colors but never did white.

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JOE_SPROCKETS#1 3/10/2020 10:10am
3/10/2020 10:10am
Scotch brite pads and a lot of scrubbing did the trick for me on the cr white tank I am restoring. Soapy water. Didn’t get it brand new white tho...
Moto Obsessed 3/10/2020 1:00pm
3/10/2020 1:00pm
Here's about the only trick I'm aware of for restoring white tanks.. Google the product below, or find it at your local beauty supply store, the kind of place where hair stylists go to purchase their supplies. It's a hydrogen peroxide based product for lightening hair color.

Use the hair product stuff and lather it on the tank real good, then wrap the tank in saran wrap and place it in direct sunlight for a couple hours. The sunlight part is critical, as the UV light creates a reaction with the solution that's on the tank. Let it sit in the sun for a few hours until the solution has dried.. wipe it clean, and repeat several times. Again, letting the solution dry on the tank in bright sunlight is important





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Joey23
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Joey23 3/10/2020 2:41pm
3/10/2020 2:41pm
Moto Obsessed wrote:
Here's about the only trick I'm aware of for restoring white tanks.. Google the product below, or find it at your local beauty supply store, the...
Here's about the only trick I'm aware of for restoring white tanks.. Google the product below, or find it at your local beauty supply store, the kind of place where hair stylists go to purchase their supplies. It's a hydrogen peroxide based product for lightening hair color.

Use the hair product stuff and lather it on the tank real good, then wrap the tank in saran wrap and place it in direct sunlight for a couple hours. The sunlight part is critical, as the UV light creates a reaction with the solution that's on the tank. Let it sit in the sun for a few hours until the solution has dried.. wipe it clean, and repeat several times. Again, letting the solution dry on the tank in bright sunlight is important





I definitely will try this. If I can get it to look like the after pic I'll be amazed.
retrofun
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retrofun 3/12/2020 8:52pm
3/12/2020 8:52pm
There’s a guy on YouTube that does restos in one of those poverty countries.. where they work on the dirt floor. He had a good vid and chemicals used to restore a white break reservoir that was pretty much brown. Can’t find the video now.

But yeah hp and Uv light is the go to.
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KDXGarage
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KDXGarage 3/17/2020 2:58am
3/17/2020 2:58am Edited Date/Time 3/17/2020 2:58am
I think that is the exact same brand and concentration that I used on one of my Apple IIe's. It worked great! Thanks for showing that it works on a fuel tank. I am a lime green guy, so I don't have any white tanks to try it on.

There are different concentrations of the salon formula.

In my experience, try very hard to have the thickness the same on the surface. If it varies much, it will leave areas looking less or more changed.

Look up "Retro-Brite".

EDIT: Also, I did not wipe it off, but rinsed it off outside.
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mchonda2
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mchonda2 3/17/2020 12:11pm
3/17/2020 12:11pm
I bought this stuff at a salon supply store. It was highest level i could find.
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collinsvintage 3/30/2020 10:01pm
3/30/2020 10:01pm
Joey23 wrote:
I might try hydrogen peroxide and then place it in the sun for UV light.
I’m having the same issue with my YZ490. Tried everything from bleach to hydrogen peroxide with celofane + multiple day 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..,Were you able to whiten your tank?
collinsvintage 3/30/2020 10:03pm
3/30/2020 10:03pm
mchonda2 wrote:
I bought this stuff at a salon supply store. It was highest level i could find. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2020/03/17/410998/s1200_20200317_120809.jpg[/img]
I bought this stuff at a salon supply store. It was highest level i could find.
Did it work? I bought it too and only had a 2% improvement after almost 10 days in the sun.
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mchonda2 3/31/2020 8:45am
3/31/2020 8:45am
It helped but you still will need to sand the tank and polish it.
Joey23
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Joey23 4/5/2020 12:49am
4/5/2020 12:49am
Joey23 wrote:
Anyone know how to get this xr200 tank white or close to white? Have tried sanding and scraping with razor blade but didn't do much.[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2020/03/07/409232/s1200_20200308_160246.jpg[/img]
Anyone know how to get this xr200 tank white or close to white? Have tried sanding and scraping with razor blade but didn't do much.
This is after pic

TooOld4WFO
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TooOld4WFO 4/7/2020 9:45pm
4/7/2020 9:45pm Edited Date/Time 4/8/2020 11:39am
Collins I had the same experience with the salon products. I lathered that crap on and let it sit in the sun. I’m in Ca and we get plenty of sunshine in the summer. I tried skimming it also along with light Dremel work.
I tried all the popular tricks and ended up ordering a blem tank from Clarke. I’m glad I did.
I did send off one of my white CR tanks to a restore guy. It wasn’t cheap at $165 I believe. But Clarke had no more blems.
I’m still waiting on my tank return coming on 2 months.
Even the tank restore guy said after his efforts it’s best to always empty the tank after wards. From my limited understanding you need to do this after restoring since they will return to yellow quickly if you leave fuel in.

