Triumphrat

tjwood

In the summer I purchased some Petseal Ultra from a bike dealer on Ebay. I mixed it up the following week as instructed, tested it and then coated the inside of a clean, but previously coated steel tank. I'd checked with the dealer beforehand that it was safe to re-coat a previously coated tank and he said that it would be fine to do so. Because I was just starting my restoration, after coating the tank I left it for just over three months in a warm environment. I checked the tank about two weeks ago and it was completely dry (as you'd expect) and seemed to have produced a very hard finish - it looked and felt really good - glassy smooth and very hard.
I half-filled the tank with unleaded and started the bike then left it for a few days. I then went to top the tank up and noticed that the coating had taken on a slightly matt finish around the filler neck where it had previously looked glossy. When I touched the sealant it was sticky - a bit like the feeling you get when touching the adhesive on a sticky label. I took the air cleaner off the carb and the inside of the carb is coated in a sticky film as well. I took the head off and I'm glad to say that there's no stickiness in the combustion chamber. However, the valve stems are sticky so I'll try to clean them up without stripping the valves out. I've cleaned the carb with carb cleaner so I'm hoping it will be ok.
I'm not at all happy about this as Petseal seems to have ruined my tank. Has anyone else had this sort of problem with Petseal products? Any ideas how I can clean the old Petseal out of the tank because I can't use it as it is. (I don't have acccess to any seriously strong chemicals).
Thanks
Tony

Morris the Cat

Recipe for disaster.

Disaster acknowledged!

Score = 0 for the home boys.

Score = 1 for any reputable radiator shop who can boil out all that slop and start from scratch!

give them a call?

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Morris of Main Street

triumpt120rv

Tony,

Drag about the mess. A lot of bad info going around and messing up people's restos. Must be frustrating.


This guy cleans out petseal and redoes a sealer. Not sure what your budget is but you may want to consider a service like his as an option as well. http://www.tankcareproducts.co.uk/index.htm

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Dickie Doyle

Thanks for the warning!

GrandPaulZ

NEVER coat over a previous failed coating. PERIOD!

Probably the ONLY sure cure for this disaster is to cut open the bottom of the tank, strip completely, then weld up. While the tank is cut open, you fix it right, so no re-coating needed.

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GrandPaulZ
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Snakeoil

I know we all learn things the hard way sometimes, but if you think about what you are doing, you can usually see the pitfalls. Coating over anything is only as good as what you are coating over. When you paint over peeling paint, what would make one think that the paint underneath won't continue to peel, taking the new paint with it. Same goes here.

This won't be a cheap fix, TJ, but not a total disaster either.

In another thread I mentioned that a friend who had an old Kreem liner fail with the new E10 gas found, after trying everything, that MEK would remove it. You need to be careful with your paint, but probably worth a try. You'll need patience for sure. It may very well strip out your old coating as well. They you can find the problems and fix them right. Might mean a repaint, though.

regards,
Rob