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Has anyone had any luck restoring tanks? I have one that's gone from green to brown/olive drab. I tried the milwaukee cordless buffing tool with the wool pad and some plastic stuff for oxidized headlights but no luck. It did make the discolored tank shiny though. When they're this bad is it totally permeated or is there hope?

You have to sand down through the oxidization to get to the original color. On a very old tank this can be a lot of sanding. Plenty of youtube vids on the subject.

i would practice and learn the razor blade technique first then go on to sanding

Check to make sure it is not stained all the way through. Leaving gasoline in a tank will eventually cause it to leach through.

A few years ago there was a video showing a guy sand from coarse to fine on a red Honda tank. It ain't quick and easy. Brake out the family sized elbow grease can and lots of dollars of sandpaper.

Thanks for the replies, when I got the bike it came with a spare tank. I did swap the tanks as the spare was in better condition appearance wise and reqired less cleaning internally. It's still dark in color but not as bad as the one that was removed. I'll play around with some techniques. I am thinking there is some serious fuel leaching though. We'll see. I did have a new front tire installed the other day. Tires are original, the front was cracked and lost air quickly. The rear is in surprisingly good condition.

If it is the 35 year old plus rear tire, please replace it. I thought mine looked great until the first ride and was 2 miles out with a cracked, brittle tire. Who knew?! :-)