Tank sealer removal?

[NickNZ880]

Hi Guys, my old Gixxer fuel tank has some old tank sealer product in it which is now breaking up and revealing rust, grit etc. Does anyone know if a good strong paint stripper is at all likely to remove it, or should I just get rid of the loose stuff and throw in some POR15?

Cheers

Nick

[bistard]

Hi Guys, my old Gixxer fuel tank has some old tank sealer product in it which is now breaking up and revealing rust, grit etc. Does anyone know if a good strong paint stripper is at all likely to remove it, or should I just get rid of the loose stuff and throw in some POR15?

Cheers

Nick

Mate, good lucking getting rid of that stuff, I would go withe the POR15 method, roll around some nuts & bolts inside the tank frist to remove as much loose stuff as possible

[swarfie]

Mate, good lucking getting rid of that stuff, I would go withe the POR15 method, roll around some nuts & bolts inside the tank frist to remove as much loose stuff as possible

I had the same problem so I duct-taped one of my tanks to the front of my mates concrete mixer (after having rapped it in a blanket to protect the paint) and rattled it around at various angles for six or seven hours with a mixture of kerosene and nuts and bolts. Worked a treat...well got most of it out, all except the stuff on the humpy bit where the tank goes over the frame. Good luck.

[NickNZ880]

I had the same problem so I duct-taped one of my tanks to the front of my mates concrete mixer (after having rapped it in a blanket to protect the paint) and rattled it around at various angles for six or seven hours with a mixture of kerosene and nuts and bolts. Worked a treat...well got most of it out, all except the stuff on the humpy bit where the tank goes over the frame. Good luck.

Thanks for the replies. Had thought of putting some shingle in it, putting it in my truck and driving around the east side of the city - should achieve a similar result!

[Drew]

Ya sorta need to not be too rough with it, when there is hard stuff floating around in there though aye. Dents from the inside suck!

[swarfie]

Ya sorta need to not be too rough with it, when there is hard stuff floating around in there though aye. Dents from the inside suck!

They do...but then it was British steel from the '30s. PMSL when the next door neighbors wife commented to him that I seemed to be mixing a lot of concrete....

[Drew]

They do...but then it was British steel from the '30s. PMSL when the next door neighbors wife commented to him that I seemed to be mixing a lot of concrete....

I am imagining the noise of it, and I'm stoked to fucken bits that you don't live next to me!

[jonbuoy]

I think you can use MEK solvent on most proper tank sealant, it's nasty stuff though.

[jellywrestler]

Hi Guys, my old Gixxer fuel tank has some old tank sealer product in it which is now breaking up and revealing rust, grit etc. Does anyone know if a good strong paint stripper is at all likely to remove it, or should I just get rid of the loose stuff and throw in some POR15?

Cheers

Nick

most companies who supply the stuff also have a removal product available, of course you probably wont know the brand thats in there at the moment unless it's tell tale by the clour etc. next thing is the importers here may well not stiock removers and them you'll have trouble getting stuff in with the chemical nature of it
email the people who make it and see what they recommend.
i've fully removed old shit and started again doing it this way

[NickNZ880]

I'll talk to Tony Pole about it, he's dipped and stripped tanks for me before but not with this stuff inside. I have no idea what brand it is, looks like a creamy off-white colour, quite a thin coating. The idea of this bike was to be a cheap hack that I wouldn't get attached to, reluctant to have to repaint the tank but then again, it is a bit chipped in places ... Too right MEK is nasty stuff, don't know where I would buy it from in sufficient quantity to do the job.

[imdying]

You can buy MEK in bulk from Nuplex, but for Christ's sake be careful... get that shit in your eyes and you can give up riding a motorcycle again.

[swarfie]

I am imagining the noise of it, and I'm stoked to fucken bits that you don't live next to me!

Wasn't too bad...It was inside the shed and insulated a bit with the blanky....having said that I wasn't able to stand being in there with it
The neighbor over the back wanted to take a photo and stick it on his facebook page...thought it was hilarious

[gwigs]

I have just recently stripped out my existing and leaking liner.
I used MEK and a good handfull of screws,small nails and some old chain chopped into small bits.
I first wrapped the tank in plastic , added MEK ,screws etc sealed tank and shook the hell out of it
then let it sit ,rolling it over and let it sit some more then repeat a few times.Worked out allright and resealed tank.
It can be done..

[NickNZ880]

Thanks for the help, I have found POR 15 locally, plan A is to see if I can find some touch-up paint for the outside scratches and then dissolve the old crap out; plan B if I can't touch-up will be a full dip, strip and repaint. I only plan to do this once ...

[NickNZ880]

Just to say, I did a test with some Acetone and it seems to be dissolving the old crap quite nicely. So I reckon I will be able to get rid of it with a bit of persistence. Thanks!