Huge Kreem tank sealer failure -flaking and now the tank is covered in rust.

[thickmc]

Huge Kreem tank sealer failure!

A couple months ago we used Kreem to seal our tank. Heavliy modified and welded, we pressure tested to the point we had no leaks at about 10 pounds of air pressure. The tank was rust free, even though it was used before we started cutting on it, the tank was like new inside.

We just wanted to make sure we wouldn't have leaks develop in the future so we thought we'd seal it just to be sure.

We followed the instructions with the Kreem along with reading about anything we could get our hands on about proper usage. The coating went on without issue.

The tank had no problems and has been setting on the shelf without any plugs in it, while we finished the bike. Today we pulled it off to prep it for paint and we noticed some light surface rust had developed right at the edge of the petcock bung.

Cleaned it up with a small wire wheel and hit the tank with a light blast from the air compresser to make sure all the dust was out.

Huge pieces of Kreem came out with the back side of the chips with a rust orange color! Now the tank has a layer of surface rust, covered with what is left of the Kreem that hasn't come off as yet.

This is a HUGE problem -this tank has about 30 hours of metal work, not to mention the body work. We have to salvage this tank if at all possible.

First step is to remove the Kreem and then kill all the rust before sealing it again with something this time that won't create a nightmare.

Any suggestions on how to get rid of the Kreem and then make absolutely sure all the surface rust is nutrilized? Then what should be used to re-seal the tank?

Feeling a bit' desperate here -cannot believe the Kreem has failed and to add insult to injury leaving us with all this surface rust!

 

[Brodie]

Apple Cider Vinegar to remove the rust and crap. Leave it for a few days then tip it out. Add Bi carb to water and refill the tank to neutralize the acid. Should remove all the rust and probably get rid of the kreem.

 

[The Jed]

I had to do the same issue when I bought my bike.....get a large heavy chain(it's all one piece and easier to remove) drop it in there and shake the hell out of it, flush with water...repeat until you are no longer getting chunks out. Then as brodie said, fill it with white/apple cider or similar vinegar, let it sit for a day. flush that out too. use Caswell to recoat it. the stuff is super thick and they actually recoment a rusty surface (obviously not flaking) as the coating will cling better to the pitted surface area. badabing! better than new!

 

[thickmc]

We've used muriatic acid to clean rust from metal before, it works very well if you can keep the material covered long enough to kill the rust, but when rinsing the tank to flush out the acid we have to use water. No matter how quickly we can dry the tank, it always has some rust forming before it's completely dry. Seems like this defeats the whole purpose.

Any recommendations on other rust remover chemicals or should we just rely on the one from the tank sealer kit.

Not sure which way to go on a new sealer, leaning towards the Caswell since it's a activated material, but lots of people recommend the Por-15. Anyone have experience with either? Or know how thick the final coating is when dry and how hard it gets (on both types of sealers)?

When we used the Kreem we purchased enough for a much larger tank and still barely had enough to finish it -this time we want to make sure we have more than enough!

Looking for any advice or more information anyone can offer on this!

Thickmc

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Depends on where you are. Some chemicles are hard to get in certain locations. MEK (Methyl Ethyl Keytone) will remove your failed Kreem. But be warned it is BAAAD FOR YOU. Proper PPE is a must. It absorbs right through your skin and fumes will wreck your respritory system with prolonged exposure.
I too have had bad experiance with Muratic acid flash rusting the tank. Even after it has been neutralized with baking soda and water!
If you can find it in your area, I like "The Works" toilet cleaner.

Still flush with baking soda and water, then final rinse with rubbing alcohol to help absorb and remaining moisture, blow it dry with compressed air, and a final drying with a hair dryer in the fill neck for an hour or so. Last I pour in Marvel Mystery Oil and slosh it around to pickle it while it sets.

 

[HollywoodMX]

I used metal ready. Non toxic, doesn't ruin paint and Water soluble. You an get their other product that protects it right after you clean it to prevent flash rust.

I will never use any other process again.

 

[The Jed]

use Caswell to recoat it. the stuff is super thick and they actually recoment a rusty surface (obviously not flaking) as the coating will cling better to the pitted surface area. badabing! better than new!

 

[carnivorous chicken]

Not sure which way to go on a new sealer, leaning towards the Caswell since it's a activated material, but lots of people recommend the Por-15. Anyone have experience with either? Or know how thick the final coating is when dry and how hard it gets (on both types of sealers)?

