Gas Tank Lining

If I am going to be honest, I would always repair a steel or Alloy tank rather than line it.

i have done MANY tanks over the years, and a pet hate has always been lined tanks. they invariably fail after a few years... its now worse with ethanol fuel.

if you can, repair it, although i know that's not always possible as its expensive to do paintwork. I used to refuse to repair a tank that had been lined, but now days there is a local company that strips car body shells with heat. they pop the shell a BIG oven, and bring it up to temperature. All the paint and underseal burn off after a few hours. i get them to put a tank in the inside of the car. when it comes out, you can shake the black dust out that was the lining! all the paint is removed as well... I then repair the tank properly with weld, or TIG braze. Another advantage is I never feel nervous when I take the torch to it after that process! Whenever I weld a tank I always fret a little!!!

I have had good success removing internal rust from tanks with ordinary vinegar which is cheap. fill the tank with it and let it stand... pop a handful of dry wall screws in there and give it a good shake when you can... leave it a week and the tank will come out very clean.

last month I did a 1928 Sunbeam tank... It was original 1928 paint and pin stripes on there, and the owner wanted to keep that... and the nice patina. it had been lined MANY times in the past, but was leaking again, right above the hot exhaust... This time I cut the bottom out with a cutting disc, and put a small tank inside (I actually used a disposable CO2 gas botttle!). interestingly, the back of the tank was the oil tank, and of course that was perfect inside...

Which brings me onto keeping tanks good inside... On older bikes I advocate the use of some two stroke in the fuel... keeps the rust at bay, and has the added advantage of lubing the pistons on startup after standing!

I have a borescope these days (now very cheap - they plug into your laptop and are fantastic!) useful for inspecting the inside of tanks and all sorts of things. I looked in a Multistrada tank recently (my own bike) that had been lined... so much had been missed... but that is a very complex tank inside.

I also looked inside a plastic Monster tank a few years ago that had been lined to prevent swelling. it had been done a few years earlier. It was now bubbling on the top of the tank, hence why we looked inside. the bottom of the tank was actually OK, but we noticed a few large chunks of liner in the bottom.. when we looked up on the top, that's where the pieces had come from, hence the bubbling. it was also crazed all over. My theory is in the heat of the sun, the plastic moves with the heat and cracks the liner...

As you can see... not a fan!