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Fuel Tank Sealent. Lesson learnt

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bugger
  • Start date Start date
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Bugger

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So last year I re-sprayed My GS1000G. after rebuilding it I discovered that it would not run at all. sometimes no start some time one carb stuck wide open. all very strange for a GS. I had the carbs of over four or five times to clean. Always a different part that was gummed up. after a while I reasoned that the common denominator had to be the fuel.

While I was prepping the tank for paint I noticed some rust inside so as a precaution I sealed it with a product called Pet-Seal This is a two part liquid epoxy system which I bought from my trusted local bike shop. Well within shelf life. So followed the instructions to the letter. However it did not work. I looked into the tank to discover that it did not cure properly (to be fair it looked ok before I put the first tank full of gas in but that is no consolation) an had started to peel away from the tank instead of forming the seal it was designed to do.
So how to clean it out. I ended up with small rocks (the type you get in coarse concrete cos they are sharp and irregular) in the tank and many hours of shaking to remove the bits from the tank. then pouring out the stones and cleaning them. Each time I would stick the end of the vacuum cleaner hose into the tank while it was on and shake the tank again to suck up the dust. this was repeated over and over for three weeks.

The only solution for the carbs was to get the stripped and cleaned professionally. At some cost.

So lesson learnt. Never use any tank sealant. Cheaper to buy / repair tank.
On the plus side the bike runs like new due in no small part to refurbished and leaned carbs.
Also I can remove or refit GS1000G carbs in under five minutes now!
 
I've seen and heard too many satisfied users of Por15 to believe that all tank sealants are bad.

However, there are some that simply don't work. Kreem is another that's very common -- it seems to be sold in every bike shoppe -- but Kreem is completely worthless junk. We'll add Pet-Seal to the worthless list.
 
Leave the sealer to cure for four days before filling with fuel.
 
There is a fair bit of vagueness in the instructions for some sealer kits (Por-15 included) regarding how long to allow the derusting sauce to work before sealing. Many of the sealer kits lead you to believe that you can seal over rust, but my advice is to FULLY derust the tank before attempting to seal - typically taking several DAYS of rotating every few hours to make sure the surface stays wet. One caveat is the phosphoric acid derusting solution will cause a chalky residue to form on the metal after a few day of soaking which should to be scrubbed off before sealing. It's a lot of work shaking the tank full of pea gravel or aquarium rocks to scrub the metal clean before sealing but it should be done if you want to assure the sealer holds onto the metal properly.
 
need good product and good prep

also best to seal the tank before you ever start a new paint job
 
Generally i let the suace soak for 24 hrs..But the first thing i do is throw in a few hand full of dry aquarium rocks and work the inside over real well.This loosens all the scale that clings to the inside. Once i am satisfied i shake the rocks out the petcock hole, plug that off and fill with the soaking solution..It has been reported here that plain , full strenghrt white vinegar works very well to eat the rust out. Oh and by ROCKS I mean the small gravel that goes on the bottom.
 
bwringer said:
but Kreem is completely worthless junk QUOTE]

I put Kreem in the tank of my '68 Royal Enfield 750 Tourist Trophy Interceptor in '88. It was still doing its job perfectly almost 20 years later when I sold it. I don't believe that there was any change to it.
Click to expand...
 
Kreem in two of my tanks..no peeling or failures..guess anything is junk if you dont do it right.
 
Petseal is an excellent product - I've used it loads of times with no problems whatsoever. However, you must do the dummy run test every time; I use an empty bean tin as a substitute. If it doesn't set try the test again or throw the tin of Petseal away (um, take to your local recycling centre...).

I also reckon there is some rogue stuff being sold branded as Petseal as your problem has been reported quite a lot over the last year or so. Phone them up and chat it through with them - their reputation is on the line and they've been the market leader for a long time.
 
Two most common errors i run into is that people want to rush and not do the acid etching long enough and then they dont let the coating cure long enough..24 hrs of etching isnt gonna eat thru your tank and if it does it was junk before you started. The coating i let dry for 4 to 6 days and i use a small fan on low to blow across the filler neck to kepp a bit of air circulating in there as well to help the curing process and vent off fumes.
 
chuck hahn said:
Two most common errors i run into is that people want to rush and not do the acid etching long enough and then they dont let the coating cure long enough..24 hrs of etching isnt gonna eat thru your tank and if it does it was junk before you started. The coating i let dry for 4 to 6 days and i use a small fan on low to blow across the filler neck to kepp a bit of air circulating in there as well to help the curing process and vent off fumes.
Click to expand...

Best advise ever, I am doing 3 tanks right now 2 Yamahas and 1 trike. It takes time at least a week to properly do a tank. POR-15 is good stuff is you dont rush and take your time.
 
