Thought I'd have ago.... after all, everything DIY is just nous & patience... right?
Bought a cheapo CB400 tank off ebay @ £31. Looked good... stripped the paint... looked bad. Loadsa filler, been in a spill... or two. Innards though looked fairly ok, and with a bit of electrolysis have banished what light rust there was.
Have never played with filler seriously; and never realised there's various grades as the major dent stuff still leaves significant pin holes / imperfections. So I had to buy finer filler to fill the first filler....
Tried 3 different paints... two rattle can types & one (Honda) automotive. The best colour I could find (er, Brunei) was a Rust-oleum .... which seems pretty damned close to Parakeet as I know it. I then used the same brand primer.
About 5 coats of each & more sanding with P1200 wet & dry than you can shake a stick at. The paint has good resistance to soaking in petrol (test piece) but I still wanted more protection, and so after the decals went on I further applied a couple of coats of an automotive clear lacquer (2 pack).
The results? Think I'm pleased... the tank looks stunning ... from 3 paces back. Up close & it fails the orange peel test. Rather significantly.
Summarising... I've a new found respect for guys who can turn a tank into something most of us take for granted every day .. and given the time & patience invested can fully appreciate the costs they (have to) charge. This said, I could spent all the time in the world on my tank, and never achieve what a professional does... unquestionably there's a lot of skill involved. Due the side panel being a virgin moulding it has come up even better. (but not perfect)
So, enjoyable, massively time consuming, and a reminder lesson that there are some things I'll never be able to do.