Tank sealer question

[Screwed and Tattooed]

Tank sealer question. If you have a gas tank that is already sealed would it be safe to pound knee dents , or would the sealent flake , want to dent my tank but im am unsure

 

[locOleoN]

Tank sealer question. If you have a gas tank that is already sealed would it be safe to pound knee dents , or would the sealent flake , want to dent my tank but im am unsure

It depends on the sealer.. Kreeme seems to be a rubber/plastic type sealer and may flex a bit, Por-15 appears to bond to metal.
HOwever, I think you can expect that most sealers will crack if there is significant movement in the metal..

 

[Screwed and Tattooed]

It depends on the sealer.. Kreeme seems to be a rubber/plastic type sealer and may flex a bit, Por-15 appears to bond to metal.
HOwever, I think you can expect that most sealers will crack if there is significant movement in the metal..

thank you , not exactly what i was wanting to hear , looks like its either find another tank or go without knee dents

 

[Tim]

With POR-15 you would be able to re-seal the interior. It is more like a paint then a thick layer of material that will flake etc. Not sure what the instructions say about re-coating, but it's worth looking into.

Can you clarify what coating you have in there now? There are methods of removing it. That being said, you'd be better off buying another tank and starting fresh. Depending on your current tank you would likely be able to sell it and more than cover the cost of putting another one together. An already-coated tank should fetch a decent price.

 

[Ease]

I thought one of POR15's claims to fame was that it wouldn't flake off?

I can remember 2 or 3... maybe more years back when TRUCKS! showed it at an auto show on a thin piece of metal and were bending it, hitting it with a hammer, etc. to prove it wouldn't.

This was the POR15 rust paint though, not the tank sealer so I donno.

 

[Tim]

Bottom line is even if the POR-15 sealant got damaged somehow, it wouldn't 'peel' off like KREEME might. It's a paint, so at best a few bits might break loose and get trapped in your fuel filter. The tiny exposed spots on the tank wouldn't be at any real risk of rust etc.

Many people don't even bother lining the tank after they've cleaned it out. A regularly used motorcycle gas tank shouldn't rust anyhow.

 

[joea]

kreem is bottom line sealer....it worked good years ago with the gas blend then but is not so good with the fuel they call gasoline now....i would say casewells is one of the best as it is a fairly new formulated product made for the newer blend gasolines or bill hershs sealer,or por.. flaking is usually caused by improper prep of the tank and not the product . if kreem is in there now you may be able to remove it with mek, and take precautions as listed on product !....good luck,joe

 

[manxman]

Has anyone had any experiance sealing a fiberglass tank?
Mine is leaking at the seams do to the ethanol/gasoline
leaching thru. I was told West Marine Epoxy, but according
to thier website they don't guarantee it will resist alcohol.

 

[locOleoN]

Has anyone had any experiance sealing a fiberglass tank?
Mine is leaking at the seams do to the ethanol/gasoline
leaching thru. I was told West Marine Epoxy, but according
to thier website they don't guarantee it will resist alcohol.

Hmmm. Thats a good question...
Id give PAt Cowan a call at: (905) 873-3171 or EMAIL AT: pacomotorstuff@cogeco.ca
Pat is a fiberglass specialist here in the Toronto area, not to mention a great guy.
Professionally, he does fiberglass stuff for boats etc..etc... as well as making fiberglass farrings & seats for the local Vintage RoadRacing Association on the side.

He'd give you some great advise!!... Tell him I send ya.. Also, I believe hes a member of this forum!!

 

[manxman]

Thanks, I'll give him a shout.

dave

 

[joea]

most fiberglass tanks were manufactured before the fuel blends were changed and do not do hold up very well if you run regular pump gas, the resin breaks down and if you are real unlucky it can stick a throttle slide or intake valve!...if it is leaking it is best to first flush it good with mek or acetone and then route out the leaking seams so you can repair them with a mixture of polyester resin and cloth (for larger size damage.) for small cracks or holes/voids use some finer f/glass cloth cut up in little pieces and mix it in the resin before applying. you may need to dam up the seam with plastic or wax paper and tape to hold the resin in place until it cures then you can just cut or gind down the excess..after the repair plug the petcock fittings, mix up some polyester resin and pour it into the cleaned out tank and work it around until the entire tank is coated not just the repair area or the fuel will leak under it!!(you can put a piece of plastic over the filler hole also so the resin does'nt coat the inside of your cap or use a rubberband on it if your tank/cap allows). once it is all coated you can pour out the excess and let it dry good in a warm area...recoat once dry and then let dry for a few days before putting in fuel..if you can find it easy use a non oxygenated fuel which has less alcohol or race gas ,and if they bike is not used or stored for a while,drain the tank....good luck,joe

 

[hahnda]

I found this bit of info a while back.

Fiberglass
Special care must be used when dealing with classic fiberglass tanks made using polyester
resins such as the ones on Norton, BSA and other British motorcycles. Modern fuel
oxygenates (esters, alcohols and ethers) added to all current fuels do a pretty good job
dissolving the older fiberglass walls and epoxy seams. Not only does this create fuel leakage
and seepage, but the fiberglass and epoxy residue often ends up in your carburetors,
gumming up your entire fuel system. It’s always best to clean a fiberglass tank and then use
one of the recommended tank sealing products before use.
Ethanol fuels found in some “racing fuels” attack even modern vinylester. Again, a fuel tank
sealer to separate the fuel from the tank is advised.


Resources
The two products held in highest regard by the motorcycling community for both metal and
fiberglass fuel tanks are the Caswell Plating (www.caswellplating.com) 2-part epoxy tank
sealer and the Bill Hirsch Auto (www.hirschauto.com) single part tank sealer. The Caswell
product, being more viscous, will actually seal areas that are rusted completely through.
POR15 also makes a good tank sealer (www.por15.com), but in our survey clearly ranked in
a distant third place. There are also several aviation tank sealers that work well on
motorcycle tanks. When you use any of these chemicals, be sure and follow the
manufacturer’s instruction carefully to obtain the best results.

There was no one in our survey who recommended the Kreem fuel tank sealer. In fact the
users who had tried Kreem were very vocal about their complete dissatisfaction with the
product. Try to avoid this product.

There are also several fuel tank restorers available for motorcycle tanks. One of the
recommended services is Moyer Fuel Tank Renu (www.gas-tank.com).

 

[joea]

hi, glad hahnda posted and i had a chance to reread posts. i said to recoat in my previous post but should have been more specific as it should be recoated(2nd coat) with a sealer like casewell,or bill hershes,randalphs sloshing compound etc...and as he verified my previous post that casewell is the most recommended sealer these days...
the best thing is to use metal gas tanks as fiberglass just plain sucks....have a good one,joe @ v cycle

 

[manxman]

Thanks guys for all your replies. A lot of good information.
At this point I'm inclined to go with the hirschauto product
not only for it's ease of use, but according to the website
it's 100% resistant to ethanol. Aside from stopping the leaks
another concern is saving the paint job. I'm a bit leary of the
two-part Caswell epoxy getting hot enough to buckle the paint.
Thanks again for your help, without this site I'd have never
known about Hirsch Auto.
Cheers,
dave

 

[joea]

hi, when i cures it does not get that hot,i would not worry about it....joe @ v cycle