HOW TO: get the KREME liner OUT of a gas tank (without losing your sanity)

[jasonm.]

The POR stripper may only work if there is no gas or other items that may inhibit it. Just guessing...

[reckon]

Kevin,

What is the M.E.K. product that you mention? For some reason, my translation program is not working ???.

MEK= Methyl Ethyl Ketone, a solvent that works on polyester, epoxy, and will soften cured fiberglass.  VERY strong odor, fairly noxious, use in well ventilated areas, or use a vapor mask.

[reckon]

The POR stripped may only work if there is no gas or other items that may inhibit it. Just guessing...

no I followed their directions to the letter, the tank was as clean and free of gasoline residue as I could get it...it simply DID NOT remove enough of the KREEM to be worth all the trouble trying to get the stripper OUT once it had done it's work,....and this was on a nice round Norton tank, not the geodesic angle nightmare that is a V tank!!

you can use other methods to be sure, but NONE I have tried are this easy, or work THIS well.

[kwells]

regarding acetone...

Yes it eats paint as well as most glues (tape). I am not planning on repainting my tank but wanted to remove the Kreem liner safely.  Any thoughts on what might prevent the spill over creating paint damage?

[reckon]

thats a tough one, but not impossible, you just have to be really careful, and make sure you wipe off any spills fast before they start to attack the finish.

acetone evaporates quite quickly, and actually wont harm a cured urethane finish unless it's left on wet, for several hours (like a soaked rag inadvertently left on the surface) or it soaks into a scratch that has broken the surface,..... so it wont be as bad as it sounds, but,....

they DO make a liquid masking product available at most body shop supply houses, it's water based, so nothing but water will attack it: you brush or spray it on, let it dry, then do your stripping work, and re-line,...afterwards you simply wash the tank off with hot water and the masking dissolves leaving the surface intact.

easy peezy

[kwells]

I like the sound of that one reckon....will be on the hunt for that product...my mailman must hate me...ha

[ironb12s]

M.E.K. = Methyl Ethyl Ketone

Nasty stuff, all around, and kills brain cells if fumes are inhaled.  Primarily ingredient in a lot of heavy duty stripping agents.

[Tiger]

M.E.K. = Methyl Ethyl Ketone

Nasty stuff, all around, and kills brain cells if fumes are inhaled.  Primarily ingredient in a lot of heavy duty stripping agents.

...That is why it was banned in the U.K. many years ago...Reeeeal nasty stuff :o :o :o

                      8)........TIGER........ 8)

[Lucky]

this one is a tad expensive, but it WORKS, and you don't have to work too hard.

get five gallons of ACETONE,...nothing else works as well, and believe me I've tried everything.

FILL the tank with acetone, all the way to the brim, and then cap it up and stick it in a corner of the garage for a couple of days.  now pour out the milky looking acetone and notice you have an almost bare metal tank inside!  now I add anoher gallon of acetone, and a stamped steel chain, with drywall screws run through the links, and shake, shake, shake, now pour out the acetone, and now rinse it again with another couple of quarts of acetone.

now I usually give it a GOOD 24 hour soak with METAL PREP, or any good phosphoric acid solution, and rinse, but when you rinse, just add about a half gallon of water, shake it up, and pour it out,...now start drying

I like a hair dryer taped to the filler neck,....

once it's all dry, look inside you should see some white powdery residue inside the tank, thats zinc phosphate, and thats good, but not if it's caked on really thick, if it is, just rinse with another half gallon of water, and dry again.

once it's all dry it's ready to seal, use the sealer of your choice (obviously NOT kreme again!) , I like :

http://www.caswellplating.com/aids/epoxygas.htm

I am making the replacement YICS boxes out of the caswell sealer, once cured, when it's molded an 1/8th inch thick it's harder than polycarb, and obviously COMPLETELY fuel resistant.

the trick for getting the KREME out of the tank is the large amount of acetone which dissolves the kreme (which is basically liquid PVC) and lets it dissolve into solution and you just pour it out, then a quick abrasive rinse with more acetone, and you'll have about 90% or more of the kreme out of the tank.

this should help out a few folks out there

ride safe,.......................or WIN!

next step on Cafe V.

[Lucky]

Recon, (or anyone else)
I don't think we stock the Jasco phosphoric acid at Ace, what about TSP powder?  more of a cleaning agent right? won't leave a coating though huh?...

tank is Kreemed & rusty, so i figured: acitone soak, rinse, muriatic acid, rinse, phosphoric acid, rinse?

that should hold it till i can pick up POR/caswell whatever right? any problem using the tank with just a phosphoric coating till then?

--Lucky

[YellowJacket!]

I have a gallon jug of it in my garage if you need it.  Blowes and Home Despot sell it too.

David

[Aelwulf]

I wish my old tank had been Kreemed, I'm not sure how that silver stuff will come out.  I'm waiting tog et the extra $50-100 to give this a shot on it.  First though I have to seal up at least two holes.  I got the JB Weld, need to clean off whatever plastic-ish crap someone put over the main leak first though.  I think I'll need to invade Tiff's Tank Wars thread along with one or two others for advice on how to use the JB.

