gas tank lining

[mack]

When I restored my bikes, I used "red coat" as an internal liner in my tanks. Today while taking them out of hibernation I looked in the tanks and sure enough the liner has disintegrated and I have rust in the tanks, the LH is the worst. It looks like the entire coating has delaminated. I phoned the company and asked about the life expectancy for this product and was told it was 2-5 years. WTF! Mine are around six. He said that in order to remove the old coating before reapplying a new one, the tanks have to be completely submerged in stripper which will also remove the exterior paint. Not too happy right now. So any tips out there on a product that will last longer than 2-5 years. I don't want to be repainting the tanks every other season! Friggin ethanol!!!!!

[DeanR]

Sorry to hear about your crappy discovery with your beautiful bikes Mack.

[skids]

Oh man! Is it clogging filters or the petcock risers? I have had very good luck with the Caswells product except for one bike. That one, I used mineral spirits to rinse the tank before drying and application of the Caswell liner.

[Radioguylogs]

Sooooo Sorry Mack!

This is why I don't use liners.

I hear the story often enough.

I just fill my tank after every ride.

I feel your pain, Mack.

[dbmb0416]

I did mine a few years ago with red coat. I did more near end next to seat where the leak was. It’s more the bottom of tank as I noticed after the fact. I also try to keep mine filled and at end of season I empty tank and remove. Not sure if that helps but it’s not rusting or clogging as of yet but now I’m worried. I love my paint job as well.

[MPittma100]

Liner

I had to do a tank with same problem using Caswell epoxy liner. Supposed to hold up against ethanol.

Problem was getting rid of the failed old liner. It was a lot of work to get to the point of installing the new coating.

I removed petcocks and fuel sending unit and blocked off the 3 openings. I then filled tank with acetone and let it sit until all old liner loosened. Rinsed tank. Bought tumbling stones from Harbor Freight. Put them in the dry tank. Wrapped tank with blankets and tumbled in dryer. Refilled tank with rust remover and let it soak. Dried tank and installed new liner.

You have to be very careful not to let the acetone get on the paint. I used plastic and aluminum foil to protect paint.

The hole covers were homemade with aluminum and rubber. Used a rubber stopper for the lid opening.

Do a site search. You should be able to find a more detailed version of liner replacement.

[jetmechmarty]

I fixed one without damage to the paint.

http://xs650temp.proboards.com/threa...led-tank-liner

Casswell liner in it now.

[mack]

Caswell

How long have you had the Caswell in your tanks and has it shown any sign of degradation? Getting the old red coat out won't be a problem. Regular motor oil breaks it down pretty quickly. I'm thinking that I may just clean them up and at the end of the season just drain out all the gas and swish them with metal rescue once a month until next riding season. "Startron" at every fill up. If I park one for awhile, I'll make sure it has high test in the tank not corn.

[JeffH]

Mack,

I had a severely rusted tank on my 2012 E project bike. I put in the Caswell liner in 2012. To date it has had no issues or any degradation. It still looks like the day I put it in. And ............. I mostly use ethanol gas from my corner Chevron or Shell stations. On my LD trips using E10 ethanol gas too. Caswell has lived 6 years and 20,000 miles bathed in E10 ethanol fuel. Seems ethanol gets blamed for a lot of things. As I recall on the Caswell website they specifically mention "replacing failed Red Coat". So as you discovered, maybe Red Coat has a limited life expectancy vs maybe the Caswell product.

I'm sure your prep was more than adequate so it was the product and not the prep that caused the failure. In fact I'm 100% sure your work (and MikeP's) is far far superior to anything I do and that your prep was better than I did on my E's tank.

Sorry you had a problem. Frustrating for sure. btw: I'm starting work on another E that has a nasty rusted tank (inside rusty and outside all scratched up). I bought the Caswell. I will need to paint my tank but I noted that Caswell also has a us$ 40 "paint protective product" to protect a nice paint job. So that's an option. However, when I did the 2012 liner I successfully put in the liner 'without protecting the paint'. Was just careful and had the set up ready to go and move FAST as the Caswell dries pretty fast. BTW: its most likely Red Coat would have failed using non-ethanol too. So maybe the failure had more to do with the lousy product than with the type of fuel in the tank.
FWIW, my experience with Caswell
Good Luck

Jeff

[skids]

How long have you had the Caswell in your tanks and has it shown any sign of degradation?

Lined one tank on 04/20/99. Lined the the other on 01/21/00. No issues with those. I have used Stabl, Fuel system cleaner, gas with alcohol in it, etc. No issues.

I will say that you should never pull out dents with a slide hammer, cover the holes with bondo, and then use Caswells tank liner. Bonbo in contact with caswells is not compatible. It will get onto the intake valves and form a ceramic-like coating and mess with your head!!! Bad news!!! Been there/done that.

[mack]

Thanx

Thank You for the advice.

[Bullet]

Caswell ..

I have done a few tanks with their epoxy kit .. Some now over 10 years old .. Still holding up fine ..

You have to prep the tank proper first for the epoxy to stick and last !!

Stay away from ethanol laced fuel ...

Shell V Power 91 octane
CTC 91 octane
Ultramar 91

All above contain NO ethanol.

Dan

[TADracer]

I used Caswell Epoxy

I used the Caswell Plating epoxy kit many (and I mean many) years ago. Still holding up like the day it was done. The kit said enough for two tanks but used it all. Make sure you really take your time to prep right and then do not rush the coating. It is thick and might take a full half hour of SLOWLY rotating the tank to get every little surface covered so, have a few beers on hand.