Fuel tank sealing...

I know this topic has been covered....but, has anyone used POR 15 to seal a gas tank? I saw POR 15 has an actual kit to seal a tank, but I was going to use regualr POR 15 (some left from frame).

I know eventually I'm going to be looking at a new plastic tank, but I don't have time for that now and want the quick fix. Do you think coating the outside of the tank would work for now, do the poly tank later?

 

How much time do you have? I would make a test on a piece of steel to see if gasoline softens it. After a week or two immersed in gasoline, you should be able to tell if it's stable. I think it will be. I've used fiberglass resin and cloth to repair a leaky tank - POR & glass cloth would be better than just POR.

How about JB Weld and glass cloth?

 

Brad,
I just did this repair last week, so I'll share my experience. POR 15 is a great metal preservative and hardens extremely well, but I wouldn't trust it to patch the holes. The entire underside of my tank had small pits in it, with about three larger leaks. I tried the two-part epoxy you can get at a hardware store but it stayed soft as bubble gum.
After sanding down the tank and cleaning with degreaser and then POR medal ready, i painted with POR. Then I went back to the several holes I had and sanded again, getting it down to bare metal(this would be easier before the POR i just changed strategy mid-stream). Once I had a reasonable area around the holes to bare metal, I cleaned the surface with a good lacquer thinner. Once dry, I applied JB Weld with a paint stick, being careul to force as much into the holes as I could. I let the JB Weld cure for about a day before adding a second coat of POR 15. I later topcoated with some hardware store spray paint.
From my experience, POR 15 has the strength to get in the pitted metal and prevent any more minor leaks from occurring, but I wouldn't trust it to patch a hole. I'm very please with how the JB Weld worked. I've heard POR 15 makes a gas tank sealing kit but if you want to go the cheap route, give the JB a try.

 

I took my tank to a shop that specializes in radiator repair and tank sealing. He steam cleaned it and treated the inside of the tank with a product called Red Coat made by Damon Industies, Alliance Ohio. I had a number of small pinholes and thought I'd have to replace the tank but his worked fine.
I called him today and he said the most critical thing is to let it dry completely before the Red Coat is applied and allow it to cure for 2 days before you put gas in but otherwise it is fool proof and will seal most small leaks.

Eddy

 

I've also talked to radiator shops that said they could clean and seal tanks. I opted to buy a new one from Walck's for $95 because mine has been repaired before.

 

It cost me $25 to get mine sealed inside and that included a fresh coat of black paint on the outside. The product I mentioned above (Red Coat) is hard as nails once it cured and its a translucent amber color.
Eddy

 

J.C. Whitney has fuel tank sealer for $34.00 for either a qt. or a gal. I can't remember which.