help: removing old tank sealant ?

Ichiban Moto

Bad Ass Cafe' Style
OK, I used the search function and learned a lot about tank sealers... but I want to know what will remove old sealer . What is best? Is there something I can pour in there , swish around and let work for a day ( a week) ?

On the inside of my gas tank, someone previously used some kind of sealer ( Kreem,Por15, or other etc )
It looks like they had poured it in without prepping properly because it looks like you can see rust color through the sealer that's in there (?) Also, the entire inside is not coated and there are a bunch of pin bubbles and also some "crinkling in the coating, so I want to strip everything out and start over with a POR-15 kit ( seems to be what is liked here based on my searches (?)

I posted a pic below, it kinda shows what I'm talking about, yet it was difficult to photograph

 
Looks like Kreeme. I haven't tried it myself, but I've heard of others using acetone with good success.
 
I have tried MEK, Acetone, all kids of things that are suggested and waited for at least three days with each. Some of them may start to break it down, but not enough to fully remove it.

In my experience you need to burn it off. Ask any radiator shop that recoates tanks and radiators how they'd do it, I'd bet you'll hear the same. Expect to repaint your tank.
 
MEK should work. I saw a suggestion from someone else that said they put MEK into the tank and let it sit for a day or two and soften up. Then they put in a bunch of screws and shook it around with screws and MEK. The screws scratch away the lining so the MEK can get in there and do it's job a little better.
 
I've read quite a few times that MEK and Acetone work for this. I peeled a large piece of kreem off and soaked it in MEK for over a week and it was like rubber, didn't start to deteriorate at all. Maybe they work for other coatings, I know that the coating I used it on was Kreem.
 
I have removed a Kreem liner with MEK before, by putting a couple of pounds of drywall screws in with it and shaking it around every hour or so for a day. It doesn't necessarily dissolve the liner; rather, it allows it to come off of the wall of the tank.

If you get MEK on yourself you will regret it before much time passes. Get thick gloves and suit up, goggles etc.

Plan on repainting your tank.
 
Hardware store. I had to special order it, as all they had was "MEK substitute."
 
MEK : methyl ethyl ketone

Some brake cleaners are a cocktail of MEK and Acetone

What is the active ingredient in "MEK substitute" supposed to be? Google told me it's only Ethyl Acetate and Acetic acid (vinegar). Really? that's like calling a crayon "a paint substitute" ;)
 
Unless it is a rare tank, I just toss it in the scrap bin and use another one.

Kreme has to be THE most miserable, pathetic, useless excuse for a tank lining ever marketed. I have mine done at the local radiator shop that bakes linings into race car tanks. Costs more, but it is a guaranteed permanent fix, as in, if it fails, they will buy me a replacement tank and make it right. I had a Honda tank rot away to almost nothing, and the liner was perfect. Damn thing held liquid.
 
MEK has a ridiculously low vapor pressure and will evaporate extremely quickly. (As does Acetone). Depending on the purity you buy, some volume of that "MEK" will be another chemical with a lower VP. (Ethyl Acetate or even Ethyl Alcohol).

If you choose to use the chemical+abrasive method to remove the sealant, you'll need a way to seal up the tank air tight. Otherwise the MEK evaporates leaving behind whatever it's mixed with and it much less effective.

But I'm with Scruffy on this one. If it's not dear to you or expensive to replace, chuck it.

-Deek
 
Why do you want to get it off? tank looks decent on the inside? (atleast the metal does..)
 
It looks like they had poured it in right over rust in the bottom of the tank without cleaning it first .. you can see rust color through the sealer that's in there there are a bunch of pin bubbles and also some "crinkling" in the coating...

the other day I put some gas in it and did a swish , rinse, repeat. Then filled it up with fresh fuel

There are no leaks so I'm going with it. I can't afford another tank.
 
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