Tank sealant removal

[Tazmantic]

Hi all, my uncle is in the process of trying to remove old tank sealant from his tank (it’s not an ajs) the problem is it’s started to come away and blocks the fuel line the even bigger problem is the tank has baffles so the lumps can’t be shaken out the filler cap

It is “pet seal” and he is in the throws of trying frosts tank sealant remover which appears to be like a strong paint stripper, he’s put some of the bits that came out the tank into a jug of this and he says it has softened them a bit but not dissolving them. Is this the best he can expect? As if it is he will never get it out due to the baffles or is there something that will dissolve it so it can be tipped out?

Cheers Neil

[dave16mct]

I used 'Fertan Sealeater' and it dissolved the liner which was poured out. Actually I think I flushed it out with a hose pipe. Very messy job and I wasn't bothered about the paint on the tank. I'm sure I would've ruined a good paint job. Did the job though.
Dave.

[Greybeard]

+1 for Sealeater - just be very careful with it as it's nasty stuff. Wear goggles/gloves and dont breath in the fumes. With care you can use it and not damage the tank paintwork (ive done a few for friends now). If it's the old petseal youll hear hear it breaking up once youve tipped the stuff in, a snap crackle and pop! Once its loosened every thing let it evaporate off for a day or two and the liner will shake out like cornflakes. If the liner was put in by a hamfisted clown, it occasionally takes 2 or more doses to breakaway any very thick dollops but it will do it in time. I recently did a yamaha tank with a wonderful paintjob, the thickest areas - about half an inch! - took 4 weeks before they finally came away.

Steve

[Tazmantic]

Thanks guys, the holes in the baffles are quite small so even cornflake size probably won’t shake out

Neil

[g5wqian]

ive used sealeater by fertan but you dont get much in a bottle , i think it is methyl ethyl keytone though and next time i did a tank i used this below .

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/392813077950 ... SwIFJezCVQ

i also used acetone separately but with both of these chemicals and hard to remove tank sealers you will need to leave it in tank for a long time, shaking periodically and altering position , with either bits of chain or nuts and bolts inside tank and cap and tap holes sealed , perhaps 2 weeks of doing this in many cases , it all depends how much you need to remove .

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234450597218 ... %3A2047675


i had a disaster with petseal last year and had to remove it along with an undetected remnant of a previous petseal installation which was a thick slab stuck in top of tank , i managed to get it out in end but had to break it up bit by bit .

i replaced the sealer with SLOSH from draganfly uk , the slosh doesnt need mixing up, you just pour it in tank and slosh it around for a while so it coats all inside of tank and then you need to drain off excess from tank , dont let it puddle as it will form bubbles in any thicker layers , ie a thin coating all over inside of tank is whats required and let the rest drain off from either tank cap [if its got no lip inside] or from fuel tap hole .
best to spend time letting excess sealer run down to tight end of tank so it can be drained off and not puddle up anywhere .
the excess slosh can be put back into its tin and with lid on tin it doesnt seem to go off .
slosh goes off in air but it will need the tank leaving for a week or two before using it , although this is much the same requirement with all tank sealersto let them cure fully .

ive also used carswell epoxy sealer for a fibreglass cafe racer tank , worked very well but it comes out quite thick when mixed so needs to be a hot day 70 degs for best results and you do need to rotate tank every few mins for a couple of hours to get it to cover inside of tank , again drain off excess through cap or tap hole .

have also used POR-15 , this is nice and thin and runs around inside of tank just like paint , needs draining off for some time , it is silver much like hammerite in appearance , works well though and takes a little while to dry off .

i cleaned rust out of tank with neat malt vinegar , drained out and then washed out with gunwash thinners , will get slight flash rusting though no matter what you do .

hope you get on ok with tank , it can be done with patience [lots of it in my case lol ]

ian

[Tazmantic]

Quick update on the tank,

we left the tank stripper in there for about a week while my uncle was in hospital yesterday decided it was time to empty it all out well I must say I was impressed, out came lots of like jelly stuff, still some hard bits and what looked like shredded tissue So once I had tipped out as much as I could we started washing it out with hot water and washing up liquid. Well as I tipped in the first kettle of hot water there was lots of cracking and popping so can only presume this was breaking more of the hard stuff off, after several kettles of water good shaking and emptying then a good was out with the hose there is no more bits rattling about in the tank and from what I can see looks nice and clean

Neil

[dave16mct]

Which sealant remover did you use?
Dave.