Gas Tank seeping

[Larry Barnes]

My 48 left side gas tank is developing a seeping leak in the front, near and behind the mounting bolt hole. To date, paint damage is on the bottom of the tank and I'd like to fix before it ruins the side paint. The tanks were sealed about five years ago, although I can't remember the brand of sealant applied.

• My first hope is that I could just seal them again? Could 't I just put new sealer over the old?
• If that's not possible, aren't there chemical coatings (gasoline proof) that I could paint or lay over the outside to seal it?
• And finally, since Indian tanks are soldered, not welded, who can do such a project if the above hopes cannot be successful?

[Jim]

All I can say is a lot of guys have Alex Trepanier repair them. Harry’s radiator 626-592-2212 You can find him on Facebook. Just search his name on the Vintage Indian (1901-1953) Owners Group page.

I highly doubt you can coat over top of the old coating.

[exeric]

I believe most sealers can be affected by MEK, or Acetone which may prepare it for a fresh coat of sealer. Regardless, a new coat of sealer is just a band-aid prior to a true repair. Personally, I would use a new coat of sealer to save your paint job. I've used 'Red-Kote with good results but I would contact them, or other sealer makers and find out what they recommend. Worst case, the tanks will have to be stripped and repaired but it would be nice to get some more years out of what you have. I can't think of any exterior repairs (other than lead solder) that would fix a gas tank leak. Needless to say, lead solder on a gas tank can be dangerous, and is a task for an experienced person.

[Steve Slocombe]

Dear Larry, nice to hear from you again and hope you are well. Over here I've had a leak on the side of a new, sealed, tank which I take to be an imperfection in the metal or a small crack. It got as far as a bubble in the paint say one inch across. I drained the tank, cut out the paint bubble with a razor blade, sanded lightly, put in a shallow dent round the affected area, then applied PetroPatch by Granville, which looks like a two component epoxy putty. I smothed it off, rubbed it down when dry as best I could, then took the whole bike to my painter who finished and resprayed the patch. Don't know how long it will last but it looks perfect and I didn't need to take the tank off. I've had previous problems with tank sealing, usually from poor preparation. You need to remove the old coating with carbon tetrachloride and, having an economical streak, I used the contents of old Pyrene fire extinguishers with ball bearings or granite chippings. Then acetone to finish and dry, then sealer on the tank in front of a heater so it flows all round the tank inside.

[DEEBS47Chief1991]

POR15 used to offer a liner kit that included a container of stripper to remove the old line such as Kreem gas tank liner. I had to remove the Kreem liner from my 47 Chief tanks because they cracked when exposed to the alcohol in the fuel. I was able to do this carefully without ruining the paint. I re-did the liner with POR15 and it has held up about 20 years now. The prep is the key to success.


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[otis71]

Caswell 2 part sealer has given me good results. It adheres best to rusty surfaces but the rust can’t be flaking. As with anything the surfaces have to be free of oil, dirt or other contaminants. I would imagine that would include previous sealers.

[T. Cotten]

https://forum.antiquemotorcycle.org/...ank#post313406

...Cotten