Restoring Series II gas tank

[62SNBMR]

Looking for recommendations on the best way to thoroughly clean/restore a Series II gas tank. Many years ago I had it cleaned out and put in the Eastwood gas tank sealer system, but it subsequently failed.

 

[65beam]

I had the LeMans tank ( series 2 ) dipped at American Metal Cleaning in Cincinnati and. after being cleaned chemically I took the tank to Tiger Auto in Dayton. Doug checked it for leaks and repaired and restored it . These tanks tend to rust in the area of the flanges where the two sections are welded together. Then he used epoxy primer on the outside. I then took it back to the dipper and they have a sealant that they apply to the inside of the tank. Cost for this was maybe $200.00. Good to go for a lot of years.

 

[DanR]

I too have all my metal parts chemically dipped, from smallest to the doors, trunk lids and hoods. The outfit I use is Carolina Chemstrip.

Can't remember the cost per tank (2 per series V) but probably in the range of $25-35 each. Then I additionally use the POR 15 Tank sealer Kit to finish.

Do a search here for the Gas Tank repair and you should get a lot of info you can use.

 

[Warren]

Google motorcycle gas tank cleaning with a battery charger, not perfect or fast but cheap and effective. Keep your tank as full as possible and add some fuel preservative for the winter, seal vent on cap for storage. Some guys like the Seafoam or Marvel Mystery Oil.

 

[jumpinjan]

Ditto, what Bob said. The sealer is "Red-Kote", made by "Damon Products"......You'll need maybe 3 quarts to do the SerII fuel tank. Of course it's not ALL used up and one needs to "drain" out the excess sealer. This is something that needs to be done as quick as possible, because the sealer is volatile and it wants to thicken up.
Some MEK is needed as pre-wash before applying the sealer.
Jan

 

[Tom H]

There's an article in the Feature Articles on this website:

http://sunbeamalpine.org/2008/12/23/how-to-clean-and-seal-gas-tanks/#more-217

Tom

 

[jumpinjan]

I recommend NOT TO USE muriatic acid. Why? Because muriatic acid creates "gray metal" (sand blasting is considered gray metal too and it needs some protection before it will rust too). "Wet" gray metal will rust while you are looking at it, and before you can do anything, the metal surface is brown with surface rust. The rust removal that is done in the "Ready-Strip" (the dippers, as they say) process is very different. It's done with electrolysis with the part in a bath and it can hold-off the rusting for quit a long time, although it will rust too. But, enough time to refinish it with epoxy & a topcoat. That's about the most in-dept explanation that I can give.

 

[Bill Blue]

For my two cents, I say get the POR 15 kit and do it yourself. It is a quality product and if done properly, will last. The most important part of sealing tanks is the thorughness of the prep. The only way to guarantee the prep work is properly done is to do it yourself.

Additionally, if a pro properly prepares a tank, the chemicals he uses place him under rather extreme EPA regs. Remember the old radiator shop with the dip tank? Gone, due to the very same reg. So they use different, less effective methods and chemicals. As a non business owner, you can use the more aggressive chemicals that are in the POR15 kit and do a better job than an unknown "pro".

Bill

 

[PROCRAFT]

We use Redi Strip in Indy to dip around 65 bucks there's also a guy who coats 100 bucks per after all that we removed the trunk floor and use a Universal Mustang tank .

 

[Mike O'D]

I used Red-Kote on my S3 tanks and cross pipes. I can't speak to how well it holds up, because I just recently filled the system with gas for the first time. I used 1 quart to do the job and had some left over at the end. I imagine that 1 quart would easily do a SII tank.