Fuel tank painting?

I've noticed some rust on my tank as well now...

Anybody that has experience painting a tank with rattle cans want to chime in with how it looked afterwards?

Or if you've had it done at a shop somewhere, how much did it cost?

 

I've done several tanks with rattle cans with great results. I usually go with black or red (personal preference) Then I add any graphics/stripes, etc. over the painted tank. Then I went with High temp clear coat to protect from gas spills. It seems to old up pretty well.
My latest project involved using implement paint, which has a hardener. I didn't need to use a clear coat to protect it with the hardener. It has a little better shine then the rattle can stuff, but you need to use it with a spray gun/air compressor setup.
This is how it turned out. I added a little pintriping to it dried:

 

is there a particular spray can or type of paint that works best?

 

I always used Dupi-color paint. It's seems to be alot better than Krylon.

 

I'm lucky enough to have a wholesale paint store about 6 blocks away. The gentlemen carries actual Valspar automotive paints and clear coats. I can generally do an entire bike for around $80.00 with pretty nice results.

Strip to bare metal with Aircraft Stripper
Bondo any problem areas
First primer coat use a self etching primer
Two more coats of standard automotive primer with a 320 grit wet sand between coats
Three coats of paint with a 600 grit wet sand between coats
Three coats of clear coat with a 600 grit wet sand between coats
WAIT TWO TO THREE MONTHS FOR THE CLEAR COAT TO CURE COMPLETELY!
Wet sand with 1500 grit sand paper and use a good finish cut compound to polish her up. I recommend Wizards Finish Cut 1 step Compound
Finish up with Wizards Shine Master Polish and Breathable Sealant.

When you are done, it will look something like this:

 

I guess it would be your own personal preference on what you wanted to do. But the only thing would be is if you are going to spend all of that time and hard work preping for paint. It would be a good idea for someone with a paint gun to shoot it. On the paint you can get it cheap by going old school with acrylic enamel. And you wouldn't have to mess with the whole clear coat process. When I when to buy my paint I bought a quart of paint for 30 bucks. The most expensive thing to buy was the hardener. Wait about a month then wash and wax it. I painted the tank myself and got away with about a 60 dollar paint job. Thats including the sandpaper, paint, etc. You can get that paint in a variety of different colors just check out napa that is where I got mine. And the paint is very durable. I haven't had any problems yet. Good luck!
nsosh5

 

AND paint guns can be had cheap at Harbor Freight! This is the gun I use. Clean it REALLY good after your done with it and it will last a LONG time.

HVLP Paint Gun

AND you will need one of these:

Inline Desiccant Filter

Always print the online price and take it with you to get the Internet price at the store.

 

done mine in rattle can earlier this year 4 coats of gloss black BUT, today its chipped in places only because rattle can paint is not as flexible like automotive paint

This winter the fenders and tank come off for a real paint job. got som Duplicolor automotive paint ( hugger Orange) , White primer and clear coat They are $21.99 us dollars for a quart of each. pre mixed and ready to sling on the tank fenders and side covers. for less than 65us bucks its the best deal in town. all i have to do is buy a case of mickeys to get my buddy who is a wizard of a painter / airbrush man. to do it up. I have the product, the tools and the beer all he has to do is sling the paint on.

Can't wait