Coating a tank with POR-15

[Brian4236]

I have a '72 Wombat tank that's been chromed; it looks great on the outside, but the inside has some rust. The tank is leaking (it's minor, but it is leaking) along the seam on the right rear side of the tank. I spoke with someone today about tig welding to repair it. This is someone who does a lot of this type of work. After carefully looking at the seam and the inside of the tank, his recommendation is to coat it with POR-15. Has anyone used this product? Thanks for your help.
--Brian

[dcooke007]

Brian, most of the folks here are not fans of tank coatings. Sometimes there is no other practical method. I have used POR 15 product to repair some fuel tanks and it does work. Making sure the tank is clean and properly prepped is very important. After following the prep instructions POR recommends pouring the entire can of sealer in the tank and rolling around to coat the interior. Then they state to drain the excess. I have found it difficult to get the excess sealer out of the tank and only use about half the container. I keep rolling the tank around for quite sometime to keep the coating from pooling thickly in the tank and drain out as much as possible. If the excess coating is not drained the coating pools, cures on the surface and has a liquid layer under the cured surface of the coating. That would be a recipe for disaster. If you follow the instructions thoroughly, do not rush and keep in mind these tips it does work.
http://www.por15.com/POR-15-Motorcycle- ... p_106.html

There used to be a product named KREEM. Not sure if it is still available. Stay away from it like the plague.

Danny

[Zyx]

I used POR15 to paint my Jeep interior to prevent rust. Two years later it was flaking and rusting under the paint. Not impressed. Had to strip and redo.

Not a big fan of tank sealers of any sort. Nothing seals over rust, and frankly, nothing really sticks to rust. Assuming here it is a seam leak, I would have it welded and rechromed and pass on the tank sealant.

[Brian4236]

Thanks for your responses.

[hodakamax]

Hey Brian, One more input. The tank on my 94A was pin-holed all along the tunnel and some places along the bottom but the chrome was fairly good and no dents. I researched it the best I could and went with Caswell Tank Sealer. They claim that it does adhere to rust and it seemed to. I went with their instructions and all went well. After removing all the rust I could with sheet-rock screws and shaking, I mixed about 1/4 of the 2-part epoxy and used it to seal the exterior of the tunnel along with a fine fiberglass woven cloth. The next day I mixed the rest and sealed the interior of the tank. I was extremely pleased with the results. Time will tell of course but it seemed to do as advertised. Check it out on their site.
Hope this helps!

Max

[bchappy]

Brian,
I have never installed a tank coating but I have had 2 painted tanks coated at a radiator shop in Colorado Springs. One was done about 3 years ago and the other about 2 years ago and they are still intact. I called the guy this morning to see what he used and he said Red-Kote. His shop is on a block behind a large cycle shop and therefore he has done quite a few and he said he had not had any come back. It is available through O'Reilly Auto Parts and even Amazon. Neither of my tanks were leaking but had some rust inside which he removed using Metal Rescue (available at Home Depot) before putting in the Red-Kote.

So you have conflicting advice as to which is the best and I think probably all three mentioned so far are good. I think the best advice though is to get the leaks stopped by some sort of welding/brazing/solder before you install anything. I wanted the coating mostly to stop future rusting inside.

Another option if the tank is leaking in a lot of places is to get one of the plastic Clark tanks from Strictly Hodaka that are shaped like the Hodaka tanks. May be less expensive than going through all of this.

[hodakaguy]

I have a '72 Wombat tank that's been chromed; it looks great on the outside, but the inside has some rust. The tank is leaking (it's minor, but it is leaking) along the seam on the right rear side of the tank. I spoke with someone today about tig welding to repair it. This is someone who does a lot of this type of work. After carefully looking at the seam and the inside of the tank, his recommendation is to coat it with POR-15. Has anyone used this product? Thanks for your help.
--Brian

The bad rep any of these sealers have sits with the person who performed the sealing prep. POR-15 is incredible (did 3 tanks myself and all still perfect). As far as the actual sealer itself, I only know POR-15 and if done right, works great. Can't vouch for the others for long lasting durability.

[dcooke007]

Hodakaguy, I agree with you 100%. Just like painting, the quality of the end results depends on the prep work and application. The kit from POR includes a detergent and rust remover.

Danny

[Brian4236]

Thanks for the advice, everyone!

[thrownchain]

Prep is the most important element. ALL traces of gas and oil from the premix if used have to be eliminated. Clean enuff to eat off isnt good enuff, gotta be spotless . And whatever you use on the rust has to be flushed out also. I know a guy who uses POR on fiberglass tanks and he says the ones that fail weren't prepped properly. So clean it, clean again, then again.......

[Brian4236]

I thought I'd let you know how things went with my POR-15 experience with sealing my '72 Wombat tank. I waited a few weeks to write this just to make sure everything worked out. As some of you advised, follow the directions exactly as they are written! I was meticulous about cleaning out the tank with the various chemicals (all part of the kit designed specifically for motorcyle tanks) and then drying out the tank. I used an air hose and my wife's hair drier to ensure that all moisture was removed before pouring in the sealer. That step is critical. I left two old petcocks in place during the process. You can plug the openings in other ways, but this way ensured that the threads were clean when I screwed in the good petcocks. Overall, working with the sealer was a bit of a messy job, but I am very pleased with the results. The tank is sealed and does not leak. The kit was about $50. So, would I recommend sealing a tank if there are minor leaks? Yes.
--Brian