Lads,
Can anyone recommend a good make of tank sealant/sealer they have used themselves and not had problems with.
Leslie
Can anyone recommend a good make of tank sealant/sealer they have used themselves and not had problems with.
Leslie
-
Enjoy XS650.com? Consider making a donation to help support the site.
XS650.com receives a small share of sales from some links on this page, but direct donations have a much greater impact on keeping this site going.
Tank Sealant
- Thread starter Leslie
- Start date
-
- Tags
- restoration
racerdave
^ Gone not forgotten ^
I've had good luck with Por-15. I will say though, I used it before Ethanol became common. Doe's your petrol have ethanol in i
Red-Kote todays gas doesn't/hasn't bothered it.
http://www.redkote.com/
http://www.redkote.com/
Royboy
many roads, little time
- Messages
- 1,079
- Reaction score
- 199
- Points
- 63
bluebikerblan
Geezer
Done a number of tanks through the years....Kreem, Red Kote, POR 15 and most recently, KBS Gold Standard http://www.kbs-coatings.com/tank-sealers.html As with any of them follow the instructions meticulously. My favorite for use with todays ethanol blended fuels is KBS Gold Standard. Great detailed instructions btw. Red-Kote served me well for many years as well. POR-15 cures rock hard and is close to bullet proof. That's the good and the bad news. Just don't let it cure where you don't want it! Blue
osteoderm
out of the box
Another vote for Caswell's here. Zero issues after a year of use, and am planning to use on my new tank. I think they're all about the same, and that many of the reported failures have more to do with the application rather than the product. No matter what you use, prep-work is critical!
Skubik
Made in the 80's
Have only recently in the last year put my bike together and was introduced to the world of carbureted twins and red kote. Tank was new inside and wanted to keep it that way. Followed directions but only let it cure for 3 days which i think was the recommended time and it looked and felt cured. Has given me trouble as the gas is red and slowly dissolving the red kote causing carb issues for me. Mainly stuck needle valves so if it sits for a week the bowls must be emptied, needle valves freed up and floats checked. Also have to empty tank of the red wine and add fresh fuel. No big globs or anything like that. I’ve heard great things and I’ve only used this sealer once so perhaps it’s user error (doubt it) or possibly a bad batch. Wish i hadn’t used a sealer at all.
Another vote for Caswell's here. However I have never used it on a motorcycle. The use I had was on a fuel tank on my Farmall BN tractor. It was not rusted but had a stress crack at a spot weld for the mounting bracket. I had tried to fix it by soldering around the bracket but could not get it clean enough under the bracket to hold the solder.
Did some research and found Caswell's to be highly recommended. The clincher was when I found out their location was about 30 miles from my house! I had been by them many time but they have no sign on the building to say what it is. Even better besides saving on shipping they gave me a small discount for paying cash!
I sealed the tank in early spring and use tractor to mow lawn and other yard work and have not seen or smelled any gas leaking.
I do have a Sportster tank that has a similar leak so might give it another try the winter.
Did some research and found Caswell's to be highly recommended. The clincher was when I found out their location was about 30 miles from my house! I had been by them many time but they have no sign on the building to say what it is. Even better besides saving on shipping they gave me a small discount for paying cash!
I sealed the tank in early spring and use tractor to mow lawn and other yard work and have not seen or smelled any gas leaking.
I do have a Sportster tank that has a similar leak so might give it another try the winter.
Yep, Caswell's sealant is great stuff. In the last few years I've treated three motorcycle tanks with it, no problems with ethanol. If you follow the instructions, it's foolproof; be sure to apply it at recommended ambient temperature.
I used to believe this but I had a Red Koted tank where the red kote came off the top and sides and pooled at the bottom of the tank. Messed up the petcock and carbs too. Not to mention the $1,000 paint job due to an unseen pin hole being uncovered. Could have been operator error but I had it done professionally and it was after sitting/curing for a few years.
weaselbeak
XS650 Junkie
Red-Kote is golden in my book.
Motorbreath22
XS650 Enthusiast
A lot of guys don't run with any tank coat including myself. When I got my old tank I threw bolts and nuts in there (counted them and took a good minute to get the last one out lol) then shook them around in the tank with soap and water, multiple rinses, till no more loose tank coat or anything came out. Dried with compressed air, rinsed with some gas then keep your tank filled with fresh gas.
Put in a petcock filter and then an online fuel filter.
I've been running that tank for over six years with no carb fouling.
Put in a petcock filter and then an online fuel filter.
I've been running that tank for over six years with no carb fouling.
I would also suggest cleaning the tank first, but the trouble is some of the older bikes have tanks you can not find anywhere. Also if you have a marginal tank with a few pinholes you can use a coating like caswell to seal the pinholes thus saving the tank. I sealed my 72 tank just to be safe even though the tank was in good condition. I'v been running that tank going on 8 years and the coating looks perfect. Dont have to worry about whats happening at the bottom of the tank. All my other bikes have no coating and I do keep a close eye on the fuel level and condensation.
I don't want to see Red-Kote getting a bad name here. Their directions for prepping the tank and letting it cure before paint are very thorough. What isn't stressed in their directions is the need for speed while coating and draining the sealer out of the tank before it gels up. Pouring the sealer into the tank, rotating the tank to spread the sealer, draining the extra sealer out of the tank, this all has to be done QUICKLY, and I mean real quick. Taking too much time rotating the tank to spread the sealer allows the sealer to gel over and capture pools of sealer that are too thick to ever cure. The more sealer that you use, the quicker you can spread it and drain it. The sealer also has to be thin enough to spread and drain QUICKLY.
Still, it's the easiest sealer to use for preparation and application.
Scott
Still, it's the easiest sealer to use for preparation and application.
Scott
Last edited:
Of all the wonderful coating products I've tried to seal tanks with over the years the only thing that's done a good permanent job for me is soft solder.
weaselbeak
XS650 Junkie
I had a puddle, pretty thick, of Red-Kote that I poured (spilled, actually) on the concrete in my garage. It cured fully no problem. Tougher than a hockey puck.
That's good to know. Red-Kote claims that the thick puddles won't fully cure. How long do you think it took to harden?
Scott
