fuel tank leak sealing

C

chaz

Junior member
I know there are a few threads on the forum and others about rusty tanks, BUT  Im looking for latest reports and tests.
ignoring the cause I am looking at someone elses bike that is dripping from a couple of places underneath.
PROBLEM is is that he has a custom paint job which starts at the tank and runs down onto the side panels and back up around the seat surround. metallic green with red dragon.

welding is out of the question as don't want to ruin paint.
Ive used Kreem but chemical reaction got hot and crazy paved the paint on my BSA tank.
He has used petseal and now leaking and peeling off inside.

any reports on POR15?
Frost or Eastwood products from America?
any cold processes not likely to damage paint?
any plastic processes?
 
I just did a glass tank with caswells and it didn't heat up at all and if you spill some of the epoxy on the paint it will wipe off with acetone. Hopefully the paint is acetone proof, test that somewhere underneath first. The instructions say to cover the outside of the tank with gladwrap to prevent this although I couldn't be bothered. It didn't get hot in the slightest and no paint damage done.

Last time I used a Kreem process the fumes from the cleaner destroyed the paint even before I put the liner in. The Caswells route is way better.
 
The problem will be the existing failed liner. Not a good idea to try and coat over it.

Whatever the solvent for that will be it will also be a solvent for the paint.

Paint takes years to truly harden and be resistant to any solvent.

 
You may be able to remove the failed liner mechanically by agitating the tank with abrasive material inside (eg, a handful or two of sharp screws). Folks here have used several devices for agitating the tank, such as wedging it into a concrete mixer, clothes dryer, etc. Keith even used his lathe.  It might not abrade all the old lining out, but should get rid of any flaky or loose bits and give you a solid base to coat over.
 
Chaz, if you can still get hold of it in the UK, methyl ethyl ketone might be able to remove the failed liner (depending on what the liner actually was). But it will also do a serious number on the paintwork if you spill any. Cam's suggestions for mechanical stripping will  take a lot of beating.
We have a bunch of Caswell's fans on this forum for the simple reason that the stuff does exactly what it's supposed to do, every time, no surprises. Even comes in blue, red or black if you want to add some colour, although I prefer clear so I can see if there's any rust forming underneath it. My Honda tank has had Caswell's sealer in it for 18 months now and it's still crystal clear, rock hard, and absolutely no leaks.

Ken
 
Since you mention POR 15, I just did a Gixxer tank which had a failed liner. Used acetone followed by marine paint stripper, agitation with nuts in tank, got a lot of it out. Then used cleaner supplied, then lots of rust converter,  then converter supplied. Dried it out with heat gun and put in the sealer, looks like it has done a good job. The sealer/fancy paint is quite liquid and gets into the nooks and crannies. I did get a bit on the paint but it came off ok.
 
I have caswelled probably 8 tanks, almost all of them fiberglass, and only failure I had was on the SFC. Failed caswell is a bitch to get out, comes out in shards, not flakes, Since fhe Sfc tank was new fiberglass, I took fhe tank to a local company here that does aircraft tanks. They cleaned the tank out with gravel and a machine they made that mounts the tank and then agitates. This scrubbed most of the crap out, and then they used a grey epoxy liner used for aircraft tanks, which looks like it will never fail, and has not for the past two years. They stated that they had seen every liner but caswell fail, and that since it was a new tank the knucklehead that caswelled it likely did not clean the inside good enough prior to caswelling....
 
Despite following instructions to the letter, the POR 15 treatment failed in my Jota 120 tank. It started peeling almost immediately and I eventually pulled sheets of it out of my tank.
I got my money back after I sent pictures.
I will probably use Caswells next time.
Cheers
DoC!
 
I have used POR15 and Caswell. I prefer the Caswell.

I use a combination of small sheetrock screws (very sharp, about 1/2 pound) along with a few larger nuts & bolts to bust off any larger flaking prior liner stuff. Keep it up for about two hours while watching TV or some other mindless activity. Just keep rolling it around. I have had great luck with this technique.

I DO use the plastic wrap suggestion. It reduces anxiety substantially. Also, while rolling the tank around on my lap for a couple of hours, I'm not getting smudges and scratches into the paint. I Caswelled (is that a verb?) two brand new Ducati tanks that were pre-painted from the factory. Definitely use the plastic wrap!
 
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