I'm thinking about trying the clear SprayMax 2K directly over my original patina JT tank to preserve all its lovely blemishes and scratches. Just curious what I would need to do other than wipe it down with a paint prep. The scratches do have some rust on the exposed bare metal. Just not sure if I should wet sand it with real fine emery paper to try and remove some of the rust. I believe DarinM did this to one of his Suzuki tanks, but it wasn't nearly this rough

Or maybe this is just a bad a bad idea all together, and I should leave it with it's True Patina.....
 
 
 

Why not leave it just as it is? Isn't it a rider? Or am I insulting you by asking that? Sorry in advance if I am...

Mine didn't have as much patina as yours, but I just did a rubbing alcohol wipe down and the standard lighter to heavier coats of Clear 2K and must say it's done a great job of keeping the tank alive, before it was quickly losing the gloss and deepness of the paint. Been about two and a half years since I did it.
 

Ha. All my bikes are riders, so no insult whatsoever. And the only reason I'm thinking of the clear coat is to maybe seal the scratches, and maybe make it shine a little, because it's obviously faded and dull.

Thanks for the info. I think I am going to try it. I haven't used SprayMax 2K yet, so this will be a good thing to try it on before I attempt a nice paint job on my 360 tank. I am aware of the safety hazards of the stuff.