HarleyTechTalk

Just a "captain obvious" question here. I'm resealing the tank, some of the old coating has peeled off and will be using some Kreem sealer, and my question is this for those who have done it. What are some good suggestions for sealing the fuel line hole? You know the one that has either the fuel quick connect or petcock? I'm sure this is a simple trick, I'm just probably over thinking it. Thanks

Before you reseal you have to clean it and the cleaner will soften and remove the old liner. If you don't get all of the old liner out the new sealer will not adhere to it and flake off in sheets.

Ask me how I know, I have a tank in my closet with a brand new paint job for over two years now, new liner is coming off I should have left the damn thing alone. It's never been on the bike.

In answer to your question if it's a Delphi quick disconnect the thread is 7/8 X 14 just pick up a bolt and either wrap with teflon or use an o-ring to seal it. Get any of that pre-cleaner (MEK) on your paint job and uh ohh.



Mike

Quote from: lost_harley on March 12, 2014, 01:17:41 PM
Just a "captain obvious" question here. I'm resealing the tank, some of the old coating has peeled off and will be using some Kreem sealer, and my question is this for those who have done it. What are some good suggestions for sealing the fuel line hole? You know the one that has either the fuel quick connect or petcock? I'm sure this is a simple trick, I'm just probably over thinking it. Thanks

Good luck

You've got to clean out the old liner and everybody has suggestions as to how. Here's another. Throw a couple of gallons of acetone into the tank and seal it up and agitate it every now and then. In a couple - three days it should all be melted.

A local shop did my buddies 2 Evo Softail tanks for about $250 or $300. Yes, more expensive than DIY, but guaranteed and hassle free. It was a shop that specialized in gas tank repair for all vehicles.
They did a Sportster tank that was painted and there was absolutely no damage to the paint. Even cut a small hole in the bottom corner to clean it all out properly and it was very dificult to see the repair when finished, though it was just black paint, pretty easy to touch up.

Unless the product has changed, have NOT heard good things about Kreem. 

Yeah, put the Kreem on a shelf and forget that you own it. Ethenol will ruin a KREEM liner. If you bought the 3 or 4 bottle kit, good! At least you can use some of the stuff. The acid etching will prep the tank fantastically but you have to get the old liner out. If your kit came with the pink bottle of tank mask, start by painting it several layers thick with the mask. (The ENTIRE tank, top bottom sides front and back at least 4 coats will take a few hours)
After the tank mask is dry, plug off all of the lower holes. Fill the tank up with a couple hand fulls of 1/4-20 or smaller nuts, bolts, screws and washers then put the cap on and shake the living hell out of it until your arms and hands go numb. That will help to break up everything that is loose. Then comes the fun part of getting every thing back out. Once you have all of the hardware back out of the tank, blow the tank out with an air wand (long stiff tube on a blow gun will be just fine) to blast all the tiny little bits of liner out. If the liner as not completely out, fill it to the top with acetone to break up the rest and let it sit overnight. Drain all of the acetone into a bucket from the cross over tubes so you don't get it on the paint. Then blast it out with air again to be sure all the acetone is out, inspect to be sure that no old liner is left and touch up the tank mask  after all that work to be sure that the paint is still protected. 
While the tank mask is drying again, go to your local Orielies or NAPA and pick up a can of REDKOTE tank liner. You will need at least 1 qt. Once you are sure that the inside of the tank is clean, dry and sealed off, pour the entire quart into the tank CAREFULLY, seal the tank and start rolling it around to coat the entire inside of the tank. After about 1 min of rolling the tank in every direction, drain the leftover Redkote into something to throw it out. Then keep turning the tank for a few more min so it does not puddle. A couple quick spurts of air into the cross over tubes will ensure that they stay open with the liner is setting up. I use a brush to get all around the neck as it seams that the sloshing around seems to miss a few spots in the neck.
After a few hours of airing the tank out and letting the redkote set up, you can start peeling the tank mask off.
EASY

Holy shi..............!!!! man am I GLAD I ASKED!!!!! I had no idea about the current liner. Thanks guys!! You rock! And as far as the paint goes, the mask is another issue/question. Currently I'm fabricating, (well lets say cheaply) changing the lines to the tank with a stretched tank shroud and I have fiberglass and body filler all over it with no sealer on it yet. I plan to spray gelcoat before paint. Will the mask ruin it? Here's a picture of what I mean. It's an old pic and currently the shrouds are attached and trimmed to fit the seat and smoothed out with more filler.

