Gas Tank Sealant

Hey guys, I'm about to clean and re-seal my tank (85 VF500F) but wanted to see if I could get some feedback first. We took a scope to it and it doesn't look too bad - should just need a thorough flushing and a good sealant. I just want to ask to see who has had what luck with which product. There seem to be a great number of options of DIY kits (kreem, por-15, krs, etc.) so does anyone have a preference/opinion/recommendation?

Also for those who have gone the route of the radiator shop do you know what processes they use? If I've never done this before should I look more seriously into the rad shop?

Thanks for any help,
Chris

 

I've read many places that the Kreem product is tough to get on correctly and not have failure of the sealant later on, I really couldn't find a recommendation for it. I picked up the POR product to do my '85 tank, I haven't gotten around to it yet though, was planning to try it this weekend if I get the time.

 

kreem was OK in its day, but newer products are MUCH more effective!!

I had a badly pinholed leaky fuel tank on my '86 Yamaha Radian that was ready for the dust bin (the tank, not the bike) and had EXCELLENT results with an EPOXY sealer from : www.caswellplating.com


they call it"gas tank sealer," and the kit ( very easy to use) does the job for about $38 shipped!!

the stuff is a fuel tank saving miracle!

 

Thanks squirrelman, just a quick question about that stuff. It says it bonds to rough rusty surfaces, so did you do any sort of cleaning/preparation to your tank or did you just throw that stuff in there?

 

i used alcohol (the drug store type) and some sparkplugs to slosh around in tank to scrape and wash out rust, then let it dry before using the clear epoxy.

my tank had over 12 rust holes, and the sealer fixed EVERYTHING !!

 

I've used Kreem, Redkote, and POR-15. Redkote sucks, the Kreem worked fine for me... it's now been two years, but the POR-15 is by far the best. I haven't used the caswell gas tank sealer, so I dunno.

POR-15 actually makes a gas tank sealer, but the original rust preventative paint is the way to go. The only difference is the original stuff loses it's color with UV exposure... like that's gonna happen inside a gas tank. It comes in three colors... each color has a different viscosity. The original black is good for covering rust, but will leak out of pinholes. The white is thicker, it will seal small holes. The silver is very thin... not good for gas tanks.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys, I guess I'll decide this week and tell you how it goes when all is said and done.

 

I used the Kreem sealer in a Yamaha tank once, and was only somewhat satisfied with the results.

It was VERY difficult to spread evenly inside the tank, and took TWO bottles of the sealer to completely coat it.

It also took about 10 days before it stopped de-gassing and hardened up inside the tank. It smelled so bad I had to leave it outside while it cured.

Based on the performance and the look/finish of POR-15 on another project I am working on, I would recommend their tank sealer sight unseen.