POR-15 Fuel tank sealer

[Jims65CA77]

Thanks for the update. I am glad you were able to remove the old sealer. Good luck on whatever you decide for repair.

[Geoff Hastings]

Thanks for the update. I am glad you were able to remove the old sealer. Good luck on whatever you decide for repair.

Having removed the previous sealer I used another de rusting product called Rostio just to make sure it was not existing rust that had caused the Por15 to peal off. Once I'd cleaned the tank I gave it another swirl round with the Rostio sealer. Two weeks have passed and so far all is well, no leaks and the sealer not flaking off. First ride of the bike and I was quite pleased with how it went except after about ten miles I got a punture and had to leave the bike and return the next day with a new tube. The heavens opened for the ride home so my two short rides have not been the best introduction to riding the Dream.

[Jims65CA77]

...so my two short rides have not been the best introduction to riding the Dream.

They may not have been the best introduction to riding your Dream, BUT they will be something you will always remember!

I'm glad you got the sealer situated. I hope it all works out for you.

[Geoff Hastings]

Well, a couple of months have passed since I resealed the tank and in that time with the help of a couple of guys on the forum I sorted a couple of problems and got it running sweet. That was until it nipped up whilst idling at the traffic lights. I won't repeat all the ins and outs but in the time the bike was back in my workshop the tank started leaking again. I drained the tank and scrapped off the new paint from the seam where the leak was. I pressured the tank slightly by just blowing back through the fuel tap and applied soapy water. Sure enough there were two pin holes. These I cleaned up and, having purged the tank thoroughly I applied an active flux before firing up the blow torch. It quickly got to a temperature to melt the solder into the holes and I also ran some further along the seam just in case. I repressured it and applied more soapy water, result, no leaks. Fortunately only about an inch and half of the paint was ruined and that is under the tank so not too visable. For now I've just brush painted the damaged area and will redo the whole tank next summer. I'll certainly not use a sealer again, next restoration, if the tank looks dodgy, I'll remove the internal rust then treat the seams to a coat of solder, quite easy to do but the metal must be really clean.

[Jims65CA77]

Glad to hear you got that nipped! I had a small leak in a lawn mower tank and I used a soldering iron and that fixed it. So, maybe for a "PIN hole" that would work too rather than heating with a torch and "flames" in & on a gas tank where torches are not welcome sometimes.

[Geoff Hastings]

You'd need a pretty big soldering iron to get the metal hot enough for the solder to flow. Purging the tank can be done with very hot soap water or, as I did, make sure there is no fuel left in the tank then just blast it with an airline for several minutes.