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Technical (Descriptive Topic Titles - Stay on Topic) => Frame => Topic started by: Gavin on 13.10. 2009 17:01

Title: Tank Lining
Post by: Gavin on 13.10. 2009 17:01
Has anyone used Red Kote to line their tanks and if so with what sort of results?
Title: Re: Tank Lining
Post by: huddie on 16.10. 2009 20:07
Hi Gavin, Thought someone should reply even if it's negative. I haven't heard of that product, but I had some sucess with the FLOWLINER product fom wylde's (www.cwylde.co.uk). I used their rust inhibitor first. The whole thing was easy, just following their instructions, as long as you don't mind the inside being white. It sets hard as i found out when i removed the blanks from the tap holes where I found it had set in the top part of the thread. I drilled it to the appropriate size and cut a new thread into it. Taps fit just fine.
Good luck
Regards Huddie
Title: Re: Tank Lining
Post by: Gavin on 17.10. 2009 10:51
Thanks mate. Yep it was looking a bit bleak response wise eh? I have treated the interior of the tank by firstly washing blue metal stones, drying them and rolling them round to clean off surface rust. seemed to work well. washed the tank, dried it over night, and applied Ferton as a rust inhibitor / converter. washed and dried tank again.

Today was the perfect day for the Red Kote...  about 35c. i have applied 1 coat and drained it, now waiting for the 24hrs for it to dry. i'll give it a bit longer and water test it for seal. if all's well i'll dry it and away we go. otherwise it will be coat No 2 on another warm day soon. It's been a very easy product to use. but i was taking lotsa care not to spill any on the paint job on the tank. I've let it drain through the tap bungs and then cleaned the threads before it dried too much.
Title: Re: Tank Lining
Post by: muskrat on 17.10. 2009 20:35
Kreem works well, as long as you don't run methanol.
Cheers
Title: Re: Tank Lining
Post by: coater87 on 17.10. 2009 21:41
 Yes,

 There are a lot of products for this type of thing- and most are basically the same. What this thread should be is a "what to absolutely not use and why?". I have come across different stories over the years regarding cars, most have to do with the sealer becoming gummy when using an octane boost, Isopropanol alcohol (HEAT), or some other chemical that loosed the sealer enough to flow it into the carbs and make a huge, expensive mess.

 Thats what we should be sharing, maybe it would save someone a lot of headaches! *smile*

 Lee
Title: Re: Tank Lining
Post by: LJ. on 17.10. 2009 21:53
Indeed your right Lee.... I could have done with a big 'NO' No... concerning the use of Petseal, totally useless stuff! I applied it after having my Star Twin tank re chromed, you would have thought that the surface inside the tank after chroming would be ideal with no contamination at all. But... the gummy sticky mess was there not long after completion! grrrrrrrrr.
Title: Re: Tank Lining
Post by: Rusty nuts on 20.10. 2009 10:41
Lj

Did you remedy it?
I used the MCA sealant (figured they are much of a muchness as are all basically a 2 pac epoxy) back in summer, followed instructions waited for nice hot day, left in sun all day, took nearly 3 days sunbathing to cure & become non tacky
poked finger in tank the other day, tacky! can scrape off with fingernail.
stripped carb all clear, runs fine.
I'm guessing nothing short of paint stripper will get rid of it?
Title: Re: Tank Lining
Post by: Brian on 20.10. 2009 11:03
I would strongly recommend not using any sealant unless it is absolutely necessary. Its nearly impossible to get out and if it starts to lift you can be in all sorts of trouble.

I have only ever used it twice and both times as a last resort. The first time was Kreem and it was quite good, easy to put in and did its job well. The second time was POR 15 and I was not impressed, it nuetralises and seals any rust but with a very fine film, if you have a small leak, even a weep, it will not seal it. You need to make sure the tank is fuel tight before applying it.

Which ever brand you use you have to make sure the tank is absolutely spotless inside before you put it in.

Good luck.
Title: Re: Tank Lining
Post by: LJ. on 20.10. 2009 12:53
Quote
Did you remedy it?

Naa... I think the gummyness has washed off the centre hump and is now in a gunge sludge on the bottom of tank awaiting to block the tap gauzes.

Now who was it that had this theory about the old leaded petrols that left a leady film over the interior of the tank? Was it you Brian? I thought about this the other day while cleaning out the M21 tank and noticed a sort of semi shine and wondered if this was the lead film left by years of use.
Title: Re: Tank Lining
Post by: BSA_54A10 on 21.10. 2009 12:15
Well in fact it is lead, but it did not come from the fuel.
In the olden days when things were made to last for a long time petrol tanks were made from a material known as "Terne Plate".
This is similar to tin plate but with a coating of lead on the surface of the steel.
As lead is much more malleable than steel if you press a shape ( read petrol tank ) out of tern plate the lead coating simply stretches thinner as the steel stretches so you end up with a continious lead coating which of course dose not rust and is impervious to strong alkalis and reduceing acids.
This is why petrol tanks from 100 year old cars have very little rust on the inside and ditto for most motorcycle tanks up to the mid sixties when the "OH&S natzis" decided that welding the seams produced lead vapour which is ( sort of ) toxic.
In reality the lead vapour either settles as metallic lead which won't hurt any body or oxadized.
Unfortuneatly the oxide is highly soluable and when injested by adults bonds to hemaoglobens in the blood rendering the person annemic till the kidneys have done their job & removed it.
In a very small percentage of the population the lead can accumulate in the kidneys and cause renal failure, but you would have to have been welding on the inside  of about 2.5 million tanks before it became a problem. So now we have rusty tanks and use all sorts of very highly toxic substances to clean & coat them to prevent further rust.
How dose that song go ? " there is a hole in my bucket......"   
Title: Re: Tank Lining
Post by: LJ. on 21.10. 2009 13:04
Ahh so now I know! Thanks for taking the time to write that up Trev.