Caswells VS POR-15

[Turtleface]

The hive-mind seems to favor POR-15. I'm pretty well leaning towards it myself, but I figured I'd get as many pros and cons from you guys before I lay down the cash. I'm not in a huge rush, I'm going to have a forum member paint up my dingy carbs, so I'll have the bike down for a few weeks while they're getting done, rendering time a non-issue for once. Are there any huge difference between the two products? I'm looking for the best results I can get.

[Larry D]

I've only ever used the por-15......it worked great !! Just make you follow the directions to the letter. No shortcuts.

[Nessism]

I've used both products and can tell you they are totally different; POR-15 is thin and flows easily while Caswell's epoxy is thick like honey and will leave a thick coating on the tank. If you have pin holes or significant rust that may be structural, I'd go with the Caswell's.

Regardless of which material you choose I strongly suggest you remove all the rust from the tank before sealing. The sealer manufacturers will tell you that this is not necessary but I don't believe them. There are a multitude of ways to get rid of the rust including phosphoric acid, Evapo Rust, electrolysis, ect. Do a search in the archives since each of these methods have their pros and cons. I've done several tanks using phosphoric acid and aquarium rocks to scour the metal surface with fine results. The key is fashioning some reliable plugs for the tank openings and then taking your time and allow the sauce enough time to work.

Good luck.

[Turtleface]

I've used both products and can tell you they are totally different; POR-15 is thin and flows easily while Caswell's epoxy is thick like honey and will leave a thick coating on the tank. If you have pin holes or significant rust that may be structural, I'd go with the Caswell's.

Regardless of which material you choose I strongly suggest you remove all the rust from the tank before sealing. The sealer manufacturers will tell you that this is not necessary but I don't believe them. There are a multitude of ways to get rid of the rust including phosphoric acid, Evapo Rust, electrolysis, ect. Do a search in the archives since each of these methods have their pros and cons. I've done several tanks using phosphoric acid and aquarium rocks to scour the metal surface with fine results. The key is fashioning some reliable plugs for the tank openings and then taking your time and allow the sauce enough time to work.

Good luck.

Excellent. My tank's in great shape, exterior is nearly perfect, blemishes are cosmetic only. Structure is sound. Interior has quite light surface rust. Not on the whole interior, just small (2-3 mm) dots here and there. No leaks to speak of. The POR-15 kit I'm looking at has both Marine Clean (Gum and varnish remover) and Metal-Ready (Rust remover and metal etcher). I think I'll give this a shot, I'll let you guys know how it goes.

[almarconi]

Excellent. My tank's in great shape, exterior is nearly perfect, blemishes are cosmetic only. Structure is sound. Interior has quite light surface rust. Not on the whole interior, just small (2-3 mm) dots here and there. No leaks to speak of

If its not leaking, save your money. Wash the metal with phosphoric acid, rinse well with water, dry it and fill it with gas. There is no need to use a sealer.

[Nessism]

If its not leaking, save your money. Wash the metal with phosphoric acid, rinse well with water, dry it and fill it with gas. There is no need to use a sealer.

I agree that if the rust is minor a simple derusting will be good enough. I'd look for some Evapo Rust. Phosphoric acid will work as well but if you leave it for more than a few hours, a chalky residue will set up on the metal which then will require scrubbing it off with something like aquarium rocks.

[hikermikem]

If you're going through the hassle of de-rusting the tank, why not just coat it when you're done... then there won't be any rust issues in the future.

I've used POR-15 on 4 tanks so far & it worked very well. I wax the tank exterior a couple of times before putting all the nasty solutions inside to help protect the paint from accidental spills.

[neeko]

Anyone tried Rust-Bullet?

I've been debating to get that stuff for my project car. But since I've long sold it and gone around the rust issue I never invested in em.

http://www.rustbullet.com/

[almarconi]

Anyone tried Rust-Bullet?

It works well. I used it to paint the master cylinder on my GS. It seems to resist brake fluid pretty well, much better than regular paint. It's silver so it you are a purist you may want to top coat it with black paint. Another product you may want to try is zero rust. I used that to paint the seat pan on the bike. Comes in different colors and can be top coated with most paints.

[Rkt-Rch]

I've only ever used the por-15......it worked great !! Just make you follow the directions to the letter. No shortcuts.

Ditto I did mine this summer and it has worked perfect so far.