Anyone use Kreem product to remove rust from and coat gas tank??

[Mike M]

Bought a clean old airhead and it obviously sat for a long time with the fuel tank empty. Condensation caused the entire interior of the tank to rust---not flaky, but clearly rusty.

I bought the Kreem tank kit, 2 bottles of solution to remove rust and "etch" the tank interior, third bottle of coating solution.

My question is if anyone has experience with this process. Talked to alot of guys who said that if you don't do it just right, or rush the job, it won't work properly.

Any insight would be helpful.

TIA,

Mike

[Frank Warner]

All my 1980 R80G/S steel tanks are painted ... red/brown on the inside (standard finish). How old is this airhead that its tanks were not painted on the inside?

[gypsy77360]

Have done several old tanks w/ Kreem product. One new Tank. The problem with coating an older rusty tank is first removing all the corrosion . I have tried several methods
1. Go to a toy store and buy some jacks (no kidding) and marbles . Put them inside tank and shake , a lot . Repeat several times , flushing with water and then alcohol to evaporate/dissolve the water.When you think you've gotten all the rust out , use the Kreem kit per directions.
2. Find a sandblaster and have at it. Messy .Grit is hard to get out of tank.
3. New tanks are lots easier , as they don't have much if any rust spots. Again follow the directions.
4. Use outside jobber mentioned by nomiles above , I think they acid-wash the tank , then coat it and you would be care free for a long time.
Kreem is a good product if applied correctly (read clean tank). The new tank I treated had it's coating for 5-6 years without any rust at all. When I sold the bike it was still ok. The older,previously rusty tanks had some flaking of coating where it did not adhere well. Again , prep is the key ,as it is in any "painting operation. I added a larger see - thru fuel filter downstream of the fuel petcock to monitor the older tank.
It will save you $ , especially if you are facing a high dollar BMW OEM tank replacement.

[luv2lean]

Ive also used the stuff with no problems other than spilled some of the acid on the exterior and damaged the paint - strong stuff.
I filled the tank with the acid, several handfuls of old nuts and bolts, shook it around for a long time to dislodge the rust
Only kept the bike for about a year so dont know if the coating stuff came loose later???

[supercreep]

yamaha makes a rust remover product (cheap@$15.) that works very well. i don't line my tanks unless i have to, then i use johnsons tank liner.

[motu]

I had my Honda tank acid dipped and it came out looking like a cheese grater.Repaired a few holes,but as soon as I put the torch near it more rust would pop off inside.So I Kreemed it - 4 years ago.Actualy the Kreem didn't quite do the trick - it's very thick...so I used Por 15,which is thinner and gets into tricky spots better.I use Por 15 now - 1 litre of Por 15 was 1/4 the price of the Kreem kit,the chemicals are nothing special.

[freewheelin']

I kreemed and older 1975 bmw tank and a yamaha tank 10 years ago and still have both bikes the yamaha worked very well. The bmw was a problem. BMW already coats their tanks with a rust colored coating (so make sure that the tank is really rusted and not just rust colored) and the kreem won't stick to that but it worked well on the area that was dented and the factory coating was popped off. It took a couple of years and some external fuel filters to get rid of the stuff, after spending days with a compressed air hose blowing out the big loose sheets of it. I say if the tank ain't factory coated it will work fine if the instructions are followed.

[BorisTas]

I did and they're right, it can be tricky, the following from a Guzzi site helped

