See products from Frost appropriate to the repair you need to make (or prevent). Details on use will be on the can.
https://www.frost.co.uk/auto-maintenance/automotive-tanks-products/fuel-tank-repair.html
I don't have any experience of these specific products, but a lot of people in the classic bike world are moving away from tank lining products. They can work for a while, if you are really careful about preparation and follow the process exactly, but there are a lot of horror stories about what happens when the coating fails.
I've had to remove an old lining from a tank it was an absolute pig of a job, even with the proper chemicals. And you have to be scrupulous because you really don't want bits of epoxy getting in your fuel system.
So personally I would use the cleaning and de-rusting stuff, but I wouldn't apply a coating. Much better to keep your tank full, use a fuel stabiliser and/or ride your bike regularly.
Just my opinion.
My bike never "hibernates" through the winter so I doubt I will be getting rust in my tank..
Now where is that piece of wood to touch..
Most of the problems in the classic bike world relate to older tank sealants that our lovely* modern ethanol petrol dissolves. A modern tank sealant applied correctly shouldn't suffer.
One of my ex's 14s had a sealed tank (I don't know what product) & never had an issue in the 7 or so years I knew the bike.
Quote from: Mister Fishfinger on Wednesday, 06 June 2018, 06:48 PM
I don't have any experience of these specific products, but a lot of people in the classic bike world are moving away from tank lining products. They can work for a while, if you are really careful about preparation and follow the process exactly, but there are a lot of horror stories about what happens when the coating fails.
I've had to remove an old lining from a tank it was an absolute pig of a job, even with the proper chemicals. And you have to be scrupulous because you really don't want bits of epoxy getting in your fuel system.
So personally I would use the cleaning and de-rusting stuff, but I wouldn't apply a coating. Much better to keep your tank full, use a fuel stabiliser and/or ride your bike regularly.
Just my opinion.
I agree totally and indeed there are some naff products out there. However, some (note only some!) of the earlier tanks - K2/3's in particular - are starting to rust through from the inside out, and the Frost products mentioned (above) have been known to work successfully (these were more tested and proven on the old org rather than here). Given the price of a new tank, some prefer to use the de-rust and seal products, hence only mentioning what we have discovered previously with 14's.
Quote from: gsxbarmy on Wednesday, 06 June 2018, 11:37 PM
Quote from: Mister Fishfinger on Wednesday, 06 June 2018, 06:48 PM
I don't have any experience of these specific products, but a lot of people in the classic bike world are moving away from tank lining products. They can work for a while, if you are really careful about preparation and follow the process exactly, but there are a lot of horror stories about what happens when the coating fails.
I've had to remove an old lining from a tank it was an absolute pig of a job, even with the proper chemicals. And you have to be scrupulous because you really don't want bits of epoxy getting in your fuel system.
So personally I would use the cleaning and de-rusting stuff, but I wouldn't apply a coating. Much better to keep your tank full, use a fuel stabiliser and/or ride your bike regularly.
Just my opinion.
I agree totally and indeed there are some naff products out there. However, some (note only some!) of the earlier tanks - K2/3's in particular - are starting to rust through from the inside out, and the Frost products mentioned (above) have been known to work successfully (these were more tested and proven on the old org rather than here). Given the price of a new tank, some prefer to use the de-rust and seal products, hence only mentioning what we have discovered previously with 14's.
Disappointingly, my K5 tank seems to be rusting from the outside in. It's nice and clean inside, but the white paint on the underside is speckled with rust spots.
If it's the underside, how about some rustkill paint over it? Wouldn't be seen.
A good tip for cleaning rust gunge and crap out ya tank is white vinigar remove the feul pumps and stuff out first reseal the holes with cut to shape rubber pour in 8 liters of white vinigar shake and leave standing over night next day shake and leave in a different postion depending how bad the tank is you may have to do this for a week .
When your happy give a good shake and tip out flush with 1 liter of clean petrol and your done iv done 12 tanks this way and some have been really bad but all come up like new inside .
Its handy to do this every couple of years to keep the crap out ya tank works a treat every time
Interesting with the vinegar. Have known it for for rust-proofing steel (has to be heated though). I mainly use vinegar for cleaning the toilet and killing weeds :coffeescreen:
Quote from: KiwiCol on Thursday, 07 June 2018, 03:22 AM
If it's the underside, how about some rustkill paint over it? Wouldn't be seen.
Yeah, I might have to do something like that. As you say, nobody will see it so the looks don't matter too much.
When I tided my 14 up the other year the underside of the tank got two coats of white smoothrite after the rust was rubbed down & treated. Seems to be working so far.
White vinegar, good tip that.
Pretty much any acid will eat rust eventually. White vinegar is acetic acid, I've also seen people use oxalic acid (the stuff you find in rhubarb) and brick acid (hydrochloric acid).
The acid in most rust treatments is phosphoric acid. It's the one I use most often and it is popular because it leaves the steel with a thin layer of iron phosphate, which is very stable and protects the surface from further rusting.
You can see the difference especially if you treat a tank with brick (hydrochloric) acid - after you rinse the solution out with clean water it starts rusting again within minutes. Use phosphoric acid and you have more time to let it dry.
Aye works everytime most tanks get light surface rust along the inside top unless there left standing full to the brim over winterthen when you start using it again this usually ends up in the filters .
Like you say the acid in white vinigar strips all that out . Give it a good 5min shake leave over night shake again and leave in different positions so soaks every area in the tank you.d be suprised what comes out of what you think is a clean tank allways flush with petrol .
Once you.ve flushed if you can get ya mitts on a bendy stork cam you can see weather or not you need to line the tank out .
white vinegar is amazing for lots of uses. in our hot/humid summers mould a big problem. outside timber etc, inside walls etc. it cleans perfectly, inhibits re growth for up to 2 yrs. 80% vinegar/20% water is my mix. will give my tank a dose soon.
