1983 YZ490 Project Fuel tank restoration.

[@MyRestoration1]

After my cr500 tank resto I have nothing but respect for your work. It really is one of the toughest jobs in this type of restoration. Thanks for sharing.

[@TNTMOTO]

Thank-you. The reward when you are able to bring it back to life truly eye catching.

[@MyRestoration1]

@@TNTMOTO you have to see the next video I’m putting out. It shows the tank condition..

[@TNTMOTO]

@@MyRestoration1 will check it for sure.

[@brocky_8]

Hey mate thanks for the video people like you making these help a lot of young people out that just don’t have the people around them to teach them 🙏🏽❤️

[@TNTMOTO]

Good to hear. Thankyou for watching.

[@Jbrooks7177]

Wow. I have a 92 wr500 and my yank has been needing this for a long time.

[@chrisgt5000]

The tank you did turned out great you brought it back to it's former glory great job and thanks again love your work

[@HUSKY7-1]

That's a ton of work but well worth it. Great transformation.

[@brentv7299]

Your restoration videos have been a great help to me - SUBSCRIBED! I'm about to start my first tank resto - 1994 CR125R (white). As a newb I'm only going to hand sand though. Thanks again for presenting all of your steps thoroughly.

[@TNTMOTO]

Awesome. Glad to hear I have inspired more to keep these machines out of a bone yard

[@greensocks4507]

Good job mate, .I bought a KX500 new back in '04 and the decals were peeling ( of course ) after the first ride. Drained the tank and took it to a local screen printer who made some vinyl lookalikes, applied them and you wouldn't know the difference . Black tank of course so no yellowing there. Still got the bike and they haven't moved.

[@soxh8ter]

Man nice work! I am getting ready to do a white tank and this video is extremely helpful. I enjoy your attention to detail and think the change in the tank was considerable! Thank you for posting this!

[@TNTMOTO]

Thanks for watching. Hope everything turns out well on your tank.

[@soxh8ter]

@@TNTMOTO Thanks! I will be following your process. I have watched so many tank restoration videos that its kind of embarrassing at this point, but I identify with your method and philosophy about it. Nervous because its a YZ100J/K tank and they are hard to come by

[@TNTMOTO]

@@soxh8ter Practice on another piece of plastic

[@tomatoknuckles]

Not sure id have the patience to do that but it's them details that matter. Awsome job and looking forward to the next upload.

[@darrenford3036]

Nice job mate you did well... Going to have a go at my 490 white tank now 👍 👌

[@Mr10usdad]

Great job! I did the white tank on my 1995 CR250. There is only so much you can do because some of the discoloring is all the way through. I tried the hair salon hydrogen peroxide too and had very limited success. It might have helped a little but not much. Since they are available for my model I will eventually get a new Clark tank.

[@johnanderson3173]

You did a real nice job, White of course is the hardest color to renew.

[@TNTMOTO]

Yes it is too bad it did not turn out as i would have liked. Could have been worse. Glad that the inside of the tank is coated or i am sure it would have been much worse.

[@finster7582]

Ur hard work is why ur bikes come out great! Teach these kids a thing or two about work ethic! Great job! Cant wait to see the rest! Also- dont change ur pronunciation of decals n zed!!! 😆👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@sherf2654]

TNT what an amazing transformation and the light blue IT tanks are probably equally as bad for discoloration and both are highly prone to cracking. Keep up the great work 👍👍👍

[@mattbourn3527]

Invest in some brass wire brushes for the hard to get to areas,,like the horse head area. They work great with some compound on them. Excellent work,keep the vids coming.

[@TNTMOTO]

Great idea, i have some brass brushed, i will try that.

[@australiandirtbikeracing2108]

Nice work, cannot wait to see it finished 👍

[@HARDWARE_FIX]

Excelente trabajo como siempre amigo. Tengo muchas ganas de ver ese YZ490 terminado. Mucha suerte.

[@thogui9560]

Hi TNT from France. Great job as usual.

[@TNTMOTO]

Thank you. Powder coating the shock spring as I reply to this

[@jamiearmes8250]

Admire your perseverance! Love the old Yamaha’s but the work required to get the white tanks looking good makes me prefer the 80’s Honda’s.

