sealing FLOAT CHAMBERS?

[gsottl]

I just sealed the inside of one of my Linkert float chambers with tank-sealer (Kreem Rot - similar to Glyptol in the US) and wonder if anyone has experience with that?

I hope it helps to protect the float chamber from corroding - in particular with the new types of fules.

Good idea to do that or do you see any disadvantages?

Best wishes from Austria/Europe,
gsottl

[T. Cotten]

Gsottl!

There are many fine coatings and sealers on the market.
But the digestive additives in fuels are un-named, un-countable, and constantly changing.

USA fuels of a decade ago would eat nearly all commercial sealers and adhesives, however the past few years have been a reprieve. We hope it is not temporary.
Only testing of sealers and other products directly in your local fuel will determine if there will be a digestivity problem that year. Summer blends have been the worst in the past.
With rising prices, the temptation for illegal solvent dumping into fuels adds another threat.

My philosophy is to avoid anything that may be a target for the fuel, however eroded carburetor bowls (and bowlstems on potmetal Scheblers) do need protection from further deterioration.
My choice is an isocyanate urethane (Omnithane 530 by TNEMEC), as it has never been affected in my testing, even in seasons when the fuel was close to 'alien spit'.
This June, I shall again test various paints, sealers, and other goobers upon etched glass plates submersed in fuel, however it only reveals the nature of one local fuel. It really says little about the products themselves.

And you never know what will come out of the next pump.

....Cotten

[gsottl]

Thank you for you detailed answer to my thread Cotton!

I have put the same sealer in my gastanks and have experienced there is no other way than sealing the gastanks in some way as they will corrode heavily with the modern type of petrols that are mixed with bio-fuels.

For the floatbowl I thought it would not cause too much damage in case the paint gets loose and it can easily be removed again by blasting - in any case I hope the seal works at least for a couple of years.

Cheers,
gsottl

[38 el]

Hey Cotton, is that the same as the isocyanate based POR-15 products, such as thier tank sealer?
Have you used this?
Im looking for the best thing to seal the tanks on a Knucklehead....
Any input?
Thanks,
Jim

[T. Cotten]

Hey Cotton, is that the same as the isocyanate based POR-15 products, such as thier tank sealer?
Have you used this?
Im looking for the best thing to seal the tanks on a Knucklehead....
Any input?
Thanks,
Jim

Jim!

It is absolutely NOT like POR-15.
I lost a couple of thousand on POR-15 failures, and it has since failed every year in my immersion tests upon etched glass. (This year, my can is probably too far past its shelf for proper evaluation of the fuel, but that's it at the bottom left of my photo: softened, expanded and curled, and detached from the substrate.)
This year will be the first that I can test my Midwestern Shell with Red-Cote, along with all of the usual goobers. If it is affected, it warns of a return to very digestive fuels for the Nation, although Shell varies regionally.

...Cotten

[ricmoran]

POR 15 is a moisture cure urethane, so keep that in mind when comparing coatings to one another. Without a 65% or better humidity your wasting your time trying to use POR 15 or any other moisture cure for that fact. You could wet the metal prior to coating it as the coating will use that moisture to kick it off, but if the humidity is really low, you'd have to mist water to the surface over the time it takes to set it up for the POR 15 to properly cure.

Tom, if the product is soft and you can punch a screwdriver into it easily, try mixing in some of the solvent used to clean the brushes when using the POR.

Since this stuff is a moisture cure, when storing it the best procedure is to top off the coating with either xylene or toululene as that helps keep air away from it. We sell and use the CORTEC VpCI 396 Moisture Cure which is in the same category and have gone a couple years with storgae of opened cans....as a matter of fact those cans are still on the self waiting for a project.

I think we had a can sent to you to fool around with. No worries if you had not used it as the product will last in the can for at least 2 to 3 years or longer. Jsut be sure to flip it over every now and again. Once opening it, top it off with about 1/4" of solvent as listed above for best sotrage and longevity.

Keep in mind once a moisture cure passes it's "plastic" state where the edges are brittle the product is worthless at that point.

Another way to test what any particular gas blend will do is to let the coating start to firm up or go "plastic" and then ad the fuel to it and see if it can be mixed into the coating. If the fuel readily mixes, you can bet that the fuel will emulsify the coating when cured over time.

One trick learned with moisture cure is that if there are deep crevices or cracks to fill, at the coatings plastic state, it can be used like a bondo to fill in the cracks. The CORTEC VpCI 396 has rust inhibitors in it.

We get projects where there are saddle assemblies that leave deep crevices and water gathers.

A wet coat is applied first, then the crack is filled in with the "plastic" coat about 3/4 - 1" depth, and then again another wet coat and so on until the crevice is filled.

We've gone about 3 to 4" with 1/2 - 3/4" gaps and have been successful in halting the advancement of corrosion, and this is in areas where water and rust scale are tough to remove unless bead blast is done.

The items we wrok on are museum static displays that are left out doors, such as Naval deck guns, tanks etc. and the museums do not have the cash to spend to fully refurb their displays which means bead blasting is not part of the refurb project.

The DoD enviromental rrules for doing bead blasting are over the top and the expence is stratoshperic for just enclosing the area let alone recovery of the media used.

If fuel can be mixed in and readily absorbed by the coating, failure will be soon to follow.

[T. Cotten]

Rick!

The TNEMEC product is a humidity-cure product as well, or so I was told several years ago when I acquired it.
My fear is that the formula has since changed, and my stash may be more precious than I treat it now, literally doseing it out with a toothpick.

The results between the two, both well cured, in my local P4gas, are night and day.

I'm not looking for a way to make POR-15 work.
I do intend to keep my remainder out of the landfill, however.

....Cotten