Fuel tank sealer

Tank liners are meant for leaking tanks. Using caustic / corrosive chemicals exasperates flash rusting. Although somewhat pricey (~25 bucks a gallon) , I use Metal rescue for ~24 hours, then a water flush. ANY bare, totally stripped clean, ferrous metal will develop oxidation overnight. Although I have not needed to do this on any tank I have rescued, spray some WD around inside to stop the oxidation process. (I have rescued some nasty tanks)



I also tumble it for a bit in my dryer.


Nothing beats bare metal inside the tank. Liners can become suspended in the different blends of fuels, and I personally remove any tank liners I run across. I hate having the same problems over and over.. like plugged carb jets. Filters will not catch the contamination.


Metal rescue will not harm paint. (NO, I do not work for them, I know what works) lol


Check out the dry coat at 5:51 in video.


An evapo-rust method from my limey brothers on the other side of the pond.

Bulletkz wrote: I have Eastwood and cream .
I used kbs the first time on tank 1 and followed directions +. I think part 2 caused the rust between the tank and coating. Anyways it peeled off like wet drywall.
I don't trust the cream because the guy I got it from was showing me how great it worked on his harley tank and I showed him how it was flaking off under the fuel. He gave me it free.

Definitely don't use kreme. Kreme dissolves in modern fuels, then re-emerges while plugging the pilot jets in the process. Guess how I know this. :pinch:

I used the Eastwood sealer today.
Seems better than all the other ones I used.
I kept it thin.

I have been using Evapo-Rust on a lot of my fasteners and other rusted parts. The stuff works great! I am going to use it on my tank, just haven't gotten to that part yet. I picked up a 3 gallon bucket of it, and will pour it in the petcock hole with the tank upside down. All of my tank's rust is on the upper third where there was no fluid contact for the 28 years the bike sat. I can tell you that 28 year old gasoline smells waaaaay worse than 28 year old scotch!

Skidmark wrote: I have been using Evapo-Rust on a lot of my fasteners and other rusted parts. The stuff works great! I am going to use it on my tank, just haven't gotten to that part yet. I picked up a 3 gallon bucket of it, and will pour it in the petcock hole with the tank upside down. All of my tank's rust is on the upper third where there was no fluid contact for the 28 years the bike sat. I can tell you that 28 year old gasoline smells waaaaay worse than 28 year old scotch!

Water settles to the bottom, so I would assume the lower seams have rusted too. Let it sit on the top, then flip it, shake it, keep it warm also. No rush, it's cold out anyway.
It also says it will not harm aluminum, but I don't usually take chances on expensive parts. It looked to be eating a Honda petcock turning it to aluminum mush on a rebel I rescued years ago. Best to just remove everything and clean it up separately.

I made block off plates for all of the openings.


Expanding rubber "freeze plug" fits perfectly.

Never seal a tank unless it is a leaker. Evapo-Rust was a great for cleaning out the rust and after rinsing I would use IP alcohol with about 5% 2 stroke oil for a mixture to do a final rinse to protect it until filling with gas.

PaintWorkz wrote: Never seal a tank unless it is a leaker. Evapo-Rust was a great for cleaning out the rust and after rinsing I would use IP alcohol with about 5% 2 stroke oil for a mixture to do a final rinse to protect it until filling with gas.

I agree with this statement 100%. I post this info in every "tank sealer" thread I comment on. The only time a tank should be "sealed" is if it's a leaker.

When "sealing" a tank you are adding a chemical to the mix that can and does dissolve in certain chemicals, AKA as "fuel". Fuel chemical makeup can vary greatly depending upon the parts of the world it is used in. Then it tends to re-solidify in area's that are not intended to be sealed, such as float bowls and carburetor jets.

Bare metal inside fuel tanks cannot dissolve. Rust removal is easy if done properly.

It is not necessary to keep a clean tank completely full all of the time. My tank looks just fine after sitting half full for months at a time.

PaintWorkz wrote: Never seal a tank unless it is a leaker. Evapo-Rust was a great for cleaning out the rust and after rinsing I would use IP alcohol with about 5% 2 stroke oil for a mixture to do a final rinse to protect it until filling with gas.

I agree, here’s my experience with a sealed tank. I admit it sat for several years with fuel in it but regardless it was something I had to correct. I picked and scraped out as much as I could. Soaked it for days in acetone. Finally was able to pick out and clean out all the sealer. Then Soaked it in apple cider vinegar and it’s like new I have no idea why somebody would have coated it.

A few pics from my 85 ZN 1100 Frakenbike project. Fuel tank looked pretty hopeless and slim to no chance of finding anything better. Commercial dip and strip quoted 60.00 to strip paint and derust......it was 110.00 when I picked it up. About a pound and a half of solder and at least 8 hours to cover all the bad spots. 3 leak checks with hot soapy water and 3 trips back to the soldering iron. The final rinse with acetone and no leaks. Used RedKote to seal the inside and hopefully prolong the life of any other thin spots.

A few more pics and lots of dents to fix also.

Good luck with your tank recovery project. That one was pretty far gone.

I restored a similar GS1000E "Skunk" tank a few years back and it was a battle royal. Stripped the rust with mild phosphoric acid solution and leaks popped up in various places. Used silver brazing rod to plug the leaks but it was like whack-a-mole. Gave up and just duct taped over the remaining holes and used Caswell's tank sealer which is super thick. Used the whole can and flowed it to every nook and cranny, then flowed it again until it all kicked off. That tank was heavy when finished because of all the sealer but I'm pretty confident it was sound.

Make sure when you check for leaks after all of your sealing work that you check using gasoline as it will show a leak long before water will.
Good luck guys.