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Z1300 Gas Tank Prep | ||
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This page shows some tricks I used to prep a KZ1300 and ZN1300 Voyager gas tank with POR-15. As I show in the following pictures, you have to completely seal the tanks as good as possible. Initially you have to clean the tanks inside with a product they sell called 'Marine Clean' and rinse it out. Then you etch the metal with their 'Metal Prep' solution which I think is phosphoric acid and rinse that out and dry it good inside with a hair dryer. Then you're ready to put the tank sealer in and roll it around till the whole inside is coated and drain out any excess. The biggest issue is how to seal the gas cap opening.
In the gas cap opening I have a
rubber cork that I bought from a wine making supply shop. They sell these
in various sizes and they have a hole in the center. So I take a large
eyebolt, 2 washers and 2 nuts I bought from the hardware and make an 'expanding'
plug. I stick it in the hole and tighten the top nut which squeezes the
rubber out and expands enough to hold it tightly in the opening.
This KZ tank is the same as the Voyager above in the fact that the 2 screws that
hold the gas cap on penetrate into the gas tank on the inside. You have to
thread screws back in because if either one of these solutions get on your paint
they'll damage your paint job. If you plan on painting your gas tank, by
all means do this sealing process first. I keep a water hose handy at all
times because it's almost impossible not to get a drop of any of this stuff on
your paint and if so, you need to wash it off immediately.
I have an old tank sending unit that I stripped down to use just as a cover for
that hole and an old petcock that I use for the same purpose.
This is a Voyager tank sending unit that I install upside down.
These are shouldered bolts that hold this on. I think they use these to
keep you from over tightening the screws. I've seen these either with
stripped threads or missing some screws altogether. The main thing is that
the replacement screws aren't too long if you need to go buy some.
For the fuel injection return line on the Voyager, I found that a spark plug was
just the right size to thread into the hole.
It's a little difficult to see, but I take a 55 gallon drum with the top cut off
and tape some bubble wrap on the top edge where the tank comes in contact.
This gives you a 'workbench' to work on the tank without worrying about
scratching the paint.
This is the finished appearance of the inside of the tank after the coating has
cured. This is the only truly permanent gas tank sealer I know of on the
market today. If your tank has a sealer in it now that's coming loose,
they sell a paint stripper that you can use to get the old sealer out. I
had to do this on one of my tanks and it makes a mess, but it melts or dissolves
the old sealer.
Info from the Links Page -
POR-15 (Heavy Duty Cycle Tank Repair Kit and Paint)
This is a great product for your gas tank repair job, frame painting, brake calipers, aluminum wheels, or what have you. They say that the product is UV sensitive (exterior paint) so you need to use the engine enamel or the BLACKCOTE or other topcoats they sell or your own topcoat as they indicate. The stated problem is that the por-15 used along without a topcoat will fade some because of the UV sensitivity over time. I've used it without topcoating it for some time now on my bikes without seeing any noticeable problem, but my bikes don't sit outside #1, and #2, I ride more at night typically than I get to ride during the day, so my bikes don't see daylight that much. If any of you guys have some experience with this product, please post a response about it. I can tell you a few things from my dealings with the product.
#1) Don't get any of these products on your hands or body! The paint stripper will burn you good! You can get a speck of it on your leg that you can't even see & you'll be on fire. You can take that to the bank! If you get the por-15 on your hands it doesn't come off. It will wear off in about a week or so, but even their solvent won't take it off. Use laytex gloves, put 2 pairs on.
#2) The degreaser will degloss any paint it comes in contact with even when diluted 10 to 1. To clean the inside of your tank 5 to 1 dilution is probably best, & if it gets on the paint it will degloss it on contact. Strong stuff but essential for this product application.
#3) The "Cycle Fuel Tank Kit" for $27 shows it's enough to do a 7 gallon tank, but I would spring for the "Cycle Fuel Tank Kit Plus" at $35 for 10 gallons just to be safe. My previous experience was that what I bought didn't coat quite as much as claimed and the way this stuff goes on you only get one shot at it to do it right. This is the best product in the world for this application no doubt, but I'd spring for the extra $8. Once you've sealed it, it's permanent.
#4) Follow their advise about not touching the part with your bare hands after it's been prepared but before you've painted it. The natural oil off your hands can goof the paint. Keep your gloves on when handling the parts. (We're talking about painting the exterior of a part, not doing the interior of the gas tank. They have paint, primer, topcoat, fuel tank kits, engine enamels and other products).
#5) You should take a short piece of chain & drop in you tank during the cleaning & metal prep process as it's a big help to get all the gum, varnish, or rust out. When you're ready to put the sealer in, the chain will be much easier to fish out than BB's or metal shot, or some such thing.
#6) They sell a small CO2 powered sprayer called a "PreVal" that is really good for small jobs. You could brush this paint on & get excellent results too. The paint flows very well & covers imperfections better than you'd think.
#7) I haven't tried their Hi-Temp engine enamel yet but I know Bill Bryson who's a distributor in my area for this product & he swears by it in his restoration business. He's also very knowledgeable on application questions. A good person to buy your product from, but you can also purchase from the manufacturer if you wish. Links are below.
#8) If you gas tank has small holes in it they say you can use some fiberglass cloth and soak it with the gas tank sealer and cover good size holes in your gas tank with it. Once it dries, it's permanent. Think of it as JB Weld for your gas tank!
POR-15 Manufacturers site - STANDARD FUEL TANK SEALER FAQ
CALL TOLL-FREE:
1-800-457-6715
In NJ: 1-973-887-1999
Fax: 1-973-887-8007
MAIN OFFICE HOURS: M-F 9-5 EST
Email: techsupport@por15.com
RestoMotive Laboratories
Division of POR-15, Incorporated
P.O. Box 1235
Morristown, New Jersey 07962-1235
NOTE: On these newer browsers I've noticed that they don't always display my large images in full size when you open an image from the thumbnails. Once you click the thumbnail and open the larger image, if you 'mouse over' the image you should see a " + " symbol or some other indicator like a box with arrows usually on the bottom right edge of the image. If you click on the indicator, then the image will expand to it's full size which displays full screen on computers that use a 800 x 600 resolution setting for the monitor. If you click the indicator again it will go back to the smaller image. Some people use a resolution setting of 1024 x 768 or higher on their monitors and for those users the images will appear smaller than full screen in size. You can change your monitor settings easily enough if you desire. Also, the indicator I've noticed is slow to appear even after the image appears to of completely loaded. The indicator in Netscape seems to be a lot faster to display than the one in Internet Explorer.
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