You are lucky it didn't get delivered to my house!!
"Package what package. GET OF OFF MY PORCH"
"Package what package. GET OF OFF MY PORCH"
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Marbles Motors failed gas tank liner, then screwed up the warranty repair!
- Thread starter Mailman
- Start date
gwallis
XS650 Enthusiast
FYI... The best way to remove a failed liner is to use a chemical called MEK. Much stronger than Acetone. I have used it on several old liners and MEK softens the liner so that it can be removed in almost one piece. If you leave the chemical in too long it will turn the liner to a gummy mess.
I don’t believe MEK or acetone is going to touch a Caswell liner. It’s not solvent based, but epoxy. Yes, either one will dissolve all or most solvent based liner.
Well crap....
My thoughts exactly.
Thanks, me too.
Take til after Christmasto cool off.
A lot of things DID go right, you have the correct tank with good looking paint in your possession. There's at least a chance this new epoxy liner will stick.
You have a great story to tell.
It wasn't the post office's fault.
And it's a good thing you moved, your old neighborhood has assholes in it now.
Might want to get that tank out in the sun a few days at all different angles before installing it.
Thanks Gary, I’m trying to keep a hopeful attitude. I really am just happy to have my tank back.
I’m with you, I’m gonna call the guy today. Problem is he contracts all that out, he isn’t involved and tells me he doesn’t know anything, but I’m gonna press for it.
I didn’t post all of the packaging photos, there was more packing in the box, but the people at the house it was delivered to had messed with it all. I’m really hoping that liner is Caswell, that was my first thought.
Yeah he seemed sincere, and I was happy to get my tank back, it just felt invasive.
Im thinking if this liner ever fails, I’ll send the tank to a specialist, there’s a really good outfit I’ve seen online. Expensive.
Either that or I’ll sell the bike!
Amateur.
TOTAL F@CKING JERK, is a better appellation, I'd say.....
In my view, a boycott of this business is warranted and we should ensure that motorcyclists, at-large, know that he is unreliable and sloppy in his work, careless in his handling of customer's parts and generally a crummy business-person who should not be patronized.
Bob: I am so sorry to hear this tale of woe. What a bloody mess.
Having said that, I concur with the notion of simply getting on with life and enjoying that beautiful motorcycle you have created. For the reference of others, I have had good experience with POR15 liner material - and would note that it is also used by Jay Leno on his big-buck restorations of Dusenbergs, Cadillac V16's etc.
So, if it is good enough for me...and also for Jay Leno, then who can argue?
Pete
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I’m so angry right now I can’t see straight. I sent another email to Randy Marble this morning. I think I showed a lot of restraint, I wanted information from him and I didn’t think I would get it if I came off angry. I sent him this plus the two photos,
This was his reply, he is now denying that he did the liner that failed. He is stating that he just didn’t want to argue with me. And he still won’t give me any product information.
So he has washed his hands of me. It never was his problem to begin with, but he was a good guy and fixed it anyways. Never an apology for the shipping or any inconvenience it may have caused me. They simply did a slap dash sloppy repair to get me off their back and he’s done talking to me. Now here’s the best part or I should say the worst part! I took a penlight and a small inspection mirror and took a good look inside my tank this morning and found this.
In this photo the blue tape shows a section of tank where there is no liner coverage. I can see streaks and drips only in this area.
And this just blows my mind. In this photo the taped area shows the whole right front corner is filled with a solidified chunk of blue liner! It would appear that they rolled the tank around in their hands and then hung it nose down by the circular loop at the rear of the tank. This represents three months of their time.
I’m so pissed I just have to walk away from this for a while.
This was his reply, he is now denying that he did the liner that failed. He is stating that he just didn’t want to argue with me. And he still won’t give me any product information.
So he has washed his hands of me. It never was his problem to begin with, but he was a good guy and fixed it anyways. Never an apology for the shipping or any inconvenience it may have caused me. They simply did a slap dash sloppy repair to get me off their back and he’s done talking to me. Now here’s the best part or I should say the worst part! I took a penlight and a small inspection mirror and took a good look inside my tank this morning and found this.
In this photo the blue tape shows a section of tank where there is no liner coverage. I can see streaks and drips only in this area.
And this just blows my mind. In this photo the taped area shows the whole right front corner is filled with a solidified chunk of blue liner! It would appear that they rolled the tank around in their hands and then hung it nose down by the circular loop at the rear of the tank. This represents three months of their time.
I’m so pissed I just have to walk away from this for a while.
Bob
Step back and take a breath. You are understandably pissed off. I would be too. Put it back in it's box so you can't see it and do as Gary suggested, let it go till after X-Mass.
Step back and take a breath. You are understandably pissed off. I would be too. Put it back in it's box so you can't see it and do as Gary suggested, let it go till after X-Mass.
Words don't seem adequate - you must feel pretty sick about this.
