84 Honda 200S gas tank

[Olphotodude]

Okay....while working on this ATC to get it running again, and waiting for coils to arrive I took a moment to inspect the gas tank. Typically it is a bit rusty inside, but nothing a good cleaning and coating won't fix. The outside however was cracked and looked like it was covered in bondo. So....I pried off one of the bigger bondo chunks and found rusty steel under it. Looking inside and feeling around....there are no dents or blemishes at all. So.....was it standard Honda practice to coat / cover these tanks in a quarter inch of bondo like coating before painting and decals? There is no way I can see to properly restore this tank with all the cracks and bondo covering it. I am thinking of one of the plastic tanks I have seen on E-bay and mentioned here instead. Does anyone have experience with this?
Thanks!
tom

[CasullHunterX]

You can't go wrong with a plastic tank. They will never rust on you again, so long as you don't mind straying away from the "original" factor, however i'm a rider and not a collector.

[dustrunner]

no, honda never put a quarter inch of bondo on anything... it 's just what happens to metal over a long period of time without proper maintence and use... good luch with the plastic tank..