Tanks and tank liner

[beastmaster]

Hey folks.The weather's kinda sloppy around here for the next little while so I'm prepping to do a few things to the V.One of the things I want to do is use a liquid,2 component tank liner kit in the gas tank.Whatzit called?....KREEM   Everyone's heard of it I'm sure.I'm just wondering if any bodys got any feedback on doing this.I'm also wondering if anyone has info on used/aftermarket tanks for this bike.Prices too.
Thanks everyone.
 ;D

[beastmaster]

I mean,
Tanks everyone!
 ;D ; ::) ;D

[h2olawyer]

beastmaster -

DO NOT USE KREEM!  You need to use POR-15.  KREEM will not stand up to many fuel additives.  They have a website: http://www.por15.com/product.asp?productid=306.  You will be much happier using POR than KREEM.  Follow the directions exactly & you will have a well prepared tank that should give you many years of excellent service.

H2O

[Glyn Pickering]

Hi there

If the bike is used regularly with lots of fresh gas thro' it, will it still go rusty? I've had peek in mine and can see no rust - but I know that's no proof that there isn't any. Where do they start rusting first?

Cheers

Glyn

[silicon_toad2000]

apparently the lower corners rust out first, the bits below the petcock. water pools there and doesnt get moved.

One question though, do you guys POR-15 the onderside of your tanks aswell?

[Lucky]

all the above info is correct.  the POR is a great value, and virtually indestructable. for about $40 US you get the POR sealer, pre cleaner, metal prep, a brush & cloth patch.

you can use the POR on the underside if you wish, you'll have to paint over. the only thing that affects it is U. V. light.

--Lucky

[hfarley]

Ok now I have a question on this matter. Since the weather here is crappy and I would like to do some work on my bike so that I still get to play. LOL! I removed the gas cap and the paint or whatever is peeling on the inside at the top of the hump in the tank. Now I am assuming that this POR stuff is what is needed and that I will need to recoat the inside of the tank. My question is this: Being a nerwbie on this,
1. how do you get inside the tank? Is there something underneath where the hole is wider to allow me to get inside of it? ( i have not taken it apart or anything yet.)
2. Am I going to need to scrape the peeling paint off or will one of the solutions in the package just dissolve it.
3. will it work in the winter? meaning, i know paint on a house needs it to be a certain temp in order for it to dry properly.
4. how do you get the gas out and save it so that it won't be wasted? can the gas be saved?
5. this won't affect the outside of the tank, correct? I won't have to repaint the tank will I?

and also any other steps or descriptions that you guys could provide would be helpful.

I just don't want to screw anything up. ?;D
Thanks!
-Heather

[h2olawyer]

Heather -

1. ?Resealing the inside of the tank does not require getting inside it.

2. ?The chemicals in the prep & clean products dissolve & peel the existing liner.

3. ?Don't know of the temp requirements for POR - maybe on their website.

4. ?You can attach a longer piece of fuel line to the petcock, remove the cap & set lever to "PRIME" & drain into a gas can.  Also, you can siphon or turn the tank upside down. ?I normally use the long line method when I need to drain my tank. ?This way, the fuel that remains in the low corners has the sediments & impurities that you don't want to save anyway. ?To get that last bit out, I removed the petcock & rocked the tank back & forth with the petcock opening as low as possible.

5. ?The only way this procedure will do anything to the outside of the tank is if you spill any of the prep, cleaner or sealant on the outside. ?I have a couple small dots on my tank from the sealer - some slight splatter that I didn't see when I poured it in. ?::) ?Although I didn't use POR-15, it is a higher quality liner than KREEM. ?it holds up to additives & luckily, it is silver, just like my V so the small spots don't show up very much.

There is a link to the instructions on the POR-15 site.
http://www.por15.com/product.asp?productid=306

Hope this helps. ?Others may have additional or alternate ideas. ?There's usually more ways to do things like these.

H2O

[Superfly]

I just did a Por-15 on an tank, and it was easy, and it turned out great.  They give you instructions, just follow them to the letter, and let everything dry.  I took over a week to do mine, just to make sure everything was dry.  Just take your time and do not rush it.

[Lucky]

coupla notes:
--The basic tank kit i described above doesn't include the stuff to remove the old coating, you have to buy it seperatly.

