Harley gas tank sealer

[exeric]

One of the reasons I like a paste type paint remover is because it generally stays in place and you don't need to fill the tank to full capacity like you would with a watery viscous solvents like MEK, or acetone. Regardless of liner solvents used; if you have pin-holes in the steel tank, your paint job will be ruined in the process of removing the old liner. Better to just strip the whole tank of outside, and inside coatings and start all over again. . . A real 'bummer' in the immortal words of old hippies.

[chuckthebeatertruck]

Otis, the grey is likely a polyurea “epoxy” which means it’s really a high grade poly-acrylic. These were the old truck stop liners. Once cured, you have to break the skin to get them to start breaking down. Lac or acetone will do it, but it takes forever.

They soften best in toulene, which is nonpolar and breaks the bonds pretty fast compared to acetone.

i really hate that stuff as much as the old gas tank epoxy sticks. Real mofo to remove this stuff and it’s almost always covering up rust.

my approach is to soften, then fill with 220 grit triangles (usually green) and tumble. You can rig up all sorts of things to turn the tank over and over. Let it run for 24 -48 hours. 90-95% will come out. Then, you can coat with a higher strength liner like caswell. It isn’t best practice to leave any old liner in the seams, but you often don’t have a choice unless you open the tank and mechanically remove it all.

[otis71]

The tank has been on idle for several months with lacquer thinner sitting in it, I have a spare primered tank so it got pushed to the back burner with lack of progress. I bought a gallon of acetone so that is next. Nothing to lose now. If not successful I’ll see if I can find toluene. The shame is that where the liner came off the tank appears rust free and solid. Also to exeric, can you give a little more information on paste removers? I haven’t heard of them. Thanks for the suggestions.

[exeric]

Paste paint remover is generally used for automotive paint removal (Corvettes in particular). Because I'm cheap, I use cheap furniture paint remover. There's a high end aircraft stripper, and low end furniture stripper and they are priced accordingly, but generally a gallon of stripper is comparably priced to a gallon of MEK, or Acetone. Regardless, you will need to use a solvent to remove residue so see what works on the liner in your tank. Getting the old liner out is just the first step, and as Steve said, there is always rust, leaks, and dents to deal with so the fun just keeps on coming. I can't say I love working on gas tanks, but I don't hate it either because I enjoy a hard-earned result.

[PaulCDF]

Once upon a time: you could take your tank to a radiator shop for cleaning . . .

I have had success with steam getting old liner out.