[attachment removed after 60 days by system]

Looks like a EFI tank, so I'm sure you removed the pump etc prior to your adventure.

Sure did. It's not going back in until after it's all finished

 

Anybody have an answer? I was thinking about cover with tape then the mask? Or just continue on, gelcoat, then seal it?

Couple more thoughts.

Skip Kreem like others said.
Radiator shops can "boil" and line tanks, not sure if I'd do it with a bunch of bondo on the tank tho...  I've had best luck with this frankly.

Caswell sells a 2 part epoxy liner.   It works great *IF* you have very clean surface to start with... If not clean just like anything else, it will come off too.  Properly prepared it still isn't perfect.

But, overall, I've given up on liners and run without.   Mostly.  If you let the fuel sit at say 1/2 tank, yeah you're gonna get rust.  If you ride and turn fuel over constantly, I don't see a problem... 

Quote from: Deye76 on March 13, 2014, 05:09:18 AM
Unless the product has changed, have NOT heard good things about Kreem. 

If you have a brand new tank with no rust whatsoever, you have about a 50-50 chance of Kreem working for a few years. If there is any rust, the process that they recommend won't work. I've had the problem and I know of many others who have also had bad results.

I'd use anything but Kreem. JMO

Yeah, I'm going with the general idea that Kreem will NOT be going in the tank, instead, I've opted for Redkote. It is a 2000 tank that has some bubbling under some of the existing liner so it definitely needs to be redone. Now I'm just on the fence about the outside. Move forward now with some type of masking process or just wait until I finish the outside with some type of sealer or primer.

Quote from: lost_harley on March 14, 2014, 06:14:00 AM
Yeah, I'm going with the general idea that Kreem will NOT be going in the tank, instead, I've opted for Redkote. It is a 2000 tank that has some bubbling under some of the existing liner so it definitely needs to be redone. Now I'm just on the fence about the outside. Move forward now with some type of masking process or just wait until I finish the outside with some type of sealer or primer.

If you are going to repaint, you could take the tank to a radiator shop and have them clean it out for you. Then you can use Redote (or anything but Kreem.) LOL.

So Ultra, why the radiator shop???

Quote from: lost_harley on March 14, 2014, 09:24:41 AM
So Ultra, why the radiator shop???

Because it will remove all of he crud inside of the tank right down to the bare metal,including the rust. After that, you can seal the tank properly and it will stay in.

Once clean, instead of tank sealer, you can use phosphoric acid inside of the tank and it will put a nice patina inside that is rust resistant. That's what I used to do when I would get a new set of aftermarket tanks for a Shovelhead. 

If you do that and keep the tanks full when parked, you wont get anymore rust. You can buy phosphoric acid from a janitorial supply or a chemical warehouse. It's relatively mild and it's not expensive. (Don't use pool acid, however, it's 30% hydrochloric acid.They call it muriatic. It will also remove rust but it's too difficult to handle.)

You can also clean tanks with lye but you need a large laundry sink with lots of hot water. I used to do that when I was a kid working on Harley 45's. We had the cleanest sewer pipes in the neighborhood. LOL.

I had my shovelhead tanks cleaned out and coated at a radiator shop many years ago, (red material).  Worked great... the tanks were already painted and look exactly the same before and after. 

I like the phosphoric acid idea.  I wonder how the rust conversion products would hold up to immersion in gas.

Shame but - can't get "Redcoat" in my part of the world anymore...bad for the environment!! It was great!! Now I just get rad shops to clean them, and whenever the bike sets for awhile, keep full of gas.

I never found Redkote locally, I've always bought it on e-bay.
$30 for a quart and free shipping.

Click here to see the Reckote spec sheets and how to apply.

Quote from: Julio on March 15, 2014, 03:59:19 PM
I never found Redkote locally, I've always bought it on e-bay.
$30 for a quart and free shipping.

Yup...but we can't leaglly get it shipped across the border. Since I can't get it convenientaly, I don't get it atoll.

POR 15

  POR 15. great stuff! did the tank on my 97 and it's still great after two years.

2Glides

So you would apply por 15 as you would redkote? (notice kreem has left the building)