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Fuel tank sealants

limeex2

limeex2

Forum Sage
Past Site Supporter
Have a 78 GS1000 tank that is mint other than internal rust. I used Metal rescue on the interior and it worked beautifully. Problem is without more of the metal rescue product, there is no way to get to every internal spot. My question is am I better off getting more Metal Rescue or should I use a sealer? There 3 brands of sealers Caswell, Por-15 and Red-Kote. I would rather not put a sealer in. The Metal Rescue worked that well, is error proof and when using the sealers there is many chances for mistakes. Ideas?
 
I on all my bikes have used a chemical method , all available easily.

1) Caustic soda to clean to gunge out of tanks stood for 30 years. Leave that between 1 and 5 days)

The next 2 processes can be done in a morning, cleaning out with a water pressure washer in between
steps.
2) Spirits of salt (i add some small steel nails (getting them out they need to be magnetic)
3) phospheric acid to finish.

There is care and method to do this but on all my bikes i have made perfectly working fuel tanks using this method
from rusty internals.
Some for some reason done like this method but i like being self sufficient.

After this method i always try to attach a fuel filter at least to begin with.

P.S put a picture of the inside of tank if you can.
 
Other than the cost, the Metal Rescue worked great, causes no harm to paint or anything else for that matter. I would rather not put in a sealant, only a last resort. I probably will end up getting more solution. seems like the safe solution
 
When you say sealant you mean tank liners ? Some method of lining it with
a solution .....

If your tank is ok ? A few pints of water and some spirits of salt
Washed about inside for 10-15 mins has a great effect !
I have e done this many times.

The only issues are I'd need to tell you the exact method but
Present req:

Petcock off and remove the filter and out back on before doing it.
Insert solution and be done in 30 mins.

I do this as need to save cash and always like testing what others say can't be done.
 
Just a caution that folks know but I didn't. Don't leave acida in too long or it will eat through the tank. This forced me to add a sealer (Caswell) and it has worked well for a year. But I wish I hadn't been so aggressive with the vinegar.
 
I used vinegar in a different tank that had minor flash rust and ended with so much rust, a "buddy" sand blasted it. ugh. almost destroyed it. The Metal rescue will be able to do 3 of my tanks. I wouldn't use vinegar if the bikes life depended on it
 
Nor me , never heard of using vinegar.

But there are other methods , just wanted to make it known and I can
absolutely put a tick on the method I described.
 
Here's the tank after metal rescue. Turned out great. Only issue, was solution got under paint where there was rust. The area is under the fuel cap though. Yes it was expensive but good tanks are very hard to find. I have 3 tanks to do, so it averaged me $25 per tank.
 

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Tried the apple cider vinegar method. Had to get 5 gallons to fill the tank completely. Worked "OK" I would say but still some rust visible after the process. Ya know, POR15 has a kit on Amazon for like 40 bucks. Includes the rust remover, the metal prep and the sealant. You need to do the metal prep after the rust removal to change the alkalinity in the tank so the sealant works properly. I did the POR15 procedure following the directions and I'm happy with the results. Even sealed the pinhole I had. If you have a lot of rust or if you have any pinholes I think it's best to seal it. In this case buy the kit and don't mess around with any of these home remedies. You can spend $20 on apple cider vinegar and remove some rust...then what? Pour the vinegar out and watch the inside of your tank flash rust before your eyes? Get the kit and follow the directions exactly and be done with it.
word to the wise...make sure you have the time to devote to the process before beginning. It will require your attention on and off for a number of hours. Once you start the process you need to finish it.
 
I did the vinegar trick to mine and she flashed as I started adding the Iso prop after a rinse out...2nd time nearly the same thing. It's now got light rust after a wash of WD-40. I'm getting the feeling that I'm chasing my tail here....
I could live with that but I'm going to go the liner route to be safe.
My plan is using red kote but 2 applications thinned out, as their site suggests, instead of one thick coat. It's supposed to dry fast too and a light rust covering in the tank is ok with red kote - it just has to be dry before application. Oh, I plan on thinning 20% with acetone and not MEK.
 
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