I need some advice if possible peeps. I have a petrol tank my brother-in-law  bought for his 5Ta.  For some reason that alludes me the former owner had it powder coated. It needs to be painted white but i have heard conflicting reports of Yes you can / No you cant paint it. Does anyone have any experience or advice on this issue. I dont see there should be a problem if it is sanded lightly with some 1200 grade wet and dry and a good base coat of primer put on. I dont want to cock it up cuz these things are like hens teeth..so any help in advance would be very much appreciated.   regards Paul                                                                                                                                                                             

According to WikiAnswers.....   "Yes you can.   However you need to be prepare the initial powder film for optimum adhesion required by the paint.One of the common processes to prepare is to buff or sand paper the surface (the initial powder coated fim) and then use the paint. In term sof chemistry PVDF, PU etc are good options for paints over powder coatings."   I hope this helps mate.                                                                                                                                                                             

..... apparently there is an organisation called the Powder Coating Institute (www.powdercoating.org).  If all else fails, then getting in touch with them may help answer your question.                                                                                                                                                                                 

I know a lot of peeps who use  powder as a base coat for paint especially on frames. shows up less if you get a stone chip and doesn't go through.                                                                                                                                                                              

     Flat the powder coat with 800 grit or finer wet and dry abrasive paper (Alternatively use a scotchbrite pad) to 'Matt' the surface and give it a 'Key', it is best not to go through the powder coat. Apply a decent coat of 2-pack primer (make sure that you wear a suitable spray mask when using 2-pack products). When dry, flat the 2-pack primer with 800 grit wet and dry abrasive paper. You can then carry on as normal with your top coats. 2-pack primer is probably the best way to go as cellulose primer may leave shrinkage marks. I am guessing that your tank is off a Triumph 5TA Speedtwin 500cc Unit engined model from 1959 to 1966 so the original colours would have been Amaranth Red, Ruby Red or Black and Silver Sheen (That is unless it was a special order, maybe for the police in White). If you need any further advise regarding Classic Triumph colours or paints in general, contact www.msmotorcyclesuk.com (Coventry area).

Thanks for that chaps. Actually MS it is a 1963 ex police bike. My brother in law bought it off his mate in 1972 as a cafe racer. He sold it on to another mate in 1974. I tried for 20 yrs to get him to sell it to me and I finally swapped a computer for it in 2005 and gave it back to my bro in law. It hadn't moved in all those years, even had worms in the gearbox !!!! So far it has cost him more that the thing is worth to restore it....but it was nice to see it back with him.                                                                                                                                                                             

Powder coating is no different from any other "compliant" coating. What that means is that when the Clean Air Act went into effect, many of the older paints that had a lot of solvent (high VOC) in them were no longer able to be used. These older, high solvent paints, had the ability to "cut through" thin layers of oil or soil and bond to the metal. As newer coatings were introduced such as water based, high solids/low solvent, powder and E-coat it quickly became apparent that these coatings required very clean substrates for good adhesion and performance. Powders are not unique, but they do require a clean surface as does any modern coating.