I’m going to buy another Clarke for the restore I’m doing now.
1
collinsvintage 4/7/2020 10:45pm
4/7/2020 10:45pm
I gave up on mine after trying every possible option. I ended up going to my original plan (which I should have followed through in the first place) which cost me a whopping $3. It is by far not perfect but much better than my yellow tank + I can always replace it if it gets yellow or damaged from riding... CONTACT PAPER. I drilled multiple holes on it to minimize air bubbles and have had none so far. Here is a pic of the final product.
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Kidkawie
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Kidkawie 4/8/2020 1:34am
4/8/2020 1:34am
Hydrogen peroxide bath and UV light. Thats what vintage electronics restorers use for white plastc.
TooOld4WFO
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TooOld4WFO 4/8/2020 11:49am
4/8/2020 11:49am
Kid I have no doubt it has worked for others. At least that is what they said it did.
I am looking into Vapor Blasting as an alternative. Hopefully using that can get rid of the debris and discoloring. Polishing out the plastic would be just slightly easier.
I tried the sanding out and discovered I do not possess the temperament for that either.
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Joey23
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Joey23 4/27/2020 9:00am
4/27/2020 9:00am
Joey23 wrote:
Anyone know how to get this xr200 tank white or close to white? Have tried sanding and scraping with razor blade but didn't do much.[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2020/03/07/409232/s1200_20200308_160246.jpg[/img]
Anyone know how to get this xr200 tank white or close to white? Have tried sanding and scraping with razor blade but didn't do much.
I'm not sure if the white part is what remains of the sticker or the plastic. I thought it was the tank, but there is a slight bump to it on the edges. It feels like plastic though...
TooOld4WFO
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TooOld4WFO 4/27/2020 9:46pm
4/27/2020 9:46pm
JSD Racing. From this below




To this.....




I will be using him again on 2 other tanks and an airbox. Great work just give him the time. Roughly a month or so to get back.
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TooOld4WFO
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TooOld4WFO 5/7/2020 10:12am
5/7/2020 10:12am
Just saw that you asked that question.
$165.00 which includes return shipping.

For that tank pictured it was the way to go. I know that must have been a load of work. In fact I thought those spots went all the way through. Obviously not.

To get from one image to the other was at least 3 hours. Use wet sandpaper. Water helps the sandpaper work by washing away debris. I started with 360 and spent too much time. I went down to 220 and really started cutting through.
Just understand the heavier grit or lower number for the paper means fast cut but deeper scratches that will need to be removed.
I just started with 360 again.
For this box I ponied up close to $50 to buy a quart of some plastic primer. I will spray that and then Cerakote and off into the heat box.

I tried most of the known shortcuts already. None of those worked for me. To restore a tank it will all be about sanding. But at least you only need to concentrate on what shows.



Joey23
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Joey23 1/22/2021 12:44am
1/22/2021 12:44am
Moto Obsessed wrote:
Here's about the only trick I'm aware of for restoring white tanks.. Google the product below, or find it at your local beauty supply store, the...
Here's about the only trick I'm aware of for restoring white tanks.. Google the product below, or find it at your local beauty supply store, the kind of place where hair stylists go to purchase their supplies. It's a hydrogen peroxide based product for lightening hair color.

Use the hair product stuff and lather it on the tank real good, then wrap the tank in saran wrap and place it in direct sunlight for a couple hours. The sunlight part is critical, as the UV light creates a reaction with the solution that's on the tank. Let it sit in the sun for a few hours until the solution has dried.. wipe it clean, and repeat several times. Again, letting the solution dry on the tank in bright sunlight is important





How many times did you do this exactly?
Moto Obsessed 1/22/2021 5:39am
1/22/2021 5:39am
Moto Obsessed wrote:
Here's about the only trick I'm aware of for restoring white tanks.. Google the product below, or find it at your local beauty supply store, the...
Here's about the only trick I'm aware of for restoring white tanks.. Google the product below, or find it at your local beauty supply store, the kind of place where hair stylists go to purchase their supplies. It's a hydrogen peroxide based product for lightening hair color.

Use the hair product stuff and lather it on the tank real good, then wrap the tank in saran wrap and place it in direct sunlight for a couple hours. The sunlight part is critical, as the UV light creates a reaction with the solution that's on the tank. Let it sit in the sun for a few hours until the solution has dried.. wipe it clean, and repeat several times. Again, letting the solution dry on the tank in bright sunlight is important





Joey23 wrote:
How many times did you do this exactly?
That's actually not my tank; pulled those images from a Vintage KTM Facebook group that I'm on... however I recall he did the process several times. Google "tank whitening with hydrogen peroxide salon 40" and I'll bet you find results/comments from others. Good luck!
Joey23
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Joey23 1/23/2021 9:27pm
1/23/2021 9:27pm
Joey23 wrote:
Anyone know how to get this xr200 tank white or close to white? Have tried sanding and scraping with razor blade but didn't do much.[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2020/03/07/409232/s1200_20200308_160246.jpg[/img]
Anyone know how to get this xr200 tank white or close to white? Have tried sanding and scraping with razor blade but didn't do much.
It's as if the Xr sticker has become part of the plastic. Not sure if I can get it all the same colour...
Parks65
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Parks65 1/25/2021 10:54am
1/25/2021 10:54am
TooOld4WFO wrote:
JSD Racing. From this below [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2020/04/27/423889/s1200_38B7AAD2_15D0_4EDD_B1C4_7E33BBF90D41.jpg[/img] To this..... [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2020/04/27/423891/s1200_BD7035D0_DA92_4414_A645_5B6264F8903D.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2020/04/27/423890/s1200_C0039A78_59C0_4B04_A51E_B85C28E6A1D7.jpg[/img] I will be using him again on 2 other tanks and an airbox. Great work just...
JSD Racing. From this below




To this.....




I will be using him again on 2 other tanks and an airbox. Great work just give him the time. Roughly a month or so to get back.
JSD destroyed my 82 Kawasaki tank I sent in. I was pretty disappointed when it happened. He did order me a replacement tank off ebay and when I finally got the tank back (2 months later) the job was only so-so as compared to others work I've seen.

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