Paint Tank

Drain the gas as much as possible. Turn off the petcock.

Take the tank off the bike.

Take the gas cap off (open cap, remove the 4 real bolts, ignoring the 4 fake bolts).

Tape over the bolt holes, drain hole, and main opening. On the bottom of the tank, remove the rear bracket and tape over the drain hole, petcock, and rubber bits.

If you want to paint the rear bracket, take the rubber parts off and only paint the metal. Paint is bad for rubber. If the rubber is worn or crunchy, spend $5-10 replacing the rubber parts.

Remove the edge trim.

Clean, sand, clean again. Most any defect you don't fix now will show through later. FIll any divots or sticker-scars and sand them smooth.

Costly option - take to a "real paint shop" for "real paint" (hundreds of $ per gallon, incredibly toxic - not a DIY option)

$10 option - use rattlecan primer before rattlecan paint.

Let the thing dry. Many half-decent spray-paint jobs are ruined by over-eagerness to touch the thing after painting. I don't care if the can says it's dry in 10 minutes - leave it overnight, preferably in a warm, dry place.

Clean, sand, clean again. Don't overdo and sand through the primer - if you do, re-prime. Most any defect you don't fix now will show through later.

$5 option - learn to use a rattlecan in a reasonable manner. Repeated light coats, so it does not run and coverage is even.

$15 option - now clearcoat it with lacquer.

Take all the masking tape off. Put the trim rubber back on, and re-install the rear bracket.

Put the gas cap back on (you could have used some of the dry time to overhaul it). Use a touch of anti-seize on the threads - you'll thank yourself if you ever take it off again.

Avoid overfilling the tank or dripping gasoline / petrol on it.