- Thread starter jimbo1962
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Screwdriver
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Before you even consider a repair, I reckon you should at least sand/media blast it to remove all the rot any expose any further damage.
Just looking at that makes me wonder if half the "good" parts aren't actually as thin as tissue paper.
One of the reasons people braze/solder fuel tanks is that its very easy to miss a tiny pinhole when welding. Brazing floods the surface and wicks into the tiniest of gaps. Spot weld or tack and braze is another good option. Make a good solid repair, then flood it with braze to make sure everything is sealed.
But I have been meaning to weld up a tank for MONTHS now and am still dithering. If you never hear the result, it didn't go well...
GraemeVW
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Which will look terrible if not done extremely well.
Remove all rust, cut out rot, weld in new and if you can't get it to hold pressure, solder over the joins.
Can you form repair panels?
It's not going to be easy, but doable.
I assume a replacement tank isn't an option? Have you mentioned which bike it is?
GraemeVW
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Lol, which ones?
Parm
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Soldering or brazing.
Im no expert dont you need to have some metal there for the solder to stick to ?
No it's called "Air soldering "
Parm
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Learned something new today
GraemeVW
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It looks like alot is rotten too. Doesn't look like an easy fix no matter what's tried.
I'd give myself 100% chance of cutting the rust out, 90% chance of eventually making the repair panels without an English wheel, then maybe 75-85% chance of welding it without distorting the hell out of it. It give myself a 30% chance of welding it with no pin holes and a 90% chance of being able to fix all the pinholes left.
I assume this is the kind of job where tig would be alot easier, but I haven't got one.
Still, I'm not doing it, luckily!
Brazing across small gaps isnt tricky at all . One of the best things about brazing is that it works on thin things relatively easily without destroying the parent metal , and the ability to bridge small gaps makes it great on old car body work , and dodgy old mot repairs that were never seen again.
GraemeVW
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That's interesting. I've never tried any brazing. Sounds like a better option than soldering then.
As usual though, the best option is the one you think you have the best chance of making a success, which is very much dependant on skills and experience.
Brazing is a fantastic process , I have used it in the past on lots of things , you can reinforce thin steel work , bridge gaps and holes , and put things like less than perfect wings onto less than perfect cars with results that are every bit as good as welds in that application , braze tends to spread the load over a larger area which helps things along too , as your not actually melting the parent metal , if it goes wrong you can just melt it off and have another go , braze flows well too , with practice , plus it will skin and you can then go back and lay braze to braze and build up an area or bridge a gap , its a skill well worth developing , and if you have a heat source , either oxy acet or even oxy prop all you need is a few rods and a tin of flux and your off .
many many things use to be brazed together rather than welded , have a play and see how you go. At the start its a bit like knitting with custard though.
