Fuel tank sealant idea (all models)

Unfortunately copper is not compatible with ethanol. See http://fbhvc.co.uk/bio-fuels/

Previously wrote:

I'm concerned as anyone regarding the Bio Ethanol fuel problem that is causing petrol tank linings to disolve. It seems chemical sealants are having a difficult time remaining intact.

I'm suggesting an idea that occured to me.The idea is to copper plate the internal surfaces.

The tank will have to be chemically stripped internally and if at all possible sand blasted internally to create a good clean surface. If this process was to be set up on a commercial scale for a business, asand blasting gun could easily be made up to access all surfaces of the inside.

As far as I know, the tank will be etched with an acid solution and then it could be filled with the electrolyte and the copper electrode hung into the solution from the filler cap hole. Copper plating isa relatively cheap process so a decent thickness could be built up.

I am assuming though that the tankis not perforated or at least has a small enough leak that could be sealed with the copper deposition.

Just an idea, and maybe one that could attract a professional platingcompany to set up?

Regards

Les

hello Les, have not been reading my thred On The Classic killer Bio-Ethanol We Have All ready Sorted out two Norton Fuel tanks One of a 1952 ES2 we did in the Harley Davidson Product Tank Sealer That sold By Caswell Europe and A 1957 wideline tank, Done in Tapox TanK Sealer and thats sold by Caswell Europe , Read my other threds ? the best one we think is the Products from Harley Davidson ,Sold BY>.www.caswelleurope.co.uk

Les, sorry to put a dampener on your idea. This is a problem I have been thinking about quite a bit too.

I don't think plating with any metal would seal even the smallest of leaks. As you say, the metal has to be first pickled with acid which would disolve the the rust surroundig any pin holes and make them larger. I would expect that if you plated a tank with a small hole you would end up with a slightly thicker tank with the same diameter hole. I base this on my experience of having the grab rails of my dominator re-plated (with good thick layers of copper/nickel/chrome); the ends of the tubes are pressed together such that there is a minimal gap, however after plating the gap is still there. I will have to ask the manager of the plating shop at work for his thoughts. I don't know him but I have been told he races a Norton Wasp, so he might even be reading this!

I have two problem tanks to contend with; my Interpol II which has the old Petesel flaking off and exposing all the old pin holes which I have been temporarily plugging with putty, but it is getting to the stage where I need to do a proper fix. The problem is that the Interpol tank has a tunnel and a baffle in the filler so if I used Petseal remover, I would not be able to extract the detritus, so the only option is to cut the bottom open.

The other is my Commando fibreglass tank that I have no solution for yet. I want to keep it as it has its original fireflake blue paint in near perfect condition and I believe I would not be able to replicate this on a replacement steel tank as no one produces the same size metal flake paint any more. There must be something out there which bonds to fibreglass and is compatible with ethanol. Hopefully if I spend long enough rebuilding the Commando, your prediction about the end of the use of bio fuels will come true by the time I finish it.

Ironically, my oldest tank on a 1959 dominator is perfectly sound.

Previously wrote:

Hi Anna. Idid start to read the threads to your ethanol post, but as soon as the messageorder gets mixed upor become greyed out, I loose interest and stop reading them. It makes me wonder how many years it will take to sort this ludicrous message board system out.

Anyway, Thanks for the information, I checked out the web site, and maybe I will opt for the Phenol Novolac product, but as I have some time before I renovate the petrol tank, I can wait to see if there are more user reports to read and a strong consensusregarding the best and best value product is established.

Thanks again. Keep up your good work.

Regards

Les

Hello Les You are going for the best one We have tryed it out we think its the best one on the market ?

hi in the croming proses thay cemicaly strip the tank to clean all the parts this will clean the tank inside and out eny rust holes will get bigger and when the tank is cromed it has to be copper plated first becase the crome will not adear to steel

i have seen lots of tanks cromed or cemicaly striped in a acid tand and thay almost always come out needing repair

i no of a few metherds of repair that can be done you can weld them but if you dont no exactly what you are doing then dont even try as the metal of the tank absorbes fuel

the easy way is to use a specialist sealent such as pet seal or if you need some thing a bit more robust then a old frend of mine uses fiberglass resin he just porse a load in to the tank swils it around all over and drains the rest out were it has leeked thru eny holes he then sands it down when the tank is painted after it looks fine

Previously wrote:

hi in the croming proses thay cemicaly strip the tank to clean all the parts this will clean the tank inside and out eny rust holes will get bigger and when the tank is cromed it has to be copper plated first becase the crome will not adear to steel

i have seen lots of tanks cromed or cemicaly striped in a acid tand and thay almost always come out needing repair

i no of a few metherds of repair that can be done you can weld them but if you dont no exactly what you are doing then dont even try as the metal of the tank absorbes fuel

the easy way is to use a specialist sealent such as pet seal or if you need some thing a bit more robust then a old frend of mine uses fiberglass resin he just porse a load in to the tank swils it around all over and drains the rest out were it has leeked thru eny holes he then sands it down when the tank is painted after it looks fine

dont use fast glass as it is very drital only use proper fiberglass