Need help on Tank Butter

[OldBull]

Need to rehab a tank badly. Bought a kit from local body shop but when it gets down to final stage (sealing) find it's not what I need or want, way to thin a product.

 

Can you still get the "old" tank butter? Only name I know it by. Way I'd describe it is dries sort of a buttery creamy color, fairly thick and hard. I think it was a 2 parter some sort of epoxy material. Stuff worked great back in the day on old Harley and Triumph tanks. Used it on some seriously cancered tanks and it filled the bill.

 

I'd just replace the tank but it's a custom off an 86' Kawasaki ZL 900 Eliminator, that looks better than the original and holds almost 2 more gallons of gas, so I need to rehab.

 

Thanks for the help.

 

Bull

[rod]

Have you tried Kreem? The guys on the Virago list say it works very good. Rod

[lonestarmedic]

This stuff does work! Follow directions carefully. When drying the tank, I set them upside down and put a fishtank pump and tube in the hole. This circulates a bit of air and seems to help the process. Cleaning and drying are the critical steps.

 

I have also used a product called Red-Kote. It is made in Alliance, Ohio. I think it sticks better. The trick with all of these is the drying. Try these steps (from an old Red-Kote kit):

 

1. Empty all fuel from tank.

 

2. Remove sending unit, float, feed lines, filters, anything that could be clogged by the coating.

 

3. Remove any loose rust by tapping on the tank with a rubber mallet or by tumbling with a piece of chain in the tank. (I used about 2 handfuls of 1/2" nuts and acetone. Covered holes and rock the tank around) Flush out debris.

 

4. Clean tank by steaming for about 15 minutes. Boil out is not recommended because the high alkalinity removes the tin from the terne plate. A standard water soluble degreasing chemical works well. (I used simple green and then acetone)

 

5. Any leaks larger than 1/32nd of an inch should be repaired by soldering or your usual method.

 

Here is the important stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Acetone works great instead of the M.E.K. just a bit longer dry.

6. Make sure that the tank is completely dry before continuing. This is very important. Without a blower, drying may take up to 12 hours. The use of a blower to circulate air through the tank will cut the time to an hour or so. The fastest method is to drain the tank for 5 minutes and then pour 1 pint of Methyl Ethyl Ketone into the tank, slosh thoroughly and pour out. Repeat with a second pint of M.E.K. and you are ready to use Red-Kote® immediately. Do not re-use the first pint of M.E.K., instead let it evaporate safely away from flames or sparks. The second pint of M.E.K. may be used as the first pint on the next job. One quart of M.E.K. will only absorb up to 3 ounces of water. This is why it should not be reused.

 

7. Cover all open holes in the tank by plugging or covering with tape, except the one to be used for pouring in the coating.

 

8. Pour one to two quarts (I poured in about a quart for a 5 gallon tank) of Red-Kote® into the tank and cover the last opening. You can get by with one quart on tanks of about 12 gallons or less. We recommend two quarts for larger tanks to make sure you get the coating to flow behind all the baffles.

 

9. Tip the tank onto each side and slosh the coating around to completely cover the inside. Use a rocking motion rather than shaking. It is important to do a thorough job or you may miss parts of the tank behind baffles.

 

10. Drain out the excess coating and cover tightly to save for reuse. The best method is to stand the tank up with a corner drain hole over a can to collect the excess as it drips out. It is very important that you do not leave puddles in the tank. Flip upside down and drain out the fill hole-make sure it is the lowest spot and tilt tank to prevent any puddling.

 

Here is my fish tank pump trick---------

11. Open all tank openings to allow the best air flow. Air dry for 8 to 24 hours. When cured there will be almost no solvent smell left in the tank. If the coating is not completely cured before fuel is added the curing process will be stopped. Do not use open flame or an electric element for drying or an explosion may result. Do not blow air into the tank until at least 60 minutes of drying time have passed. Using air sooner may cause bubbles may form in the coating.

 

12. If the leaks or rust are severe it is a good idea to use a second coat after the first coat dries completely. Better safe than sorry-coat it again and don't skimp on the drying times!!

 

13. Reassemble and install the tank on the vehicle.

 

14. For clean-up use methyl ethyl ketone, acetone or a quality lacquer thinner with no alcohol in it.

 

Tips & Hints:

Do not leave the can open to the air as it will thicken or form a skin on top. When Red-Kote® is reused after pouring it back out of a gas tank it may need thinning before reuse. Red-Kote® may be thinned with M.E.K. or Acetone. Do not use lacquer thinner to dilute Red-Kote. For removing water from the tank prior to coating you may use acetone. Acetone absorbs much more water than M.E.K. and is less expensive. We do not sell acetone. Most shops are punching a hole in a corner of the tank to aid in draining it completely. Then they solder in a drain cock. Do not solder or weld on the tank after it has been coated. The coating will turn to ash if heated above 250°F.

 

I didn't thin the coating. So, the whole process took about 4 days for 2 coats. I recall putting the tank in the sun on the driveway for 24 hours. Don't forget Mother Nature here! Take tank in before the sun goes down and the dewpoint hits!!!! Cool metal attracts moisture and rust.

 

Some of our customers have reported a way to speed up the process significantly. They are thinning Red-Kote® about 20 - 25% with M.E.K. (1 part M.E.K. to 4 or 5 parts Red-Kote®). This allows the Red-Kote® to dry in only a couple of hours in many cases. They also report that using air to dry the inside does not cause the bubbles that form when straight Red-Kote® is dried with air. You will get a much thinner coating.

 

We are told that two of these thin coats still take less time to dry than one thick coat. Red-Kote® does not stick well to plastic tanks or to plastic parts inside a gas tank. Do not coat over other coatings. Remove old coatings completely first, using M.E.K. or other solvent. Call us if you have a problem. The two most common problems we see are:

 

1) Not completely drying the tank of water before coating. Red-Kote® will not stick to wet metal. When it dries it will peel off in sheets.

 

2) Not allowing the Red-Kote® to dry completely. If Red-Kote® is not completely dry or has puddles left it will form strings or flecks in the gas. These may get past the fuel filter and plug carburetors or injectors. Puddles of Red-Kote® left behind baffles or in corners may never dry completely. This is because a skin forms over the puddles and prevents drying underneath. Once the skin ruptures Red-Kote® forms strings in the gas. Damon Industries guarantees the product only, not your application of it. After application to over 50,000 cars we have seen 7 problems. All were application errors as described above. We have never seen failure due to ageing. Both of these conditions are prevented easily by proper drying. All problems are correctable by stripping out the Red-Kote® with M.E.K. and recoating. We recommend that you tell your customers not to use fuel additives containing methanol or methyl alcohol. We have had instances of methanol pulling the red dye out of Red-Kote® which turns the gas red. This has not caused any damage to our knowledge. Usually only "cheap" additives contain methanol. Good products contain isopropanol or other solvents. Most engine warranties are voided by the use of methanol anyway.

Do not rush the job. In many cases it will take more than one day to do a job worthy of your time and guarantee.

 

 

JB

Edited December 30, 2008 by lonestarmedic

[OldBull]

The kit I got was the Kreem kit, the first 2 stages performed well (3 stage kit) , the 3rd stage is the actual finish coating. Said on destructions was enough for a 6 gallon tank, NOT in my opinion, seriously thin coat.

 

Going to keep searching, think I'm going with military contractor sites, gotta be some stronger, tougher crud out there. Guess being old school scoot fixer upper has it's disadvantages in todays market. Seems everybody tries to do more with less these days.

 

I'll find some GOOD stuff and when I do I'll pass it on.

 

Bull