is my painted fuel tank original on a 94?

[suzukidave]

just noticed that my main fuel tank is painted grey. is that original for a 1994 223 tournament? i thought i read somewhere that grady left their tanks unpainted. the tank on my 190 was bare aluminum. this one has a florida marine decal but no date or specs on the decal.

also, should i try and touch up the small number of visible scratches and pitting or just leave it?

 

[DennisG01]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's not original. Sounds like it's a replacement tank that a PO put in and paid the extra $$ to have it epoxy coated (not just regular paint). Maybe try cleaning the tag off and using a flashlight (sometimes you can still see an "imprint") to try and find identifying marks on the tag that tell you the year it was built or a a serial number where you can call the manufacturer?

 

[suzukidave]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's not original. Sounds like it's a replacement tank that a PO put in and paid the extra $$ to have it epoxy coated (not just regular paint). Maybe try cleaning the tag off and using a flashlight (sometimes you can still see an "imprint") to try and find identifying marks on the tag that tell you the year it was built or a a serial number where you can call the manufacturer?

thanks dennis. i used a flashlight on the decal and the tank dates to july 2002!

is it a good idea to try and paint over any flaws in the paint? my inspection hatch seals were gone so there is some mild pitting on the top i would attribute to sea salt crystals, and also some paint flaked off in a couple of spots when i washed it with a sponge. i am not sure whether painting over will make things worse at this point.

 

[CatTwentyTwo]

I just went and looked at the tank on my 94 208. It's the original tank and it also has the Florida Marine decal and is painted grey.
I'm not sure what's best to do with the scratches but I'm inclined to just leave them.

 

[DennisG01]

2002 - hey! That's like a 'freebie'!

Sure, you could paint it. You'll need to first apply a self-etching primer so the paint will stick. Otherwise the paint will likely just peel/flake off... which makes me wonder about the process the company used on the tank. But I suppose x-number of years of salt water dripping/laying on it can do wonders.

I would consider simply painting it with epoxy - you could tint it if you wanted. If it was me, I would probably call the company and see what their thoughts were for doing a "touch up".

 

[suzukidave]

i am not going to be able to etch the small scratches and pitting..

i have some rattlecan grey outboard leg primer that is supposed to adhere to aluminum, and i have some por15 with the prep chemicals. depending on what the por15 site says about adhering to aluminum i will use on of those options.

 

[DennisG01]

The proper aluminum primer IS a self-etching primer. Just make sure the primer and whatever topcoat you use will play nice together.