I dealt with a firm called Devon Tank Restorers - they will dismantle a tank, work on the inside of it and braze it back together. In the end they didn't do my tank because it was too leaky and the repair would be completely uneconomic.
My point is there must be specialists somewhere in the US who can do similar work, get your tank back to what it should be. But would entail painting it again.
I dealt with a firm called Devon Tank Restorers - they will dismantle a tank, work on the inside of it and braze it back together. In the end they didn't do my tank because it was too leaky and the repair would be completely uneconomic.
My point is there must be specialists somewhere in the US who can do similar work, get your tank back to what it should be. But would entail painting it again.
I haven’t a clue as to how you would remove an epoxy liner. It’s harder and harder to find competent help.
My cousin hired someone to clean his gutters. Roof repair was a few thousand dollars from the damage done. Now, he’s over 70 years old, three stories up on a ladder, cleaning them himself.
The blob at the front of the tank is unlikely to come loose. The bare spot, you can fix.
I agree. Park it until January.
My cousin hired someone to clean his gutters. Roof repair was a few thousand dollars from the damage done. Now, he’s over 70 years old, three stories up on a ladder, cleaning them himself.
The blob at the front of the tank is unlikely to come loose. The bare spot, you can fix.
I agree. Park it until January.
But tis the season!
Truly Bob I feel your pain.
Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
And I mean that with absolutely no sarcasm.
Pooling is one of the reasons I am reticent to use a tank liner.
My experience with specialized service shops usually runs to; if they are advertising they ain't worth a shit.
Any shop that does good work at prices that let them raise a family has list of work waiting a mile long.
In the long run it's a set back, not a disaster.
Truly Bob I feel your pain.
Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
And I mean that with absolutely no sarcasm.
Pooling is one of the reasons I am reticent to use a tank liner.
My experience with specialized service shops usually runs to; if they are advertising they ain't worth a shit.
Any shop that does good work at prices that let them raise a family has list of work waiting a mile long.
In the long run it's a set back, not a disaster.
I think you could sell the movie rights to this story. Might be a little too scary for some thou. Sorry this has happened. I would talk with Caswell and tell them what has happened and that they missed a spot. They may bee able to give you some suggestions on how to seal that spot. That painter is defiantly off my list.
Bob,
I'm just now reading all this.
I really feel for ya.
Raymond seems to have expressed my thoughts for me: Words don't seem adequate - you must feel pretty sick about this.
It's hard to know what to do about jerks like him, but publicizing this story as you have done is a good step.
I'm just now reading all this.
I really feel for ya.
Raymond seems to have expressed my thoughts for me: Words don't seem adequate - you must feel pretty sick about this.
It's hard to know what to do about jerks like him, but publicizing this story as you have done is a good step.
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My latest fuel tank liner drama: POR 15 = fail. Tried Redkote = fail. Tried Gold Seal kit = fail. Kreme kit isn't even making the list. Junk. Now, for the latest failed liner I'm not sure what it was. It's on my new bike. It was clear so I'm assuming Caswell. I put 1/4 long nipples in my petcock holes with shut off valves to drain these chemicals as far away from the painted tank as possible. First I tried the harbor freight metal rescue shit. Nope. Then I took diluted muriatic acid and let it soak for a day. Nope. I rinsed it well, power washed it out at the car wash. It appeared all the old epoxy chunks broke loose and came out. Some I pulled out with needle nose. Now I used degreaser that came with gold seal kit.. Rinsed. Rinsed again. Metal prep/etching that came with Gold Seal kit. Let it dry for a day Let it dry for another day. Heated with hair dryer. Let it sit for another day. Redkoted again. I had put 1/4" X 5" long nipples in the petcock holes with caps. Removed the valves being the Redkote would jam these valves up. I slowly worked the Redkote around the tank to coat the inside. Follow directions. Removed caps and caught what Redkote I could back into the container. Removed one cap at a time. Let the rest drip onto a piece of cardboard on the floor. Let the first coat dry for 24hrs. Went back and Redkoted another coat. This looks good so far. We shall see. Haha the etching shit with zinc seems to obviously be the trick. It must be dry as a bean fart before final coat. This etching with zinc can be 30 days before coating,
Just FYI, there is 1 guy in oklahoma that does tank coating for everyone. It is a radiator shop, and they are slow. But they never used blue tinted liner, it was an offwhite/cream color. And they would get the rust out before coating.
Out of curiosity mostly, I contacted Caswell and asked them if anything could remove their tank liner. Here’s their reply. ( I have respiratory problems as is, I won’t go near highly volatile solvents )
I came across this guy a while back, he claims to be able to remove and replace anything, and his work looks brilliant, but it is , oh so costly.
http://gastanklining.com/
I spilled some Caswell on the garage floor. It's still there several years later. It is going to take a chisel or a grinder to remove it.
Sparkyduc
XS650 Addict
They have done several for me. Have never had a failure. They just take a couple of months. I try to get them my tank at the start of my projects.
