Well, I ordered this kit from Frost Auto Restoration. I paid a little extra for faster delivery to be sure I had it in plenty of time to get my bike back on the road for Squires, and it turned up within a couple of days. (I ordered on a Sunday night, and it turned up on Tuesday morning, so well done to Frost.)
The kit comes in three main parts. The first cleans the tank, the second treats the rust and preps the metal for the third which seals everything.
I already had the tank off and opened up, and I'd cleaned out the water and spoiled fuel, so there was only a little left to do to remove the fuel cap and remaining plumbing. The instructions say to seal the tank using cork of duct tape. Well, let's just say go to a home-brew place or something, and get some big cork bungs. I did it with the duct tape, but it leaked like a sieve.
The cleaner was all good. Mixed with some hot water it just needed shaken around the tank for a while and tipped out. Then the whole lot needs rinsed with water. But because of the shape of the tank, the water never empties out. I've spoken to Ducati Glasgow in the past, and they advised against popping the drain plug to empty the tank in case it didn't seal properly later - it was regarded as a better plan to just syphon the whole lot out. Consequently, after a good rinse I used kitchen roll to dry out the remaining water.
The metal prep is blue in colour and will stain your paint if it'd left on. If (like me) your tank is still leaking through the improvised plugs, that means keeping rags/towels/something on hand to wipe off any drips from the paint. Again it needs sloshed about and held in different positions for a while. Again, drain it and rinse it thoroughly. And in my case, again mop up the remaining water.
At this point the tank keeds to be completely dry to prepare it for the sealer. Enter the wife's hair-dryer. got the air in the tank nice and hot and dry, and this got rid of all but the last drops of water. A bit of Bounty kitchen roll (with thirst pockets or some such nonsense), and it was dry as a bone.
Again, close up the holes, and then pour in the sealant. This stuff is nasty in more ways than I can describe. It's full of potent solvents (smells like very strong model paint), and has a long list of hazardous substances in it. Half-a-dozen of these have long scary chemical names. The next half-dozen just have numbers. And at the end of the list are the three most frightening words: "Contents partially unknown." What the hell? They've sent me a can of Kryptonite. Now I just need to get Superman and kick his ass!
The sealant is based on a similar substance to Superglue, and like Superglue (and the medical adhesives *that's* based on), it uses moisture to cure. If you're a professional auto-painter, and you intend covering a lot of metal with this, either paint it with a brush or have an isolated air supply for breathing. If you spray this stuff as an aerosol, and you end up breathing it, it will cure in your lungs, and it *will* kill you. Nice, eh?
Anyway, to deal with a bike tank, it's straightforward enough to mix the tin up, pour it into the tank, and roll it around all the surfaces. It's quite viscous, and will cling nicely to the inside surface. Once that's been in for a while, drain it out. Again, for me, this involved mopping the last of it out.
Once that's done, put it somewhere safe so that if it drips it'll drain into a disposable container. The idea is to pour it back into the tin, add a little water, shake it up and leave it to cure. Then it can be chucked as a solid. The tank must be left to cure for 4 days. At that point it can all be replumbed, refitted and used.
As a last fight against me, it turned out that the breather pipe mounting holes in the top of the tank had filled with the sealant whilst I was rolling it around. Not a big problem - I just got a small, pointed screwdriver and a hammer, and knocked it through. It's flexible once it's set, so it won't shatter.
So that's that. The bottom of the tank is now smooth and shiney. It's sealed in all the rust, and should prevent any more from forming. It's water-, oil-, alcohol-, paraffin-, diesel-, and petrol-proof. And it should now be sorted permanently.
So what do I think about it? It was pretty easy, but a bit messy. With proper cork bungs it would have been fine, though. The kit was comprehensive, and also included a patch and brush to allow you to treat perforated sections of the tank. The instructions were clear and simple. The sealant seems like good stuff. Only time will tell on that one. It seems to have a good reputation on the internet, so that's a bonus. If the bottom drops out of my tank, then it'll be crap, but the way things are looking just now, with the nice smooth finish in the bottom, it's a job well done.
To do the same job again, I'd buy the same stuff. I'd do it better (use cork bungs, and probably get some goggles and a facemask), but I wouldn't hesitate to use the same product again.
or failing that everyone speak with Defiler - good help