Quote from: Hooli on Thursday, 07 June 2018, 08:39 PM
When I tided my 14 up the other year the underside of the tank got two coats of white smoothrite after the rust was rubbed down & treated. Seems to be working so far.
Gave mine 2 coats of Black Hammerite underneath - had loads of black for touching up the frame and no way was I going to buy white where no one would ever see it :)
I found a tub of white left by the previous owner of that house, I wasn't paying for it either!
i tried resealing the tank after it developed 2 pin holes in the tank side lowest, side stand side.. it leaked in a week despite following all the recommended cleaning procedures. i gave up and bought a new tank ... however i think suzuki make their tanks out of Chinese steel as it was holed at 7,800 miles from new !!!!! not impressed at all . the new one is coming off for the winter and getting dried out and oiled ...
Yeah, I don't think much of tank liners.
I noticed a small paint bubble at the base of the tank - it was caused by rust small pin hole.
Drained the tank and then had to cut part of the base out of the tank to get all this rubbish out. The tank liner was flaking off the sides and the idiot who tried to line the tank previously - obviously had no idea what they were doing. Some of the chunks you see in the photo are nearly an inch thick.
it also half block the feeder pipe to the fuel pump, so it was a miracle the bike was even running when I test rode it. I had to get a wire in there to fully unblock the pipe.
The fuel filter was black, but thankfully cleaned up nicely. I wonder how the pump was even able to get enough fuel to the injectors, with the filter being covered in a thick sludge of rust and tank sealer and the feeder pipe being clogged up with tank sealer.
I've since cleaned out the tank sealer that was still sticking to the tank and am having the base welded back in again. Once that is done, I'll fill it up completely with vinegar and leave it for a few days to remove any remaining rust and then flush with fuel and put it all back together again.
Will be interesting to see if the bike performs better with a unblocked fuel system.
Have a Mach 3 Kawasaki that I was going to do the liner thing with but that has given me second thoughts, will do a little more research, I had the 14 for a good 6 months and thought the fade above 5000rpm was normal but after I cleaned the filter/pump it got a new urgency over that RPM. Nothing major but there was definitely starvation there and its blockage was nothing compared to that but the internal filter took a lot of flushing to get clean.
I have always dosed methylated spirits into my fuel every few months with every thing I own and have had good results keeping the water from sitting in the wrong spots in the system, especially the Ducati pump which seems susceptible to water problems,
Hope it gets easier from here for you
What does the meths do?
Metho is hygroscopic and will absorb the water and run it through the fuel system, but I only use a capful every now and then, too much can cause other problems. some say it will do damage to fuel filters etc but I have done this for over 30 years and never had a problem , specially good with power products fuel (lawnmowers etc) as both the fuel and the machines generally breathe with the diurnal cycle and absorb a fair amount of water.
Like Horse Ive been adding to my fuel for years but I use acetone - and also in my petrol gardening equipment
there is a lot of people who say that it wrecks fuel pipes injectors etc bit never had an issue
When I looked into years ago metho seemed the kindest , ethanol was readily available but it was a bit savage on other bits of the fuel system acetone never was on my list but the proof is that neither of us seem to have had a problem I think the key is not to overdose I only use a capful per 40 litres and only 3 to 4 times a year. I am sure there are a million reasons why someone thinks you shouldn't do it but it works for me,
and me fella - I went for acetone as it mixed well with water and eradicated it from the tank
My tank is a ball of rust. I'm trying out bilt hamber deox-c rust remover.
Has anyone used it or something similar for their tank. Did it work well and do have any tips?
I just used white vinegar from Lidl, cheap as chips and worked a treat (and easy to get of course).
Well stuff I'm using is starting to have an effect but the inside was completely rusted so I think I'm gonna have treat again with a stronger solution. I'm starting to see glimpse of bare metal. Apart from that a two of the small diameter pistons in the front calipers have seized and are beyond me.
Might have send them away to someone more capable.
Gonna be summer here soon I can't wait.
Quote from: Almost on Wednesday, 22 February 2023, 08:04 AM
Well stuff I'm using is starting to have an effect but the inside was completely rusted so I think I'm gonna have treat again with a stronger solution. I'm starting to see glimpse of bare metal. Apart from that a two of the small diameter pistons in the front calipers have seized and are beyond me.
Might have send them away to someone more capable.
Gonna be summer here soon I can't wait.
You need a Universal Brake Caliper Piston Removal Plier Motorcycle Repair Tool for getting those pistons out
@Almost - available on eBay. Look at item number 185630439250 as an example
Mate, stuck pistons. Small socket that fits in with enough room to fit 3/8 extension beside it. Turn with ratchet until they jam together, keep turning until piston turns and comes out.
Yep. agree with Grog. I used this method and it works fine. search for my blog in the readers rides. Pretty sure I took photos etc when I had to do this. When I bought my 1400 the brake fluid in the lines and calipers looked like vomit and several of the pistons were seized in the caliper, but got them out using the method as described by Grog
Yep, me too . I used the ratchet method also and the stuck pistons came straight out.
@Almost Read this :onya:
https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/index.php?topic=6051.0
Quote from: grog on Wednesday, 22 February 2023, 11:16 AM
Mate, stuck pistons. Small socket that fits in with enough room to fit 3/8 extension beside it. Turn with ratchet until they jam together, keep turning until piston turns and comes out.
Thanks for the tip :cheers:
Quote from: Milts on Thursday, 23 February 2023, 09:08 AM
@Almost Read this :onya:
https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/index.php?topic=6051.0
Reading :cheers: