bronyrafon Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Hi, I've been trying for ages to get hold of replacement tank stickers for my 1991 (pre-Pinkie) TY250R mono trials bike (plastic tank). The usual ones just bubble off after a few days with the petrol fumes. I read around the forums and found an article where someone had said they were going to try a company called MXM to make some 'Pinkie' stickers which would work on the plastic tanks. Anyway, I found MXM on the Internet, and I sent Chris there a pair of cheap 'copy' TY250 stickers I had at home as a pattern, and today they have sent me 2 sets of the ones they made for me. I have to say they are superb, really thick and the colour is spot on! If anyone else wants to get hold of these for the plastic tank TY250 mono go to: www.mxm.co.uk MXM Racing Unit 1 Denton House Redburn Road Westerhope Newcastle Upon Tyne NE5 1NB TEL: 0191 286 0744 Hope other people find this useful. Gary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-shock 250 Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Do they work though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronyrafon Posted January 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Do they work though? I'll be fitting them tonight. Apparently the vinyl is perforated to allow the vapours through.... I had a look on the MXM website and they do stickers for all the old motocrossers that had the same type of plastic tanks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roester Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Hi, I got the Pinkie stickers made by MXM and put the post on here originally. I sent MXM templates of the shape of the tank as well as some original stickers, so that most of the tank is covered up by the perforated, super thick and sticky stickers that they made me. They look great and after a year of a fair bit of use they are still stuck on - no lifting at all and no bubbles. In that respect I'm very pleased with them. Unfortunately, the fuel vapour is steadily staining the sticker in the same way that it stains the tank. The bright white is now a dirty cream in places! I've just bought some sealant specifically for plastic petrol tanks with this sort of problem. It is made by Caswell I think - I don't know if it is any good yet and it was not cheap. A scruffy looking tank really bothers me though so hopefully it will be worth it. I've got pictures of the sticker fitted to my bike but can't work out how to upload them onto this site. I could email them if anyone wants (ar@challoners.com). Best wishes - Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronyrafon Posted January 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Hi, I got the Pinkie stickers made by MXM and put the post on here originally. I sent MXM templates of the shape of the tank as well as some original stickers, so that most of the tank is covered up by the perforated, super thick and sticky stickers that they made me. They look great and after a year of a fair bit of use they are still stuck on - no lifting at all and no bubbles. In that respect I'm very pleased with them. Unfortunately, the fuel vapour is steadily staining the sticker in the same way that it stains the tank. The bright white is now a dirty cream in places! I've just bought some sealant specifically for plastic petrol tanks with this sort of problem. It is made by Caswell I think - I don't know if it is any good yet and it was not cheap. A scruffy looking tank really bothers me though so hopefully it will be worth it. I've got pictures of the sticker fitted to my bike but can't work out how to upload them onto this site. I could email them if anyone wants (ar@challoners.com). Best wishes - Alan Thanks for the original post Alan. I wouldn't have found MXM without it. Where did you get the tank sealant from? Regards, Gary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roester Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Thanks for the original post Alan. I wouldn't have found MXM without it. Where did you get the tank sealant from? Regards, Gary. Gary, I got it from info@caswelleurope.co.uk the product code is GTS1750. As I said, I haven't tried it yet so I don't know how good it is. I hope it works - it was expensive but there is enough to do two trials sized tanks so I've split the cost. A friend of mine bought a metal tank from one of the earlier TY monos which is probably an easier way than all of this! Best wishes - Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronyrafon Posted January 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Cool, thanks Alan! I've just took my tank off and I'm trying bleach on it for a couple of days to see if that helps with the staining on the outside, then I'll use metal polish all over it to finish it off. Not sure if it'll do the job, but I've read around a few sites and people say this sort of cleaning helps... Let me know how you get on with the sealant, and maybe I'll buy some too. Thanks again, Gary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronyrafon Posted January 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 I've been trying various things to try and sort out the staining on my TY250 tank... I've actually found something which is great for polishing the plastic - BMW Covertible Rear-Window Cleaner. It's designed for polishing up the clear plastic rear windows on Z3's & Z4's... Even though it polishes, it hasn't removed the staining, neither has bleach, or baking soda, or lemon juice or white vinegar... Does anyone know what type of plastic the tanks are actually made of, because I found this really interesting article where these guys have developed a recipe for a solution and gel for removing yellow stains off old computer cases and keyboards etc... Appartently these plastic bits go yellow due to exposure to UV light, and I'm pretty sure this is what causes the yellowing on the TY250 tanks, as I just removed the damaged original stickers, and underneath the plastic is pure white! This is the link for the recipe: http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/Retr0Bright+Gel I'm going to try making some and see what happens... Gary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 I've never believed the theory that petrol vapours leaking through a petrol tank cause the discolouration. UV exposure is far more ikely. Look at any tank that has discoloured and then look at parts that aren't exposed - the underside, underneath badges and like your TY tank, underneath the decals. They still retain the original colour so there is no affect from fuel vapour there. Look at any plastic that is exposed year after year to UV such as kids garden toys. Colours like blue or red fade or go white in the extreme, whites and yellows darken. No petrol vapour at play here. It's UV causing a photochemical affect on polymers in the plastic. My SWM tank is the same, where it's exposed the yellow has darkened, underneath and under the badges it's the original yellow, does petrol vapour not leak through the underneath? Red Fantic tanks fade to pale red and even white in places. Same for painting plastic tanks. I'm convinced that the bubbling and paint lifting is due to poor preparation and incorrect paints and application. If you use spray cans it will bubble. A friend has a Fantic tank that was painted over 10 years ago and has no bubbles or lifting. I have a Sherpa tank that was painted about 4 years ago and has been used constantly. There have only recently been a couple of bubbles formed and I can't see that that has anything to do with vapour leakage. That can happen on metal tanks. Finally, I'm not a physicist or chemist so I have no technical knowledge to back this up, just my thoughts. I have no explanation why stickers lift but maybe it could be to do with the UV affect on the sticker itself or the glue used being dried up. Some stickers just don't stick well to any plastic. Motocross tank decals, such as those produced by MXM, have been developed for years and the material they are made from and the glue used is a lot better than your average decal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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