Red Kote Wisdom and Guidance

Has anybody compiled a single document for lessons learned with using Red Kote on our bikes? I was going through some posts seeing little pieces of wisdom here and there.

Thanks in advance.

 

Hi @Antothoro. Are you thinking about the Red Kote product in particular or the fuel tank liners in general? Or even more generally about the whole process of restoring a rusty, crusty old tank?

 

I have used Red Coat with good results ...as long as you clean tanks as much as possible. I coated the tank almost two years ago with no issues. Years and seems like century ago I made the mistake on my Kawasaki I used Kream it looked good for a few months until it stated peeling took forever to remove it. Another product is Casswell that many have had good luck with . What ever you do you have to try to get as much rust and crud out your tank , the float and petcock has to be removed as well as fuel cap. Fabricate something a plastic lid from an ice cream container ( and it is delicious too) cut it to shape and put it over the openings with fasteners. I used vinegar and a bunch of new shiny washers slosh it around vigorously, let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes, agitate again let it sit for 15 minutes and drain tank , look inside see what it looks like , if still rusty repeat . The directions with Red Coat is pretty straight forward, just follow them to the letter . Cheers

 

It sounds like Red Kote is the way to go for sealing. If there is documentation on the general process, great. Just looking to learn from those that have done this on an XJ before.

 

I have never tried Red Kote. I am familiar with the Caswell product, however.

Just looking at the Red Kote site, I think a number of the same rules apply:
1. Make it as clean as possible before using - as @Jetfixer said. There are a lot of different techniques to de-rust and de-junk. Doesn't matter which one you use, just do it well.
2. Do not plan on coating the inside of a tank that you are not willing to refinish the exterior of the tank - unless you plan to be extra extra extra careful. And I mean extra extra extra careful.. Chances are you will mess up the exterior finish of the tank while trying to put the liner on the inside.

I am now very curious to figure out the differences between the Red Kote product and the Caswell. Caswell is a two-part epoxy system. It looks like the Red Kote is some sort of urethane that dries like paint (i.e. the solvents evaporate, leaving the coating). To be honest, I think the Caswell if very good stuff. But if any Red Kote reps are reading this and want to send me a sample for comparison, I have a few tanks in the queue that need a lining - I would love to give it a try.

The tricky part about Caswell- other than the same prep work to create a good surface to bond to - is that it is the two-part catalyzed system. Which means you have a timer running once you mix the parts. I think it is 30-45 minutes or so. So the trick is to keep the stuff moving and keeping a nice layer of the liner on the inside of the tank right up until the time when it starts to set up, then you need to drain any extra ASAFP.

 

A quart of Red Coat if your tank is fully cleaned , it goes on thin , pour excess into a clean container, use a paint strainer and pour back in to can, and you will have enough to do another tank . My brother has used it , and he recommended it to me and I'm satisfied with it . Of course as a medical drug ad would say results may very , side effects can be a tank that does not leak, clean fuel flow .

 

I have used Caswell, RedKote and POR-15 and am partial to the POR-15. But with all of them the key is the tank preparation. The Caswell was my first attempt and it did work well for several years before peeling off in sheets but I had done a less than optimal prep so that is entirely on me. The Redkote I used coated the tank well but the tank had a previously undetected hole it could not seal. I have another project tank that has been radiator shop cleaned and sealed with Redkote. Most radiator shops use it if they do fuel tanks. I think aircraft tanks are generally Redkote sealed. POR-15 has some nice cleaning and sealing kits that work great when you follow the directions precisely. I have a bike whose tank I POR-15 cleaned and sealed about 12 years ago and it still looks great inside. I had spilled some on my jeans while doing the deed and it lasted on them for years, still looked good when the pants died.
@Dan Gardner is correct that you have to be VERY careful in shielding the outside of your tank to protect it but again, being careful in what you are doing and all will be fine. Good luck!

 

thanks for all the guidance team. I got some evaporust in the tank right now. The ports are blocked up with blanks. Looking forward to giving the evaporust some time then using the Red Kote.

 

red kote is good stuff

 

The tank is drying right now. Is flash rust OK before applying Red Kote.

 

I believe so