Gas Tank Repair

I have a 74 Kawasaki Z1 that the gas tank is rusting on the inside. I
noticed this when winterizing it this year. I usually fill it up to
the top and add the proper amount of Stable, but seeing the rust this
year I took the tank off and drained it completely. Does anybody have
any suggestions on how to treat this tank? Dave

 

You can do one of two things...
1) Coat the inside yourself with a product like Kreem or POR-15 (I use
POR-15 myself)...You must follow the directions explicitly for it to be
effective...You first remove as much loose scale as you can by filling the
tank with aquarium gravel, or a couple of cups of nuts and bolts, and
shaking the tank vigourously for as long as you can stand it...then rinse
and dry the tank...then treat the tank with degreaser, and rinse and dry
again...then acidize the tank, and rinse and dry again...bone dry !!...If
it's not bone dry, the treatment will not adhere, so you need to circulate
warm air with a hair dryer, or vacumn cleaner...then treat the tank with
sealer, and let it cure for at least 72 hours, or to the products
specifications.

2) Take it to a radiator repair shop, and have them derust and coat
it...It's more expensive (about $85.00 US vs $40.00 US), but a lot less
labor intensive, and if they screw it up, you can make them fix it.

 

Nice bike Dave.

Simple answers.

Buy some Milk Stone remover, fill tank let set for a day or
two. Pour back into original container(reusable) You now
have a clean tank with a nice protective layer.

Or

Buy some POR15 and follow the directions. WARNING, using
either technique MAY show you problems such as pinholes that
you were unaware of. Yes you can fix those, no I wont tell
you how. Far better to find a welder or radiator shop
willing to do the work.


--
Keith Schiffner
"I was just out walking my rat and seem to have got lost."
J. Bond
Dum vivimus, vivamus
<3 )3~ <3 )3~
<3 )~ <3 )~
http://community.webshots.com/user/sciffners

 

Or phosphoric acid from the Home Depot concrete section, if cows aren't
popular in your neighborhood.

 

I just finished a POR-15 treatment and I'm happy with the
results. About $30.00 and 4 days drying time. If I did it again
I might spring for some extra phosphoric acid for the cleaning
and etching step.

To dry the tank, I clamped a piece of metal tubing on the
end of a heat gun. This let me blast the tank with hot air
without destroying the heat gun. I also had a little trouble
with coating buildup on the tube that the petcock screws into.
I had to scrape some excess coating away in order to refit the
petcock. Other than that, things went pretty smoothly just
following the product directions.

 

milk stone is the white deposit left by hard water. The same acid which
removes that will also remove rust.

 

Thanks for all the advice. I don't want to go too crazy, because I
don't want to disturb the paint; It's that green metallic with yellow
stripes. I'll take a good look inside with a mirror and a bright
light.

 

I agree with the Kreem fix. I have done many tanks with that stuff, and it
works. If you do it right, it will last for ever. its about $30.00 at the
bike shops.
Just make sure you buy a small cork to put in the petcock hole. That way
you wont fill up the threads. Same with the gas gauge hole if you have one.

 

I don't think the POR-15 treatment disturbed any paint, though
my bike has a finish that in the decorating business might be
described as "the distressed look".

 

No harm done to mine