POR-15 and a gas tank

[Joe Nardy]

I have a leaking fuel tank that has been Kreemed once already (PO), and need to do the re-seal deal myself. My question is..the paint is flawless and I want to SAVE it if possible. How is it possible to use these chemicals and save the paint too ? Anyone do this without damaging the paint ? That is a MUST. It is an older tank that is not available anymore. I am thinking of using the Por-15 product. Please advise and thanks.

Terry

Terry,

The chemicals used with POR-15 will not harm your paint if you follow the directions. They might cause some damage if left on the paint for a while but I've done a couple tanks with no issues whatsoever. Nothing in the kit will cause immediate or short term damage.

I've never used Kreem but I believe that kit uses Methyl Ethyl Keytone (MEK) which will eat just about anything it touches.

Thanks,
Joe

Thanks,
Joe

[bwringer]

As far as rust removal, Evapo-Rust is safe for paint and hands, and doesn't create the noxious fumes that acid treatments do.

It's also far more effective than any acid treatment, and won't damage the intact metal under the rust.

You can get Evapo-Rust at any auto parts store -- it's in silver-ish gray quart or gallon jugs near the paint and such.

I know of at least one badly corroded (but with flawless paint) motorcycle tank treated with Evapo-Rust with excellent results.

[Nessism]

I have a leaking fuel tank that has been Kreemed once already (PO), and need to do the re-seal deal myself. My question is..the paint is flawless and I want to SAVE it if possible. How is it possible to use these chemicals and save the paint too ? Anyone do this without damaging the paint ? That is a MUST. It is an older tank that is not available anymore. I am thinking of using the Por-15 product. Please advise and thanks.

Terry

Hey Terry,

You need to strip-out the old Kreem layer before you do anything else. I recently did this on the tank shown below. I picked up a gallon of the strongest paint stripper available from Lowe's hardware and dumped in one quart along with a large scoop of pea gravel (also available from Lowe's for $5/bag). Of course, you need to fashion some reliable plugs for the various tank openings first. Rotate and shake the slurry in the tank every so often to coat all the surfaces. It took a couple of different applications to get the old Kreem out but it worked. I've also stripped out a failed Por application and the Kreem is far easier to remove.

To derusted the tank you can use either phosphoric acid or Evapo-rust. Takes several days to get all the rust out. The process goes much better with some pea gravel added since it scours the metal surface. Nuts and bolts or screws doesn't work nearly as well as the pea gravel. The key to both the Kreem stripping and derusting process is to give the sauce enough time to work. Don't go on to the next step until all the Kreem/rust is removed.

Hope this helps.

[McSkillet]

I did the electrolysis method on my tank after doing the cha-cha with it using a large handfull of bb's. My tank looked like it had been filled with sand by the PO before he let it set for -ever... My only problem was keeping the tank from flash rusting between the drain and rinse and the drying process. Well, getting all of the damn bb's out was rather difficult too. After the electrolysis, the inside looked brand new for about 10 minutes, but then you can see rust starting to appear. I've tried rinsing with acetone but get the same results. Anyone know if the tank sealing will take if there is light surface rust and exactly how dry does the tank need to be for the seal to adhere properly?

[Nessism]

I did the electrolysis method on my tank after doing the cha-cha with it using a large handfull of bb's. My tank looked like it had been filled with sand by the PO before he let it set for -ever... My only problem was keeping the tank from flash rusting between the drain and rinse and the drying process. Well, getting all of the damn bb's out was rather difficult too. After the electrolysis, the inside looked brand new for about 10 minutes, but then you can see rust starting to appear. I've tried rinsing with acetone but get the same results. Anyone know if the tank sealing will take if there is light surface rust and exactly how dry does the tank need to be for the seal to adhere properly?

Light surface rust is no problem if you use Por-15 sealer. Regarding how dry, the answer is 100% bone dry or the sealer application will fail...ask me how I know. This is particularly true if you use Por-15 sealer since that stuff hardens by sucking moisture out of the air. If there is water in the tank the sealer will kick off before it has a chance to coat the entire tank, plus it won't adhere to the metal. Set your tank up with a hair dryer blowing inside the main opening and out the petcock and sender unit holes. About 20 minuets blowing will be plenty to dry the tank out.

Hope this helps and good luck.

[dardoonk]

As far as rust removal, Evapo-Rust is safe for paint and hands, and doesn't create the noxious fumes that acid treatments do.

It's also far more effective than any acid treatment, and won't damage the intact metal under the rust.

You can get Evapo-Rust at any auto parts store -- it's in silver-ish gray quart or gallon jugs near the paint and such.

I know of at least one badly corroded (but with flawless paint) motorcycle tank treated with Evapo-Rust with excellent results.

Have you tried this? How were your results? I've used it on a number of nuts, bolts, etc, and had excellent results. Even after sitting in the open air, no rust has returned. I was so happy I figured it would easily take care of light silty rust in my tank, so I bought five quarts of if and kept rotating my tank for hours. When I drained and flushed, it was perfect inside. I was real happy with the results, but after about 5 weeks (buying good fuel & keeping it topped off), the rust seemed to re-appear?? I was shocked and now trying to figure out why the only failure I have had using Evapo-Rust is from tank job. I still have about 1 gallon of it in a pail and it still works well on small parts.
Hope you had better luck than I did on the tank... It's too easy to use to screw up, so I might have to try the POR15 deal.

[LarryA_Texas]

I did the electrolysis method on my tank after doing the cha-cha with it using a large handfull of bb's...Well, getting all of the damn bb's out was rather difficult too. ...

I used a magnet. Auto parts stores have little magnets on a telescoping handle for about $5. Well worth it to get metal objects out of your gas tank.

That's one reason why I'd use nuts and bolts instead of pea gravel. It's a lot easier to get all the metal out with a magnet. Just use smaller nuts and bolts. Big ones can put small dents in the tank.

When you're done with the tank, I think you'll use that magnet for a lot more things. Like pulling that little screw out that just wedged itself in a tight little corner of your frame.

[Nessism]

Nuts and bolts doesn't have the contact area of pea gravel since it's smaller, I've tried both. The difference is dramatic. Actually, aqurarium rocks works even better than pea gravel since the texture is rougher.

Regarding the Evapo-Rust removing the rust, it does work but the metal is left raw so to speak and rust will return if the metal is not sealed. Not sure why it would rust more than the original tank, but it seems to be the case for some reason.

[Old Colt]

Phosphoric acid wash or any phosphate coating will do a good job of preventing rust after a cleanout of the tank. Metalprep used in autobody work will do just that.
Problem is todays fuels are oxygenated and will induce rust. Keeping the tank full of fuel just puts more moisture and oxygen in the tank. It makes the rust problem worse than draining the tank.
Times have changed and to keep our old toys alive we need to change also. Protective coatings are becoming a must to keep out the rust.