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Makotosun

Tank Liner removal process

  • brigsy
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Tank Liner removal process was created by brigsy

Had a deteriorating liner in my 68 DT1 tank and after scouring this forum and other sources, I successfully removed the liner entirely and was left with nice shiny steel. For others dealing with this nasty project I thought I’d detail the process that worked for me. To begin with, I believe it was a kreem liner, a tan or beige color with a light texture or orange peel surface. No before pics sorry. To seal petcock opening I used a thin steel plate and old bolts and o-ring. 
1. Empty tank and allow to drip dry and evaporate for several hours
2. Several rinses with warm water and dish soap, lots of shaking. Allow to dry 
3. Fill to brim with acetone and soak for 48hrs
4. Using fine mesh strainer and funnel, pour about 2/3 of acetone back into containers. Discard liner material from strainer before it dries
5. Immediately add about 2-3lbs of 1 1/4” drywall screws (I used fine thread) and start shaking. Shake or roll slowly in all directions. I’m sure a paint shaker or other device would be great for this step. When my arms got worn out I sat on its side or on end to allow remaining acetone to stay in contact with liner. Periodically check with a light to see where/how liner is coming off. 
6. At this point, after lots of intermittent shaking and inspecting over about 2 days, I had about 90% of the liner removed and down to bare rusty metal. The remaining liner was sticking around badges and on top and sides of the “saddle” where tank sits on frame. These were spots where the drywall screws weren’t making contract. 
7. Drain all acetone and screws from tank and rinse multiple times with warm water. Shake vigorously until water comes out clean. 
8. This is the step that made all the difference, and I know it sounds risky. After inspecting the remaining liner and how tricky it would be to get friction on the surfaces, I added 1/2gal of fresh acetone, 7-8 cups of coarse blasting sand and one 100% cotton t-shirt cut into about 5 pieces. Shake shake shake. The cotton absorbs both acetone and sand, and gets into all the odd areas of the tank. After inspecting, dump contents and rinse THOROUGHLY multiple times with petcock opening free. Dry and rinse again. 
9. Evapo-Rust for 24hrs to remove remaining surface rust. 
 
Had bare primer on the tank but couldn’t imagine doing this with original paint, very sloppy process but sure it could be done. Don’t know how it would work on tougher coatings. Throughout the process I used original gas cap with gasket. Acetone destroyed it but have another on order. And no, I could not find a radiator shop to take on the job. Real pleased with the results  
  
 
68 DT1 003325
09 XT250
The following user(s) Liked this Post: MarkT, Mothersbaugh, JayB, Midlife Motor, darinm, nhsteve, Pete-RT1
28 Apr 2021 19:56 #1

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Replied by Bartman512 on topic Tank Liner removal process

I do a similar process except I bubble wrap the tank and toss it in my Home Depot electric cement mixer. Out of the 6 or 7 tanks Ive done so far, i still see no reason to line a tank. The few that have had pin holes, I ve either cut out and re welded new section of metal or soldered the hole. Also what's amazing is how many times Ive reused this 5 gal bucket of Evaporust!
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29 Apr 2021 08:54 #2

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Replied by brigsy on topic Tank Liner removal process

I used silver solder and steel wire filler on two bottom corners, was main reason to remove liner but it was peeling around cap and petcock also
68 DT1 003325
09 XT250
29 Apr 2021 12:40 #3

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Replied by DT Tim on topic Tank Liner removal process

I’m just in the process of removing an old liner, good read, thank you.

I still can’t imagine the inside looking clean though, it’s really rusty and unfortunately the paint work is good but in my search on tips, I’ve wrapped the tank in cling film clear kitchen wrap. 
29 Apr 2021 14:01 #4

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Replied by brigsy on topic Tank Liner removal process

Tim, the blasting sand and cotton rags really cleaned it up for me. And after liner is gone, EvapoRust is really an amazing product and worth the $
68 DT1 003325
09 XT250
29 Apr 2021 15:01 #5

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Replied by DT Tim on topic Tank Liner removal process

So you wouldn’t re-line the tank if it doesn’t leak?

I was always under the assumption after cleaning the you add a liner to stop it going rusty again.
29 Apr 2021 23:00 #6

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Replied by Gr8uncleal on topic Tank Liner removal process

Just by swilling around some two stroke oil should be enough to prevent rust.

Hopefully you'll be filling with petrol and using it! 

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30 Apr 2021 00:06 #7

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Replied by brigsy on topic Tank Liner removal process

I thought about using the por15 liner if metal was pitted or had pinholes. But it’s like new. After evaporust and couple rinses I dried with hairdryer and coated with oil. 
68 DT1 003325
09 XT250
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30 Apr 2021 05:09 #8

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Replied by nhsteve on topic Tank Liner removal process

Good read on the process you devised and followed. Evaporust is good stuff for sure, my experience also. I would say that you were fortunate in that your old liner was apparently Kreem, or similar. I had a different experience with a failed Caswell liner, which is, as you may know, a 2 part epoxy. The liner was lifting off in sections, apparently due to insufficient cleaning and/or surface prep before applying. I contacted Caswell and asked how to remove their product, and was instructed to pour paint stripper into the tank and allow that to work. As the tank had quite decent original paint I was reluctant to do this, for fear of spillage onto the outside (plus it would take a lot of stripper and potentially turn into a very nasty chemical situation). I eventually had it professionally removed, but it was costly. An expensive lesson for me. 

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As a last note I would share that this was a self-inflicted problem, in that I was being truly anal about this bike at the time. A decent Evaporust soak and thorough clean after would have been more than sufficient to address the minor rusting inside the tank. I had become fixated on the idea that "I need to line the tank, I need to line the tank". Sometimes we can over-think problems, and I sure did that time. 
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Last edit: 01 May 2021 12:54 by nhsteve. Reason: Information added
01 May 2021 12:48 #9

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Replied by brigsy on topic Tank Liner removal process

Steve, I too get completely absorbed into projects, but that’s just because I have a hard time letting anyone else have responsibility for the outcome. If something is going to fail, i prefer it to be a part of my education on the subject, in addition to a great deal of research.  Love bringing things back to life! One track mind sorta pays off
68 DT1 003325
09 XT250
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02 May 2021 19:45 #10

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