Fuel Tank Liner Removal

[Rineheitzgabot]

Does anyone know of a best practice to achieve removing the liner inside my tanks? I'm wondering if it is possible to completely remove it. I recently removed the tanks to have them repainted and since they have sat without any fuel and been through a paint bake cycle, the liner is flaking off in large amounts. Thanks in advance!

 

[SCC007]

There are some past posts about it. But having just done it...
Step one tape off the tank...all the tank. I did a layer of painters tape then a layer of saran rap then another layer of tape.
Drain the tank, then add a cleaner, I used Purple Power...but Simple Green (or similar) will work. Add a couple handfuls of drywall nails or screws. Shake like crazy and then shake it some more. Drain it and then do it again until it looks good inside. Rinse it out with water and make sure you get all the screws (or whatever you used) out. CHECK to make sure you get all the screws out! And all the water (I let mine dry overnight).
Put some acetone in and shake it as well, drain the acetone and let it dry (again I let it sit overnight).
After you make sure you are clean and good to go add your tank liner, from advice I used Red Kote, which can be had at Orielly's (there are other options out there) making sure to follow their instructions.
Best of luck. So far the above steps resulted in a good clean tank and the new liner looks good. Only about 2 months on it so can't tell you longevity but no complaints so far.

 

[kickstart]

There are a load of you tube videos about removing liners and as many opinions of replacing or not. I remember making a fixture for old HD tanks and using pulleys to reduce the turning speed to remove rust from old barn finds. If I remember we used some fine gravel to remove the rust.
Good luck with your project.

cleaning out a motorcycle fuel tank liner at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

 

[Rineheitzgabot]

Thank you gentlemen. I would love to hear anyone's opinions on whether a replacement liner is necessary. Pro's, con's, etc.

 

[SCC007]

It's necessary, the liner protects the metal tank from rust. It also works to seal small leaks (if they exist) in the welds or seams of the tank. Fuel has some amount of moisture/water in it which accumulates at times. Ethanol in fuel also attracts water...all of which will cause more rust or problems down the road.
The only con is if it is installed wrong and plugs (seals) up fittings or itself flakes off. I've had that problem where someone had put a new liner in without removing the crossover line or drain. Some people have reported that Red-Kote can turn your fuel red (but I havent had that problem so far)...and seems to be either an issue with alcohol based fuels or improper application/drying.