Fiberglass tank ok or ruined?

[opet]

Ok. So I received a really nice Rickman fiberglass tank from a friend. The tank had been saved from the trash, but was complete and didn't leak. I cleaned it out, moved the petcocks and made it fit my Guzzi frame. Now, having almost completed the whole bike, I opened the cap and the smell had a note of not only petrol, but also something epoxyish.

Are there any chances of saving the tank? Or is it even damaged? Will a sealer even work? What to do?

This sucks major a$$ as the only thing left is to clean up the exhaust, paint the bodywork and drive.

 

[crazypj]

Try some automatic dishwasher stuff in it with real hot water then let it sit a day or two and see what rises to the surface
The soap/cleaners should remove most anything and leave insides clean.
So far it's the best stuff I've found for carb cleaning that doesn’t cause more problems than it solves
You will probably need to swill some acetone around inside afterwards to 'open' the surface for sealer
BTW, even Rickman had problems with fibreglass tanks which is why they went to a steel tank and cover on later models

 

[teazer]

PJ is right. When It's clean and dry inside - the tank that is - not the weather, toss in some sharp objects and shake the tank vigorously to chip the surface to provide a key and to break loose any flakes. Empty that lot out and flush with acetone - don't leave it to soak - and dry it out in the sun.

Seal it with Caswell which leaves a hard glass like inner surface.

Ethanol does dissolve polyester resin and leaves a stick mess on everything. I used a F/G fuel tank for Methanol for years and at the end of a weekend, the tank was getting soft and squidgey. That happened with two different tanks - one was Dunstall the other Birmingham Fiberglass Works. When I made glass tanks I used a special isothalic resin IIRC.

I have high expectations for Caswell.

 

[opet]

Thanks guys! I'll have a look at the Caswell sealer.

A friend of mine mention that here in Norway the ethanol content of the gas is less than 5%. Is that still enough to damage the F/G tanks?

 

[crazypj]

Yep, ethanol is nasty stuff and generally costs more than it's worth.
Reduction in MPG means your using more fuel not less.
Racers seem to like it though, rich alcohol mixtures give more power

 

[teazer]

Luvs me some alky. Main jets in the 800 range, jet needles like toothpicks and drilled out needle jets - but it bring anextra 15% power when running neat methanol.

Ethanol is an octane booster and is used as a replacement for TEL (Lead) or MTBE. Unfortunately ethanol and methanol are solvents and dissolve normal polyester resins - even in small percentages.