[@stevenowen4150]

Great vid again TNT. Im half way thru doing my old 83 CR 480 resto. For the tank i hand sanded first up with 1000 to get rid of the discolouration then used a highspeed buffing machine and a metal polish called Purple. Dont know if ya got it in the states or not but it worked brilliantly.. the areas that iv done have turned out as new and its bought back the deep lustre like it had brand new. Its taking ages but worth while. Every single piece of alloy, iv done the same, polish with wet n dry to rid of any scratches then polish with the buffing machine. The swing arm n linkages hurt ya eyes when ya look at em, it looks more like chrome. My 83 YZ 490, when i first got it, the barrel and head were bare alloy and i always thought that was the reason it had such bad fin ring so i painted them with heat proof black spray paint. It seemed to make it better so i gVe it another cans worth then an underbody noise suppressant paint. It worked very well and a few litttle rubber blocks off of a IT 175.. the tank though had seen better days so i scuffed it and used a bright white enamel paint with a hardener in it. Three coats of that stuff and it ooked like a new tank. The hardener used in the paint makes it more durable to fuel spills and the affect of having fuel in the tank. It lasted and looked like new for about five years before any peeing came about. Might be worth a try for your next white YZ. Again great vid, keep em coming. Whats the pipe like on your, i gotta get a newie for the CR, any recommendations? The DG pies look the piece, afe there any better?

[@TNTMOTO]

I live in Canada. i will look for the polish you are talking about. My pipe is good. couple of small dents in the bottom to work out. DG makes good stuff, but basically stock performance.

[@ChristopherDB83]

Hey Steven, I'm in Canada as well. What was the white enamel paint you mentioned for the tank? I'm cleaning up a 1981 Yamaha TT250

[@waylonlegend4603]

This is very helpful

[@hammer5475]

It turned out nice! I heard the yellowing comes from inside from the fumes. The only way is to coat the inside of the tank and paint it. I have a white tank to do here shortly and I’m dreading it...

[@TNTMOTO]

I think clark actually coats there tanks inside to lessen the yellowing thus why this one turned out not too bad.

[@robclayton2934]

Awesome videos! Keep up the good work

[@crewzincool]

Wow lot of time..thanks for sharing

[@dougkubash8673]

Looks good!

[@daddyjoeracing]

I enjoy your videos nice work

[@TNTMOTO]

Thank you

[@busby905]

Turned out great. My CR 125 has the perforated decals almost over the whole tank. When I remove them any tips for getting all the glue gunk off the tank before I start a sanding job like you've done?

[@TNTMOTO]

Wd40

[@prairiedog879]

valve grinding compound or comet powder on the screwdriver tip will solve most of your problems with screw heads starting to strip

[@navyseabee7245]

i actually had screws not come loose and ended up spinning the insert in the tank.. no big deal, i end up spinning the insert out of the tank where i can use heat to get the damn screw out of the insert, then i just jb weld the insert back into the tank and it does not move at all.. when i use a torch on the insert that screw comes right out.. then i use a tap to chase the threads out so the screws thread right in and wont sieze in the insert..

[@jimmadonna1436]

TNT, it looks 100 percent better than before. I don't know why they make tanks white. They all turn yellow from gas!

[@111111111Tiger]

great job

[@TNTMOTO]

Thank you very much. It turned out pretty good for a very old slightly stained tank.

[@free-birdrocker8809]

I had a couple of 80's YZ's, and I always wondered about the boost bottle. 14+ hrs into that tank? Lordy you have the patience of Job! Looks good though..

[@abnx9670]

Nice job!

[@TNTMOTO]

thankyou

[@socalsand86]

Wish you would have done a little of the palm sanding and buffing in real time to see what speed you travel with them. Tank turned out great! I did a cr500 white tank and the staining seems to be all the way through and the original white will never come back.

[@TNTMOTO]

I will do another tank soon. Plastic tanks should really have been designed with an internal liner but i dont think they were thinking about us restorers.

[@socalsand86]

@@TNTMOTO yeah their only thought was to make it work. Not the future of restoring. I just started on a red 89 cr500 tank.

[@TNTMOTO]

@@socalsand86 Ahh we will both be doing the same tank at the same time then

[@socalsand86]

@@TNTMOTO it had a few scratches on the left upper side only that I bladed out. Now just hours of sanding.

[@dirtbikedave]

I approve this message

[@johnsmith-qz4bv]

looks great

[@alexzanderarmstrong]

“To start go to Tim Horton’s” 🇨🇦👍

[@kylecarrier3279]

A lot of work for an aftermarket tank but it looks good.

[@44tongariro]

Hey there, Love your channel. Can you recommend an altenative to the Meguires Dual Action polish. Can't seem to get that one here in NZ. Cheers

[@TNTMOTO]

Let me look into it

[@ClockFixer]

Wow, that was knarly in the beginning ! Hey do you think my stock, old KX 250 tank can be brought back to it's original color? Faded and gasoline stained........

[@TNTMOTO]

Possibly, the colored tanks seem to come back nice. fading is easy to get back, but once it has yellow stained from inside out not much you can do. Best case scenario with the yellow staining is the tank will be a darker green.

