Chemical stripping

[royhall]

Anybody know where I can get a petrol tank chemically stripped inside and out preferably in the Lancashire area. Or one that has a reliable courier service. Cheers.

[K2-K6]

This seems to be well regarded in classic car world,  maybe suitable for you.

https://www.surfaceprocessing.co.uk/news/

Unsure of logistics from your location.

[royhall]

Found a place near me in Preston but it's not a chemical dip process. It's an oven thing, is it suitable for bike tanks?

[K2-K6]

I'm not certain as I thought they baked the car shells to assist in removal of all the underseal,  sealant etc prior to acid dipping.

It maybe worth discussing with spl their process to see what's on offer as they should be able to at least describe to you if they take on tanks. 

Or contact Menno to gain more insight,  hopefully he'd be willing to discuss.

[Trigger]

You have to be very careful of chemical stripping a tank. I took what looked like a good tank to be chromed and was advised that they would not be responsible for any holes that appeared as, it would go through 8 different processes that takes a layer off each time 

[royhall]

Dream Machine bead blast all their tanks which is way more aggressive than chemical strip. It was Dream Machine that advised me to get the tank acid stripped as they said the beads would tear my already damaged tank to bits. If I can get it stripped Dream Machine are going to remove the bad section and weld in a plate. I will give SPL a call later today and see what's on offer. One day I will awake from this Suzuki nightmare.

[AshimotoK0]

Really feel for your'e pain Roy.... I just blasted a CD175 sloper tank at work with Vixosheen 0/44 grade beads.. it's action is so mild that it takes quite a while to remove any residual paint. Probably not what you want to hear but if the structure of the your tank is so weak it will probably come back to bite you again whatever method you use, unless you reinforce the weak metal in some way. Are you talking about the inside of the tank or the outside? I would think any abrasive cleaning inside might lead to trouble with media getting trapped and then coming out with the petrol. I am no expert though.. I guess Menno is you best man on this. The inside of my 500/4 tank he cleaned out was simply amazing. Incidentally, I bead blasted that tank on the outside with 0/44 Vixosheen  beads before I sent it and he said it looked really nice and gave me a bit of discount.

[royhall]

I was trying to avoid saying this as I don't want to damage reputations here. The Suzuki tank has already been back to a certain place abroad three times. This last time when I filled the newly repainted tank it leaked petrol all over the bikes red hot exhaust and my right leg. Where the tank was repaired, according to Dream Machine, it should have been cut out and a plate welded in. But that's the beauty of hindsight anyone can make a mistake and our friend has been really decent about it. This Suzuki build has been trouble all the way, this time the bastard tried to burn me to death.

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[AshimotoK0]

Was your tank chemically stripped inside when it was  painted originally Roy?

I agree that if it was my tank I would either have new metal stitched in or find a better tank (I appreciate the latter is difficult in the case of the Suzuki).

I am pretty sure Andrew Parnaby the guy I use in the UK could metal  repair and paint the tank. His prices are on par with Menno but his lead times can be much, much longer.

[royhall]

Was your tank chemically stripped inside when it was  painted originally Roy?

I agree that if it was my tank I would either have new metal stitched in or find a better tank (I appreciate the latter is difficult in the case of the Suzuki).

I am pretty sure Andrew Parnaby the guy I use in the UK could metal  repair and paint the tank. His prices are on par with Menno but his lead times can be much, much longer.

Yes it was acid stripped inside and out. Dream Machine are happy to do the job but I need to get it stripped first. The holes were repaired with solder not welded then a liner fitted. First time it was filled at a petrol station the swirling of the petrol from the nozzle completely destroyed the liner and the solder hadn't done its job. Destroyed paintwork yet again. And could have been set on fire as the petrol was running over the red hot exhaust. Shame the bugger didn't burn I could have collected the insurance payout.

This is the company close to me that does the oven thing.  http://www.paint-strip.co.uk/    Any ideas if this would be okay?

[K2-K6]

Sympathise Roy, didn't realise it was "that" tank.

To be fair to work previously done it's very difficult to complete,  especially if you try initially to preserve the original with least interference of form.

The original metal pressing to get that shape makes the metal stretch close to realistic limits at points like that,  which is why you get a vulnerability along there initially.  Looks like braze with bronze is used to repair which is a good material.  But if corrosion is present all along there internally then the heat from brazing will advance the corrosion around it (it goes over temp and spits off the surface) resulting in other weak spots failing. You can really just chase your tail like that and never get long term fix because the metal is so thin.

Reluctantly you'd have to cut the section out to replace (you can't stick a patch on outside without changing form) weld in replacement and grind back to final shape. It's still difficult to butt weld (edge to edge) thin steel plate,  so someone with that specific experience is needed.  A black belt in welding wonky stuff required.  You have to keep the weld as low a temperature as possible for best weld integrity,  local overheating of the weld site can bring porosity to the join from which you get damp seeping that'll lift the paint.

With that in mind and given the frustration,  I'd want to see a repair verified first prior to paint.

If you go with repair, then it may be worth compleing structural to desired level,  then run it with primer painted to prove it first for decent time prior to finishing if field trials succeed.

[royhall]

then run it with primer painted to prove it first for decent time prior to finishing if field trials succeed.

That is a first class idea.

[sye]

A quick hunt around uncovered this but don't know if it's the correct one or too expensive?

http://www.ricepaddy.com/gas-tank-suzuki-gs1000e-1978-1979.html

[royhall]

Sorry Sye, it's the wrong tank and it's also sold. Mine is a 78/79 GS1000HC. These tanks are rare as the rarest thing ever, due to them being thinner steel the Honda's. Thanks for trying though, keep it up. Cheers.

[Laverda Dave]

Roy, you could try giving I Cleenz Machinz a call and gave a chat with George. They use old and very fine  blasting media on delicate parts. They are based in Penge, SE London but maybe worth a try? They won't be able to put a patch in but I'm sure they will know someone who can. They will be at the Kempton Park Jumble tomorrow.