Tank Sealant

Below is a pic of my petcock from my H1. The RedKote was applied professionally in 2010. It was several years before it had fuel in it. It was fine for a while but I let it sit for a year and then I noticed the red in the fuel. Not sure how it happened but it did happen.
IMG_1287.JPG
 
Step into the barn, strong smell of gas, big puddle on the floor.

Several years ago, long before joining this fine forum, did some major repairs to my tank, including a tank sealant. Local farm/ranch/tractor guys recommend Northern, which usually has a good reputation.

Well, after 6-7 years, it seems to be all dissolved out.

FAIL!
TankLinerFail.jpg


Glad I got the calendar pics, and some riding in before the cold front moved in...
 
I've got three tanks to seal. One is a new tank from TC Bros, one is a '75 GoldWing tank that needs a 1" square patch, one is a CB750C tank that doesn't leak but I want to seal it before a new paint job. I'm going to use Red-Kote on all three tanks. So, I guess, next spring, and 5 or 6 years later, I'll have an experienced opinion of Red-Kote.

Scott
 
http://www.caswellplating.com/epoxy-gas-tank-sealer.html

The Caswell liner is epoxy. If you're lazy, they claim you don't have to remove the rust first. I used it in a clean tank. It's bullet proof.

Most, if not all of the other liners are solvent based. What's good about them is when they fail or you screw up the installation, you can remove them with acetone or paint stripper.
 
Step into the barn, strong smell of gas, big puddle on the floor.
Several years ago, long before joining this fine forum, did some major repairs to my tank, including a tank sealant. Local farm/ranch/tractor guys recommend Northern, which usually has a good reputation.
Well, after 6-7 years, it seems to be all dissolved out.
FAIL!
View attachment 109292
Glad I got the calendar pics, and some riding in before the cold front moved in...

Hi 2many,
most likely the advice from your local farm/ranch/tractor guys was based on the way that Northern's worked for them decades ago,
back before gas was adulterated with ethanol and Gawd knows what else the way it is these days.
 
Hi 2many,
most likely the advice from your local farm/ranch/tractor guys was based on the way that Northern's worked for them decades ago,
back before gas was adulterated with ethanol and Gawd knows what else the way it is these days.

Good point there, Fred. I did that seal job long before our forum got hot and heavy into gasohol issues. Fortunately, according to Marty and Caswell, I can remove the old sealant.


Egads!!!

$1000 !!!
 
Yes, the old red kote can be removed but you have to use copious amounts of acetone. Of course, acetone will eat right through paint as well. The answer is to use Plastiease on the outside of the tank which will protect it from the acetone but washes off with water.
 
I did a thread about removing an old tank liner and replacing it with Caswell on another forum. The paint was new!

http://xs650temp.proboards.com/thread/17274/failed-tank-liner

If you know acetone will eat your old liner, you're way ahead of the game. I was removing something unknown. I did save my paint.
DSC00864.jpg
 
I used POR15 on Lucille’s tank - based on the recommendation of none other than Jay Leno whose professional garage staff use it on all of his vintage vehicles. check out his testimonial - rather impressive.

As AZMan and others have said, it is not difficult to use, but it is a bit laborious though the results are excellent and well worth the effort.

On another fuel tank, I used a mix of aquarium gravel and water - in a 3-axis tank tumbler that had been built for the purpose by a friend and that did a superb job as well.
 
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I did a thread about removing an old tank liner and replacing it with Caswell on another forum. The paint was new!...

Thanx for the link, Marty. Yes, I'll need to protect the paint job. The Caswell order includes a water based prep seal. And I'll do the wrap job like you did.

... If you know acetone will eat your old liner, you're way ahead of the game. I was removing something unknown. I did save my paint...

This Northern liner kit sez use MEK for cleanup. I saved my mixing cups, they have cured liner, and will try MEK on them first...
 
If a tank doesn't have pin holes or other structural damage, then I see no reason to seal it. Do the nuts and bolts shake with water, then use 50:50 water and phosphoric acid (concrete etcher) - shake, let sit for 15-30 min, repeat and keep changing what side is down when sitting - which neutralizes and removes any remaining rust. I've done that to at least 4 of mine and they have been rust free with zero problems (with E10 gas) for many years. I store them full with Stabil over the winter and generally keep the tanks full during riding season. I think I did the first one in 2003 or 2004 and it is still rust free. My '75 XS650 tank had been poorly lined (not sure what, but it was red as I recall) with little or no rust removal prep. A carefully wrapped tank with holes securely sealed and MEK took care of that (no paint damage!), then nuts and bolts and phosphoric acid and it's been perfect for 2+ years now.

My $.02
 
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