[@alanvds7017]

hello i am from belgium, i would like to know the type of pads you use on your drill, thank you good video

[@TNTMOTO]

Look up this on ebay. CAR POLISHING BUFF BUFFING BUFFER POLISH WHEEL KIT FOR ELECTRIC DRILL 1/4" SHANK. They are pretty expensive now. You might be able to find the same type for less somewhere else.

[@xavirush89]

Hi, great job really! I have a couple of questions. You haven’t used a hot air machine after sanding as I’ve seen in other jobs, why? And the million-dollar question: How is the deposit currently? Has yellow returned?

[@TNTMOTO]

The tank is stained throughout but it is not as yellow as it was before the work. My fear with heat on the white is it may make it darker this is why I did not use heat.

[@xavirush89]

​@@TNTMOTO thank you very much for the answer. I want to restore a white KTM petrol tank. I would like to do an internal treatment of epoxy resin and paint the outside, but I am not sure if the resin will adhere well to the plastic. Do you have any experiences?

[@TNTMOTO]

@@xavirush89 sorry I do not but I am pretty sure there are products specifically for thank . This is a Clark tank and I think it was done

[@seank404]

Iv three white tanks all cracked 😔 all I could get was a blue one from Clark...

[@TNTMOTO]

I hear you. And I hear the mold to make new ones is no good anymore.

[@seank404]

Yes it's terrible

[@niconine268]

Fck the tank looks sick bud

[@josephbishop3231]

Would a battery operated sander be safer?

[@TNTMOTO]

No. The sander was plugged into a GFCI outlet.

[@josephbishop3231]

@@TNTMOTO so, GFCI outlets aren't perfect

[@TNTMOTO]

@Joseph Bishop my extension cord and outlet were protected. A battery powered sander still has amperage and no ground protecting circuit that I am aware of. This topic was addressed years ago in the comments. But you are free to use what ever tool you feel safe using.

[@maxpower3121]

Do you do jobs for others by any chance? I got a nice and clean 85 CR250 I’d like to get restored. I got a healthy budget for it.. I currently have my hands full with an 84.

[@TNTMOTO]

I did not have the facilities or time unfortunately. I have a full time 12 hour a day job. I only do this on my days off or holidays.

[@maxpower3121]

Ok thanks, love your videos.

[@LocknessRides]

1989 cr80 750.00 dollars looks very complete on Facebook Market in New Jersey hope this helps

[@TNTMOTO]

thank you. unfortunately Covid has complicated things as far as costs. the build cost on the 490 has gone to the moon. And i am not in the position to buy any new bikes. It is going to cost me $140 just to have my crank delivered across the border, and i can almost see it from my house. Used to cost me $4 to pick parts up. now $100 or more. Thanks for watching out for me though.

[@jonsteele1783]

can you paint the tank white?

[@TNTMOTO]

You can but it will peel off. You are better off to get a cover or sticker kit made for it.

[@thehungryhunter3454]

Seems like a ton a work maybe I'll just paint mine lol

[@TNTMOTO]

Paint will peel off.

[@gtisid]

perfection as always, i know a guy that stains his tanks with peroxide hair dye , have you ever tried it?

[@TNTMOTO]

no i did some reading and it says it can break down the plastic. tank is to rare to risk.

[@gtisid]

TNT MOTO i have never tried it i’m far to clumsy to be messing with explosives ! are the decals you use foil backed? i use the stuff from wicked tough in the US

[@jamessharp9790]

antony sidney it doesn’t help anyway . Not even volume 40.

[@theravedaddy]

Tank looks amazing but i keep seeing a horses head when looking at the right lower part of the tank. :)

[@TNTMOTO]

Lol Probably cool 37 years ago but kinda cheezy these days. I could sand it right off but its a piece of history.

[@jamessharp9790]

I see you’ve employed the 1/4 sheet sander .

[@navyseabee7245]

i noticed that it is a clark tank cause my yz490 has the same with that damn horse head emblem on the bottom..

[@ClockFixer]

You could have bought a brand new clarke tank....

[@TNTMOTO]

This is a quote from DC plastics website where the Clarke tanks are sold. and why i opted out of paying $400 CAD for one. "The tank is not a perfect replica. The seams on the tank do not quite line up at the bottom. It will need to be cleaned up with some sand paper or a razor blade. I have contacted Clarke regarding the tank, but they tell me that the mold is very old and it does not turn out premium pieces anymore. Still a nice replica, but it's not perfect."

[@bones6554]

What's your address? I'll send you my tank and you can make another video. Or better yet i'll send you the whole bike and you can make a "how to restore a yz490 sequel" .

[@TNTMOTO]

Going to be a while before i can do any projects outside my own.