Fuel tank coating

[KimB]

As per the title. I’m needing/wanting to do some sort of protective coating on the fuel tank from my Ransomes crawler. Has anyone had any experience with any that they can recommend. I am going to clean the tank out so it’s rust free then hopefully treat it with some sort of sealant kit after that.
Thanks
Kim

 

[reb78]

How are you planning to clean and de rust the tank Kim? I am messing around with a little old Merry Tiller at the moment and the tank is a mess of old gunk varnish and rust.

 

[KimB]

How are you planning to clean and de rust the tank Kim? I am messing around with a little old Merry Tiller at the moment and the tank is a mess of old gunk varnish and rust.

So far I have sand blasted it. Flushed it out then left it to dry. I then put sand blaster grit in the tank and left it slowly turning on my lathe for an hour. But I’m going to put some tumbler stones in it for a short period to hopefully finish cleaning it. It’s not awful right now.

 

[Erie Fred]

I've never done it, but smokestak forum discussed it.
IIRC the kit comes with proper cleaner, might not want to procede until you get a kit.

Kreem | Fuel Tank Liner

kreem, kreem products, fuel tank liner

kreem.com

 

[Smallfry]

How big is the tank ? I tried it on on one of my tractors and it didn't work, but I think the main problem was not putting enough sealant in. It has to completely coat the inside with no missed bits.

Tank has to have no rust in it to work properly, and assuming the crawler is petrol it is likely to need a good few hits with citric acid or similar.

I ended up welding a new bottom in the tractor tank

 

[KimB]

How big is the tank ? I tried it on on one of my tractors and it didn't work, but I think the main problem was not putting enough sealant in. It has to completely coat the inside with no missed bits.

Tank has to have no rust in it to work properly, and assuming the crawler is petrol it is likely to need a good few hits with citric acid or similar.

I ended up welding a new bottom in the tractor tank

The tank is 6” in dia and 17” long. It’s round.
I did think about citric acid as well although using some sort of abrasive inside turning on my lathe should sort any rust j think. Even sand blasting grit sorted a lot.

 

[henry Kadzielski]

Abrasive blast with two coats of Jotun Jotamastic 90 al and then some sort of urethane for UV protection. The Jotamastic 90 is an epoxy and will weather over time.

 

[oldbikedavey]

Beware of dissolving tank sealants, which will cause untold trouble and grief once they start to lacquer up the piston, rings, cylinder, and carburettor.
E.5 and E.10 fuels are to blame, and the E.10 is the worst.

 

[addjunkie]

Frost do tank coatings…..my experience first one worked a treat no issues. Second one wish Id not bothered.

Keep it full, it wont rust!

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Have a look at Bilt Hamber products, you can even phone them to discuss your requirements/application and their recommendations.

 

[8ob]

There are lots of coatings that claim to be petrol resistant, that isn't the same as petrol proof as in submerged.

Bob

 

[bricol]

Frost do tank coatings…..my experience first one worked a treat no issues. Second one wish Id not bothered.

Keep it full, it wont rust!

With modern fuel, not quite as true as it once was - the ethanol absorbs water, separates out, sits under the reduced octane fuel, and is very corrosive. I guess this has a cap with an air inlet - so constant supply of humid air. Not so much of a problem if you keep using it and filling with fresh.

 

[Smallfry]

The tank is 6” in dia and 17” long. It’s round.
I did think about citric acid as well although using some sort of abrasive inside turning on my lathe should sort any rust j think. Even sand blasting grit sorted a lot.

I am sure someone with your ability could make one, rather than mess about. An old gas cylinder or fire extinguisher or something like that ?

As said, the new e5 and e10 fuels are a nightmare. I forgot about this as I don't have anything that uses petrol except for chainsaw and mower, which have plastic tanks.

 

[OJCar]

@KimB I successfully treated a BSA B40 tank with Petseal Sealant in 1990.
( One of the top seams of the tank had a leak that would allow petrol to seep thro but not water! )
Then it was ordinary unleaded, more recent E5 petrol caused the old sealant to fail.
I switched tanks to get around the problem.

I've been researching which tank sealants work OK with E5 & E10 to fix the original tank.
I won't be doing it yet, but Slosh seems to be the best of the currently available E10 proof tank sealants.
The current version of Petseal seems OK as well.
For the amount of mileage the bike will be doing I'm thinking of just removing the Ethanol from the petrol as well.

 

[bricol]

I am sure someone with your ability could make one, rather than mess about. An old gas cylinder or fire extinguisher or something like that ?

As said, the new e5 and e10 fuels are a nightmare. I forgot about this as I don't have anything that uses petrol except for chainsaw and mower, which have plastic tanks.

Apparently, there is also an issue with old plastic tanks and ethanol !! Slightly worrying, as parked in the works car park right now is my 91 Lancia with a plastic tank, full of E5 purchased this morning . . . I've not noticed any issues with it in the last few years though, as it sits from November (or when the salt appears) to about now, so fingers crossed.

 

[Burdekin]

A mate did his tank and went to town getting it clean etc. Think it might have been the POR kit. After a while he started having fuel blockages, turns out the tank seal kit had turned to mushy gel.

 

[Erie Fred]

Apparently, there is also an issue with old plastic tanks and ethanol !! Slightly worrying, as parked in the works car park right now is my 91 Lancia with a plastic tank, full of E5 purchased this morning . . . I've not noticed any issues with it in the last few years though, as it sits from November (or when the salt appears) to about now, so fingers crossed.

Might want to make the last fill up ethanol free.
I see ethanol additives at the auto parts stores, supposed to negate some of the effects of ethanol.

 

[Greeves246]

Done a couple of fibreglass petrol tanks with Caswell. It was the only one that worked in fibreglass that I could find. Ethanol destroys early Petseal and others but there shouldn’t be any left for sale these days. Por15 from Frost is well regarded in steel tanks.

POR-15 Professional Big Fuel Car Tank Repair Sealer Kit

POR15 Professional Big Fuel Car Tank Repair Sealer Kit from Frost.co.uk - The Specialist of High Quality Tools & Equipment for the Classic Vehicle Restorer

www.frost.co.uk

 

[dobbslc]

Petseal is what I used years ago to seal a FZR400 tank.
It lasted about a year before it dissolved and blocked up a very rare set of carbs.

 

[Monkey Harris]

clean tanks with citric acid,
when they rust do it again,

the tank sealants won't work for long, they dissolve in fuel,,,