Aviation Fiber Glass tank sealant?

Has anyone used "AC Tech AC240B-2 Quick Cure Fuel Tank & Fuselage Sealant" ? I believe made by 3M.
I have emailed the company to see if it works with fiberglass tanks and with ethanol or alcohol fuels.
It claims to resist most types of fuels and I think that is important at 35,000 feet, or making the Tons Up club on an Old Norton.
I have read about most of them:
Por 15-Bad
Kreem-Bad
Hirsch-Good
Caswell-Good/some bad

Hi, couldn't tell you about the sealant but if it is a 3M product it should be good , but pricey.
As for POR15 don't think it is meant for use in glass tanks but I have used it on a steel tank and after 2 years it is still doing a good job on my metal tank. I have also read some horror stories about tank sealants so I think it's you pays your money and you take your chance. Happy hunting.

J

snortonNorton said:

Has anyone used "AC Tech AC240B-2 Quick Cure Fuel Tank & Fuselage Sealant" ? I believe made by 3M.
I have emailed the company to see if it works with fiberglass tanks and with ethanol or alcohol fuels.
It claims to resist most types of fuels and I think that is important at 35,000 feet, or making the Tons Up club on an Old Norton.
I have read about most of them:
Por 15-Bad
Kreem-Bad
Hirsch-Good
Caswell-Good/some bad

Click to expand...

I guess you're going to be the guinea pig.

It's worth bearing in mind that aviation fuels are ethanol-free (ignoring turbine fuels), and aircraft requirements (thermal expansion from -70 @35kft to +40 deg.C @sl kind of thing) may be overriding requirements which don't readily translate to our bikes (+15 to + 30 deg. C in my case!).

Lots of threads here regarding sealants, most with 'variable' results. I got good results with Tank Care Products sealant here in the UK, and I've now done a few. I recently used Caswell Black Magic on a tank for a friend - still awaiting feedback on that one. I believe both are epoxy-base.

If it's a Roadster, the Emgo tank is The Answer - A few forum members have paid for nice paint jobs on fibreglass tanks only to see them fall apart after a few months.

Kreem was bad news for me.

auldblue said:

Hi, couldn't tell you about the sealant but if it is a 3M product it should be good , but pricey.
As for POR15 don't think it is meant for use in glass tanks but I have used it on a steel tank and after 2 years it is still doing a good job on my metal tank. I have also read some horror stories about tank sealants so I think it's you pays your money and you take your chance. Happy hunting.

J

Click to expand...

I have great results with the POR 15 as well in steel tanks. One tank I sealed is over 8 years old and 50,000 kilometers latter.

I have just used Caswell on two of my steel commando tanks. follow the instructions and you will not be disappointed !

I think all this tripe about sealants is crap. I have a fiberglass tank on mine and it has been fine for at least 20yrs of my ownership. Every time a new bloke comes along with his first Norton everyone chimes in that he has to do some number of upgrades to make the bike usable. It is enough to scare off a potential Norton owner. Think of the joy he will miss if he passes on a Norton. These bikes were more than capable of holding up and holding their own with the competition for long periods just the way they came from the factory. If you find one that has been in hibernation for a long time, just clean her up and do the normal maintenace. Fire her up and ride.

aceaceca said:

I think all this tripe about sealants is crap. I have a fiberglass tank on mine and it has been fine for at least 20yrs of my ownership. Every time a new bloke comes along with his first Norton everyone chimes in that he has to do some number of upgrades to make the bike usable. It is enough to scare off a potential Norton owner. Think of the joy he will miss if he passes on a Norton. These bikes were more than capable of holding up and holding their own with the competition for long periods just the way they came from the factory. If you find one that has been in hibernation for a long time, just clean her up and do the normal maintenace. Fire her up and ride.

Click to expand...

Things I'd want to check before I rode a Norton after a long hibernation:

1. Layshaft bearing
2. Brake pedal return spring (install one)
3. Main bearings (Combat needs Superblend mains)
4. Nearly empty oil tank does not mean low on oil (wet sumper)
5. Widow maker frame

snortonNorton said:

Has anyone used "AC Tech AC240B-2 Quick Cure Fuel Tank & Fuselage Sealant" ? I believe made by 3M.
I have emailed the company to see if it works with fiberglass tanks and with ethanol or alcohol fuels.
It claims to resist most types of fuels and I think that is important at 35,000 feet, or making the Tons Up club on an Old Norton.
I have read about most of them:
Por 15-Bad
Kreem-Bad
Hirsch-Good
Caswell-Good/some bad

Click to expand...