As far as damaging the paint the stuff on it now isn't all that great to begin with.  Mine'll look like a beater until all the functional fixes are done then I'll worry about a new paint job. :P

[ironb12s]

tank is Kreemed & rusty, so i figured: acitone soak, rinse, muriatic acid, rinse, phosphoric acid, rinse?

that should hold it till i can pick up POR/caswell whatever right? any problem using the tank with just a phosphoric coating till then?

--Lucky

Ya, acetone to remove the Kreem, Muriatic to etch the metal and remove the rust, why bother with the Phosphoric?  It does the same as the Muriatic?  You'll need to wash either of the acids out or they will continue etching, not a good thing.  Which leaves the metal bare when you fill with fuel again, and will have to rinse with the acids to get that out before you line it.  Best to just go ahead and line immediately after the rinsing of the acid, and rinse it VERY well.     ;) 

[kwells]

if you use the phosphoric acid supplied in the POR15 kit it contains Zinc which helps the adherence of the lining. 

[ironb12s]

if you use the phosphoric acid supplied in the POR15 kit it contains Zinc which helps the adherence of the lining. 

Okay, then, skip the muriatic.  Ya won't need both if you get the Kreem out with the acetone.  Tossing the chain in and shaking it around with the acetone in there helps get it all out, too.

Not to cause a flame war, as I have not seen the tank of MY Vision for 5 years, but I've not seen (yet) any problem as described here with Kreem.  I believe that careful preparation is key to lining any tank, is why I've not seen any issues...  You can choose something else, POR or Caswell or some such, just pay careful attention to the prep work.

[mdskinner731]

iv heard of people tring to get that tank cream off of a seca 900 gas tank and they ended up heating the tank up and the por-15 or what ever they used,  came off in chunks that just fell out of the tank.. i dont kno if they were tellin me a line of BS or what... i also wouldnt suggest doing this to a tank that just had gas in it.. lol

[h2olawyer]

Even with proper preparation, Kreem will still dissolve when some fuel additives are used.  POR & Caswell coatings stand up to them.  I'd never even try BG44K with Kreem.  No problems in a POR tank, though.  I run a can of 44K through at least once a year.  Then SeaFoam about every third tank.  Consider them as fuel system laxatives.  They keep things well cleaned out.   ;D

H₂O

[kwells]

this winter I will have to pull Blackie out of hiding and address the Kreem lining that is peeling.  I dont know how long it was Kreemed for, only that it will bring me a headache(literally) stripping that stuff out.  The acetone is also sure to eat my paint giving me double work...yay!

[Lucky]

here is the pm i sent Recon & his reply (edited out non topic stuff)

Picked up another V project.

Tank seems solid, slightly scratched outside 1 or 2 dime sised dents.

inside is rusty & seems to have a badly failed Kreem coating.

I have at my disposal:
Acitone -2 gal
muriatic acid -1 gal
MEK -1 gal or less
Ospho -(phosphoric acid) 2 qts

Plus epoxy putty
I DO NOT yet have a sealer (Caswell or POR) & it might be a while 'till i do, but i'll still need to use the tank in the interim.

my questions:

do i have the chemicals in the right order?
how long of a soak for each?
do i not need some of those (overkill?) or is it better to use all of them?

Thanks!
--Lucky

you have everything except the sealer (but you knew that)

I would:
1) strip out the failed kreem coating (use the 2 gal acetone)
2) treat the rust with (A) muriatic acid,..should get it all,....if not, re-apply the muriatic acid

then you can wait quite a while with the tank treated, unfilled and not on a bike,....if you HAD to use the tank, check it CAREFULLY for any leaks (I would pressure/water test it),, use the epoxy putty on the outside to seal any pinholes (if it's more than a pinhole, it wont be safe to ride till sealed) then just use it as is, rust removed and no OSPHO, or other coatings

when you get your sealer (I would recommend caswell in a case like this) just follow the instructions on the product (POR-15 use marine clean step, but only a quickie rinse with the metal prep, then POR it)   (CASWELL: just follow the directions on the can)let me know if you have any trouble or more questions,.....ride safe

~jReckon

[ironb12s]

Even with proper preparation, Kreem will still dissolve when some fuel additives are used.  POR & Caswell coatings stand up to them.  I'd never even try BG44K with Kreem.  No problems in a POR tank, though.  I run a can of 44K through at least once a year.  Then SeaFoam about every third tank.  Consider them as fuel system laxatives.  They keep things well cleaned out.   ;D

H₂O

Alright, let me repeat, use what you want to for a liner, but be DAMNED sure that you don't take any shortcuts during the preparatory work.  When you use phophoric or muriatic acid, rinse, rinse and rinse again to make sure that no vestige is still there.  When water exiting the tank no longer foams as it hits the ground, or whatever it's going in or onto, then you have rinsed adequately.  That's the likely reason that MY lining is still intact.   8)  YMMV