--once you have the tank off & empty take a very close look at the corners. even though the paint may look ok, they could have rust underneath, or could have been repaired before.  they usually start out as pinhole leaks, & the more you pick at them the bigger they get.  you have to investigate this, and pick at them, go thru the paint with a pointed pic or sharp nail.  these holes have to be fixed before PORing the tank.  you might think "I'll worry about it later" but you can't POR over POR (I've asked them) and the POR coating is next to impossable to remove without splitting the tank open at the seams. forget that!  if you have small pinholes to fix, patch them with epoxy.  I like "Car Quest" epoxy putty ava at "Car Parts" stores. it's a playdough like putty that comes in a tube about the size of a roll of quarters. it has a grey outside and a black core. you pinch off what you need and mush it together with your thumbs. once it starts to get hot, apply it. it might take some practice.  work fast!

once it dries, it can be filed, sanded, drilled, painted etc.

if the pinholes are small you can get away with covering the patches with touch-up paint.

--Don't bother reusing the gas in your bike, put it in the lawnmower.

--Lucky

[louthepou]

I'd rather put the old gas in my neighbour's Ford...

In other news, remember there's always the (more expensive) other solution, get the tank redone by a gas tank and radiator shop. You'll need to get the tank repainted afterwards.

Louis

[hfarley]

well actually I was thinking that I would like to repaint the tank on the bike eventually anyway so now might be the time to do it. What brands of paint have you guys used in the past? I saw something at Pep Boys but I don't remember the brand. It was a chameleon color. Really cool looking. It went from green to blue to purple in the sun. Wouldn't that look hot on the bike? Of course though I do love the black. Tough decision. Anyway, what is the stuff called that cleans off the old coating? I looked at the kit and it loked like it came with something to do that, that is why I am asking.
Well I am off to maintenance class! ;D ;D ;D
-Heather

[Lucky]

here's the tank kit with the stripper included:
http://www.por15.com/product.asp?productid=321
it's only $38. not bad...

I once considered "flaming" my bike, but so fell in love with the black & gold...

I was afrade you were going to say you wanted to paint the tank pink!
just doing the tank a seperate color than the rest of the bike will look like you just replaced the tank.  it'll look poor.

I wouldn't use a spray can to paint the tank, or any part of the bike unless you were really really experienced with paint, & even then it would never look as good as a professional paint job.. my .07

--Lucky

[louthepou]

Lucky knows!

(of course).

The only time I had successful experiences with paint was with the use of the following:

A good compressor with in line filter;
A good paint sprayer;
Good paint. I used Dupont, but I think the point here is to use professional vehicle paint.

I worked on my truck and the Mrs. car, the results were almost as good as a body shop's.

Next time I paint the bike, that's what I'll do....

Louis formerly known as the one using spray cans

[visionary]

OK guys dont get mad at me for just askin.... My 83 has a dented leaky mess of a tank with a bad petcock and I was considering replacing it with a rounder yamaha tank of the same vintage-say a seca 750. Any obvious problems with this plan? ebay has a few I was considering.

[Extent]

I was under the impression that you might have a hard time finding one that will fit because of the double spine of the V frame, but I've seen at least one bike with a different tank on it.

[Kevin L Clinton]

I have saved some really nasty tanks by setting them in a large rubbermaid tub and pouring 4 gallons of muratic acid in the tank to remove the rust, then silver soldering the larger holes up. The Por-15 will fill in the larger holes. If your tank has kreem already in it, buy their heavy duty kit it has a sealant remover with it. If you try to put Por-15 over old kreem it will make a sticky gel  kevin

[Rick G]

Doing a decient paint job with bug bombs takes experence, patience and skill. If you do paint it with spray cans use a laquer paint . Enamel will be either washed off the tank with any spilled gasoline or at the minimum the surface will be etched to a flat , streaky finish.

[Sable]

   My whole bike was done with Duplicolor spray cans... I think I used 5 cans of color and 3 cans of the clear top coat (all laquer) and I am happy with how it came out.
   When it comes to painting, the most important thing is all the prep work involved...
   If you take your time and prep the surfaces the right way, it should come out fairly decent with the top coats.. I documented the painting of my gas tank, click the link to my site below ;D

~Sable

[Lucky]

If you must use a spray can a few tips:
--prime before sanding, sand after priming.
--get a handle with a trigger that fits on the can. your hand muscles will thank you, plus you have more controll.
--test the handle on a piece of scrap first to make sure the spray doesn't hit the handle, causing drips.  trim the handle if needed.
--use a long sweeping motion, start off the project & spray past it.
--keep the can shaken
--use many thin layers
--use a very fine sand paper (1600 grit) between coats
--use a tack cloth after sanding or compressed air.
--spray in an open area, or at least hang sheets to make a 'booth' or the spray WILL be everywhere (like on your car)
--invest in a decent filter mask.

I'm sure there are others.
--Lucky