I've used Kreem on a motorbike tank and it has held up for 15+ years and counting. With respect to POR 15, on vintage hog forums you'll find plenty of guys that swear by it as well as a bunch that swear at it. Likewise, on an Indian forum Red-kote has it's promoters, fans and detractors.

http://damonq.com/red-kote.html

The 3M sealant family you referenced are polysulfide-based compositions, thus far outside the realm of normal tank sealant chemistry and likely priced commensurately. Probably overkill for the application, but nobody can say what's best for you except you.

http://tinyurl.com/kxob3ko

I think many of the coatings work well, but the tank preparation and sealant application are critical to success and I question how rigorous the general population is at following directions. For example if you asked 10 people to etch a tank with phosphoric acid, rinse it well and dry it completely before applying the sealer, I suspect you'd end up with a pretty wide variation in the surface condition of the tank interior prior to application of sealant. Likewise the technique of applying sealer, sealing and unsealing bungs/openings, curing sealer etc, open the process up to further variation. Just my $0.02.

One thing ole Carbonzo left us was Novalac resin was the most booze resistant kind out there and what the Caswell folks sell as welll as others. Still want to take the time it takes to do one very thick single layer or a couple-3 thinner ones never leting it stop turning till rather set up which can take like 30 min. I think Peel's extra thick layer prevents some crashes from crushing the IS tank so definitely adds some strength to point I think a whole tank could be made of it. Accetone will clean and etch old resin tanks but must be heat exvaportated out well not to work in to dissolve the resin way faster than spiked fuel. I've left mowers outside with eithonal in them and started and ran fine so water collecting ain't too big a deal for most of us. My SuVee with steel tank got stored a couple years with 10% ethanol outside away from home d/t a friend dropping it and took a long time to start again but then fine w/o cleaning anything tankgoodness.

I have used POR15 on four steel tanks with complete success. The first one I treated was twelve years ago, & it's still fine now. I used Caswell on the 750 Glass fibre tank six years ago,& that is also still fine. I think it really is all down to very careful preparation.
I must add that here in the U.K. we have only had 5% Ethanol in petrol. Maybe this is a factor? This is sadly going to change in 2017, when up to 10% will be added.

Underwriters labratories spec:
UL1316 Glass fiber reinforced plastic underground storage tank for petroleum products, alcohols and alcohol-gasoline mixtures

This is a resin that I am looking for in both epoxy and vinylester resin. I have found a candidate and will need to try and source some so I can make some tanks that will pass this spec. It may well be in the novalac family.

Why would airplane sealer care about E-10...they don't use E-10...in the USA .....dunno about Canada?

polyethylene terephthalate or PET, is a polyester) used for prolonged contact with alcohol. If a 3D printer set up for this then print out tanks with internal bracing - baffles, if painted leave a window to sight fuel level.

http://www.habitat21.co.uk/plastics-3.html

Thanks for all the help here. Not sure which route to go. The tank has been empty for years and I see fiberglass repair on the bottom. I worry about that.
I see on EBAY that there is a new steel roadster tank for sale out of India for only $210 US funds. They look pieced together on the bottom and not pressed like some of the more expensive ones.

Well save the fg one as it can always be cut open again and relayered as some have shown us here and may again just for kix. I say why not do both, seal tank with an appealing name sealant then fill with spiked gas, set aside and some life on Commando with the ebay tank to eventually know if the fg is a keeper on not. They found it takes about 70 yrs for a lump of tar to from a drop that detaches to fall but keep fg tank in a tub while waiting. it sometimes possible to tell if coating breaking down before resin reached or really set up hard by gentle jabs with a sharp probe. Ya sure don't want to feel like those whose engines seized form resined and dissolved sealant polluted fuel intake.

I think that is my plan. Buy an EBay steel one and keep the FG one. If I cut it open I would like to stretch it one inch and widen it at least an inch.
Maybe gain a half gallon or so. Keep the same proportions.
I have used the "3M™ Panel Bonding Adhesive, 200 mL, 08115" to repair tanks before than coated them with POR15 and have never had a problem. I might just coat the whole inside of the tank with this stuff. I will do a test piece first. Also thought of coating the FG tank with a layer of carbon fiber inside & out with the proper alcohol resistant resin. Little bigger, tougher & heavier but safer.