Tank repair/seal

[mthee]

Oxalic acid went in, but I may have got the dilution too weak as I was left with less rust, but a yellow, chalky residue - please see pic.
So I decided to go with the POR15 gospel according to johnr, chapter and verse, and forked out £50 quid on the kit, as above.
The tank is happily sitting in the conservatory with the degreaser and nuts on zip ties in. Speaking of the latter, I needed to cushion my lovely old tank and despite reaching out in every direction, could only lay my hands on the missus's dog walking coat. Well, she is still on holiday

[themoudie]

OH! Mart, you dice with purgatory, yet again!   

Happy de-greasing and don't spill it on the 'favourite' dog walking jacket, it could cost you more than the POR15 kit! 

Regards, Bill

[tigcraft]

Sadly not for Plastic tanks like the Skorpion - which suffers badly from ethanol.

I have been using POR15 for a while - strong stuff if tetchy to apply properly.

Do I take it then you have lined your acerbis made Skorpion (PA6) tank with POR15? What the out come and how long has it been lined? Eric

[mthee]

Well, my back is now killing me from shaking the tank. I flushed it through with hot water but found that if I wiped a finger along the inside, it came away covered in a rusty brown film. There's another degreasing solution left, but I'm going to err on the side of caution because my tank was so rusted to begin with. POR15 instructions state that , although the metal prep (next stage) dissolves fine surface rust, it is not a rust remover. So I set up the electolysis and am praying that I don't have a, "I have been producing hydrogen gas in our conservatory" look on my face, when SWMBO returns! Bill, I know you know what I'm talking about!

[themoudie]

Aye Mart,

Go very canny with producing hydrogen in the conservatory! It might all go off with a BANG! Like a battery after charging and having a fag over the top of it.

My neighbours this morning tested a battery with one of those heavy duty battery testers that rely on short circuiting the 2 terminals of the battery (Durite 6/12 Volt 275a Heavy Duty Battery Tester). Luckily, nobody was hurt or burnt with acid, but the report of the explosion would have stoved a conservatories windows out. A wee spark was sufficient.

Holes in the 'favourite' dog walking jacket are unlikely to maintain 'harmony'. 

My regards, Bill

[mthee]

Advice duly noted and dog walking jacket returned to its hook!

Have a look at the carp left on the scrap steel anode after 10 hours! I shall rinse out the tank for inspection...

[Moto63]

Oh I do admire a man that lives life on the edge..... what you clearly haven't factored into your cunning plan is...... is the wife's coat back on the very same hook from which it was removed?? AND is it hanging in exactly the same position as when she left?

[johnr]

if theres a lot of rust dust in there, theen theres nothing wrong with swilling out with a bit of hot water and fairy liquid and then setting to with the next phase.

[mthee]

Oh I do admire a man that lives life on the edge..... what you clearly haven't factored into your cunning plan is...... is the wife's coat back on the very same hook from which it was removed?? AND is it hanging in exactly the same position as when she left?

Valuable advice, my learned friend - I'm off to check this very second! I shall of course be employing the SOP of distraction/disinformation by "accidentally" smashing a plate in the kitchen and getting my hidden stash of empties from the garage and putting them in the indoor recycling bin. This should give her something to get her teeth into on her return, as squeaky clean would never be believed.....😜

[mthee]

if theres a lot of rust dust in there, theen theres nothing wrong with swilling out with a bit of hot water and fairy liquid and then setting to with the next phase.

This is what I got out on the 3rd 10hr session - about the same volume each time on the anode, but no chunks coming out with the flush water. Perhaps I should keep going until it's a decreased amount on the anode?  I don't really know what volume is acceptable, tbh. The only reference I remember said, depending on the state of the tank, anything from 24hrs to a week and the longer, the better.

[Moto63]

Still think I'd just cut the bottom of the tank out and get very busy with a wire brush and flapper disc. Then re-weld tank back together. Especially for a tank that's clearly as bad as the one you've got there Matt. 😥😥
Ps... I'm liking the stash of empties idea 🤘👍😉

[mthee]

After 8, 10hr sessions of electrolysis, changing electrolyte and anode regularly, I was still pulling out the same amount of debris and wondering if I'd have any tank left to seal.

So in went POR15 - last half of degreaser, rinse, force dry with heat gun. Then Metal Prep etching solution for the specified 20mins, swilling it around continually. Then rinse and force dry, before getting the sealer in, rolling it around and draining off for specified 10mins, during which time I prepped and applied the exterior patch where the pinhole leak had been, just for good measure.

Even though the specification is 96hours curing time, I think I'll wait a couple of weeks, just in case any sealant pooled anywhere - I'm sure it'll take me at least that long to fibreglass the seat pan, so the tank needs to be on it's mounts for that anyway.

Wish me luck (as you wave me goodbye!) 

[Moto63]

Certainly be interested to see how your tank fairs Matt once it's completed. Given how bad it appears to have been to start with, if the sealer solution works I for one will be pretty impressed. Please keep us posted and best o luck 🤞🤞👍... cheers, Michael

[mthee]

Will do compadre. The exterior repair, using the sealant and material patch supplied with the kit (but no mention of it in instructions  ) has already set rock hard, as have the drips hanging back into the tank off the filler neck. In retrospect, I think a judicious wipe with the sponge spatula might have cleaned this up, but again, no mention in the intructions to anticipate this for us novices. At present, a torchlit inspection shows a full coating of what looks like silver Hammerite smoothrite. Thanks for the good wishes. Me? I'm already looking for another tank in better nick!

[Furry John]

I have recently been using g a product called Patrox, all that was needed was a rinse through of the tank with a ferric oxide cleaner and then rinse out and dry. Apply the Patrox primer all round,, leave for 12hrs, then put in and swish around the Patrox sealer. You end up with a thin smooth guaranteed ethylene proof lining that does not reduce the tank capacity like the others.
Patrox products and the oxide cleaner or are on Ebay, check it out
I have just had a special Ducati 888 tank done with very good results.

Furry