I've used POR-15 extensively, and always with great results. Others on here don't like it as much as other products, but if you follow the steps correctly and do everything right, it seems to work out just fine. I've got a tank that I recoated 10+ years ago holding strong. I've also used Red Kote without problems. It's an easier, less complicated process, and the tanks I've done have held up well. There have been tons of discussions on this forum on the topic, and some searching will turn them up if you want to go over them.

 

[Tim]

I like POR15 myself. Get the Kreem out. It sucks and should be boycotted out of existence.

 

[pidjones]

Plain old Acetone (paint store, Home Depot)will dissolve Kreem crap. My GL1000 tank had been Kreemed by the PO. What crap that stuff is! But, I learned that Acetone will cut it and loaded 2 gallons in, rotated for several days to new angles, swished around an then a final wash with fresh Acetone. Now I just have a rusty tank to clean, oil, and KEEP FILLED WITH 100% GASOLINE!

Sent from my LePanII using Tapatalk 2

 

[HollywoodMX]

Metal ready is by far the most simple for solving the rust problem than what anyone else has posted. Just saying.

 

[Rich Ard]

I've used the Caswell and POR15 both and am a bigger fan of the Caswell - far less prep and then easier to coat, but it has a narrow temp rage for application.

 

[thickmc]

Many thanks for all the replies! After considering everyone's opinions and watching a few vids on using the caswell, we went with it. Primarily because it's an activated material. The tanks is a GS Suzuki tank even with our mods it holds well over 4 gallons, so we purchased two pint kits. Hopefully we can get it covered before the material locks up. Watched one video where a guy tried to expand the dry time using another chemical he added, but really don't want to push our luck on this try, rather just go with what works.

To remove the Kreem, we've bought a gallon of Lacquer thinner to soak it all loose and once removed we figured we'd use the new evaporust to kill the rust before doing the Caswell sealer step.

We'll follow up on how things go and report back for those interested -but sure appreciate the experienced opinions!

Thickmc

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

I have heard good things about evaporust, curious on how it works for you.
Keep us posted!

 

[pidjones]

Just rotate the tank around with the lacquer thinner (acetone) to a new spot every time you go by it. Swish it around a little each time. Save a little for a final rinse. Be prepared to see a lot of rust returned under the Kreem crap.

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[thickmc]

Just thought I'd update this... Have had and we still are struggling with this tank situation.

We did the lacquer thinner step to dissolve the Kreem, still have some amount showing up even after several chemical steps.

After the thinner, we then soaked the tank in Evapo rust, spend several days turning the tank all around so the entire tanks had a good soak.

To be honest even though we could see where it had removed some of the surface rust, it just didn't do the job.

In desperation, we broke out 4 gallons of muriatic acid. This step did remove the bulk of the rust. Yet we can still see some amount of Kreem in cracks and crevices in the tank!

Once the acid was flushed we went to Ace and got a quart of Ospho -supposedly it doesn't allow flash rust to start, turns the metal black etc... Expensive for $14 a quart... We spent the next 24 hours turning the tanks all around with the Ospho...

Draining resulted is what appears to be still more Kreem having been removed, almost jelly like material in the strainer that we used with the Ospho to see what it had removed and to be able to re-use it.

BTW, the Ospho didn't turn our tank black and while sitting since it's removal and flushing with thinner rust has started returning...

We flushed the tank once again with the thinner -and then the problems got worse. A pinhole developed in the front bottom most corner of the tank. In an area we had not done any modifications to.

The original tank had no rust that we knew of, if was used, but from what we could see with the bottom cut out, it looked good. Just must not have seen the rust in the corner. The acid must have removed it and now we are back to welding it up again.

We purchased a USB boroscope off Ebay so we could see what we were up against -viewing the inside of a tank with it -makes things look far worse.

So that's where the Kreem nightmare is currently, next step to flush it to allow for more welding and then back to working the Ospho and camera until we are sure we are ready for the Caswell sealer...

Thickmc

 

[maxDTM]

Yikes. I had to get a botched Kreem job out of my tank a month or two ago. Preserving the original paint was the hardest challenge. Never again with that shit.

 

[pidjones]

Attach the USB camera to a piece of coat hanger wire with duct tape - this will allow looking all over, and even positioning for work if needed. This is what I first did to remove Kreem from the intake screen - PO had coated it solid. Removal of the coating from the screen is how I learned that acetone eats Kreem. First found out that my carb cleaner would eat it, then discovered my carb cleaner was 95% acetone. You might also try a little Easy Off oven cleaner on the remainder.

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