"SUBJECT: HOW TO KREEM YOUR TANK
DATE: 22 October 2001
FROM: Paul "Bart" Matterson
Hatchy, i've now done a total of 9 different tanks over the years, basically it goes like this
1- use etching acid from kit (i actually use a deoxidine soluton of which i have about 30 litres) to *thoroughly* clean all rust from tank internals- most of worst rust will be on the top of the tank adjacent to filler as this is where all the "steam" outa petrol evaporates to. this requires temporary sealing of apertures in tank and removal of fuel taps/gauge senders etc, i use a variety of sink plugs and silicon etc to block off, and on the guzzi used fuel hose and bolt/clamp combo on the fuel tap outlets. put mixture in agitae, allow overnight to etch clean (leave 1 opening clear to alow for gas/chemical reaction to expand OK) , then tip tank up the other way to make sure you get complete etching EVERYWHERE or the liner will peel off later check for complete etching everywhere, i use a torch globe with 2 soldered leads and insert into tank to check it out
2- start rinsing with hose in tank until NO SUDS seen, this means all acid residue has been washed out
3-shake out remaining water from tank then use the de-watering fluid in kit to make ABSOLUTELY sure that no water left in tank, i then put a vacuum cleaner on reverse to blow dry the inner surface
4- when COMPLETELY dry apply KREEM white latex liner, and roll/turn/sit for 5 mins/roll/turn/sit in diff position add infinitum till ALL surfaces are coated with white sealer, drain excess(save it into bottle ), then air dry again (use the reverse on vacuum again), then inspect, and use saved excess and repeat step 4 till all white liner used, air dry for approx 1 week B4 using tank
I've only ever had 1 failure with KREEM(1st tank) cos i didn't check the top of tank near filler for coverage , rust then re-set in and "peeled" liner off-BIG MESS.
Over the years I've come up with a few tricks which might help
1- Kreem tank B4 you paint as Kreem kills paintwork
2- if the tanks already painted(usually the case when you find out about rust) then cover the whole paint job in vaseline(go buy the bigus dickus wanker size of no-name vaso) this protects the paint from any acid/Kreem spillage, cleans off with petrol, then you just wash /polish tank and everything's fine
3- DON'T use any other tank liner(there are a few out there) cos Kreem is the only one that's white, and cos it is ,you can see where it's been (others are clear and a hassle, don't ask !!!)
4- the kreem kit has 3 components acid etch, de-waterer, White liner paint. If you want just buy the paint/liner as deoxidine does the same as the etcher(avail auto paint shops and is re-useable), and the de-waterer can be replaced by using acetone
5- if you buy the kit, then you can make the paint liner thinner by using the kit de-waterer(it's the correct chemical) to make it go further
6- put aside a weekend to do this as it's bloody tedious
7- use eye protection, and WELL ventilated area as this is REALLY good gear to smell,
8- if it's a Guzzi tank you're doing , after its done look inside the filler neck and make sure that the little hole in the vertical part of neck RHS (about 8mm diam) is uncovered/open, as this allows the air pockets trapped in very top of tank to push back out to filler neck- if you don't after filling up your newly kreemed and beautifully painted tank, going into servo to pay , the heat offa the motor causes air to expand and push fuel out of top of tank and bleaches the finish( i was in a hurry to go to Latins by the lake and didn't polish the tank to protect it!!!) DOH!! having said all that, once done properly you'll never have a hassle with rusting etc , Kreem's good shit to use
Bart who's use to kreeming himself!!

Mick

[sp4ce]

I Kreemed a really rusted and flaky tank about 3 years ago and it seems to be holding up. It was a very serious pain in the ass getting the tanked etched and free of rust, though. I spent god knows how many hours shaking a tank full of roofing nails and water. Rinse, repeat.. Over and over.

Rusteco's site says they will do a 6 gallon tank for $95. Knowing that, I doubt I would Kreem another tank. I definitely spent a lot more than $95 of my time, not to mention the cost of the Kreem kit.

sp4ce

[tbirdsp]

Said supercreep:
yamaha makes a rust remover product (cheap@$15.) that works very well. i don't line my tanks unless i have to, then i use johnsons tank liner.

I have also used the Yamaha stuff with success. I also blast the tank inside before and after with a pressure washer (car wash), that alone removes a lot of rust.
After that keep the tank full and install in line filters as insurance.

[esjones]

I used the Kreem kit on '47 Indian Chief I restored 10 years ago. I haven't had any problems with it to date, just make sure to follow the directions......Earle:):

[Daniel Meyer]

I've used the Kreem and Caswells Epoxy...I prefer the epoxy. Easy to do and has lasted in my buddies wing for a long time now!

[NAVIGATOR]

I used Kreem 10 years ago in a rusty tank, you just have to follow the included instructions carefully.

The tank was repainted a year after and I have changed the petcocks twice in this ten years, the product is holding as advertised, no flaking or whatever.

I don't know about the other products but kreem has worked great in my rusty tank and on another friend's tank.