Just a thought but could it be maybe that the ethanol that they are now adding to much of the gasoline in the US could be having an adverse effect on otherwise good tank lining materials?
I know that it eats fiberglass in good shape as well as some plastics and softens some older material fuel lines. I learned the latter when my 93 SkiDoo lost a tank of gas in the yard due to the fuel line getting really soft and swelling up and falling off the fitting. I understand that they were 93 lines and were probably due to be changed but I had just had them off to change the fuel filter like a year before the leak and they seemed tight and normally flexible. Not the like the mussy spongy things I found when I noticed it was leaking.
Like I said, just a thought. Maybe the tank liner chemists never considered the possibility of so much ethanol being in the fuel mix.

Ride safe!
 
I did mine with some muriatic acid before I did the por15 solutions.. seemed to come out well and I saw nothing but grey metal before I sealed it.. has been sitting curing for a week waiting on some new coils
 
I used Caswell epoxy to seal my tank and did not de-rust (just once each acetone/water/alcohol rinses plus 48 hours to dry), as they say it is not necessary and in fact that light rust is beneficial for adhesion of the coating. It was less laziness than that my tank already had leaks so it was hard to keep any de-rusting solution in it. Over a year now and so far so good. I allowed the epoxy to cure at least twice as long as indicated in the instructions before adding gasoline to the tank.

The big problem with not de-rusting is that Caswell cures clear, so you can still see the rust left behind when you're looking in the tank :eek: It's a HARD shell - not rubbery at all like Kreem coats I've seen - so I can't imagine it's going to be subject to any chemical peeling.

Had I another tank to seal, well, I'd use Caswell because I have some left ;) Otherwise I'd give POR-15 a shot if there were no leaks. With leaks present I'd definitely use Caswell again. The biggest drawback with Caswell is how viscous it is and how that makes it difficult trying to get a good, all-over coat.
 
In regards to the adhesive qualities of POR-15...

When I was dumping out the excess POR, whist sealing my tank, I accidentally split some onto my oil catch tray. Being an oil catch tray, and covered in assorted goos and liquids, I just left it there to dry, figuring I could just pick it up outta the oil and chuck it. I now have POR-15 stuck quite well to my catch tray. Mind you, this stuff was applied OVER a combo of oil, brake fluid, grease, and assorted thread lubricant/sealants. Some spots bubbled quite nicely, some bits didn't lift at all and sealed directly to the tray and won't come off at all. The bits that lifted and bubbled, I have messed with, and while not stuck to the tray, they are still very durable, and resist all sorts of physical attacks against them. I have no doubt that this stuff will work perfectly in a properly prepped tank, if it's able to adhere under the disgusting conditions present in my oil catch tray. I'm going to leave it there, just for giggles. Lets see how long this stuff can stand up to the abuse my catch tray goes through.
 
I thought regular gravel would be fine for scrubbing the inside of my 850's tank. Boy, was I wrong. Turns out marble-sized pebbles can get stuck in the tapered part of the tank, and are then a total pain in the rear to extract. If I ever have to seal another tank, I'm getting those tiny aquarium rocks for sure, since I'm pretty sure those can be flushed out with water.
 
Moki of Rancho said:
I thought regular gravel would be fine for scrubbing the inside of my 850's tank. Boy, was I wrong. Turns out marble-sized pebbles can get stuck in the tapered part of the tank, and are then a total pain in the rear to extract. If I ever have to seal another tank, I'm getting those tiny aquarium rocks for sure, since I'm pretty sure those can be flushed out with water.
Click to expand...


The aquarium rocks are a pain to remove. They do rinse though for the most part but the last few take some time and patients to get out - going in though the fuel sender unit hole with some tape on a stick works well.

Using larger pieces (nuts and bolts, screws, etc) to scrub the inside of the tank will leave some of the surface uncovered. The aquarium rocks are small, with sharp edges, so they get into all the folded edges and nooks and crannies inside the tank.
 
I have used Kreeme, POR and Caswell and have had good luck with them all. As mentioned, good prep and not rushing would seem to be the key.
As the monk once said, "Patience Grasshoper"

Of the 3, I think I like the Caswell product best as it covers well, does adhere to rusty bits and dries rock hard. As a bonus, it costs about the same as the others but there is enough product to do 2 tanks.

Best advice I can give would be take your time and follow the instructions closely. Once the liner cures give it 4 or 5 days to "outgas" before fuelling up and you should be fine. The Kreeme liner in my XS650 was still fine after 5 years and the Caswell in my GS at 4 years still looks as good as new.

Cheers all,
Spyug
 
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