inspect gas tank

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DevonCbx
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inspect gas tank

Post by DevonCbx »

Is there a certain way to inspect the inside of the tank? I want to be certain that it is not going to rust through soon if I intend to spend a lot of bucks painting it. I did purchase a tank restore kit to swish around inside. Thanks

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alimey4u2
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Post by alimey4u2 »

A very good question Devon...... 8) The only way one can be more or less certain (other than expensive material testing, not available to the average biker) would be to pin prick (literally) the area outside of the tank, most prone ( points that are wet with gasoline around & about the seams) while in the sandblasted stage.......
Porosity may be checked with kerosene but the pin prick method ( OH Boy am I gonna pay for this one.... :lol: ) is the best. Don't forget, water in gasoline is the culprit, which separates & is trapped in the low points.....
Actually the "water" may have traces of sulphuric acid, scrubbed from Sulphur Dioxide....&/or Carbonic Acid from other sources....
Last edited by alimey4u2 on Fri Apr 27, 2007 5:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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EMS
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Post by EMS »

I never had a CBX tank rusting through on me, but I believe the critical areas are the rear corners. I would check the inside/underside around the seams closely. And if you will have it painted anyway, some light sanding should indicate if the material is still sound :? :?:
The etching process that is part of the "Kreem" treatment also will unveil porosity and it may be a good thing to do anyway in order to get rid of some rust areas inside and apply a sealer (not necessarily Kreem).

steve murdoch icoa #5322
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Post by steve murdoch icoa #5322 »

Hi Devon.
I had a '79 tank that developed a leak along the seam near the petcock in the rear corner as EMS mentioned. A small weld repair and a chrome trim piece covered up the repair.
Again as EMS said i had terrible luck with a KREEM tank liner on a GS1000S paper mache tank. It started to break down after 4 years and made a mess of the carbs. I have read great things about the POR-15 gas tank kits.
The last tank i had repaired i took it to a rad shop. He specialized in etching and lining car and bike tanks. $110 all in, a lot of money but peace of mind before a high dollar paint job.

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