Modern Vespa

My first post on the forum... Thanks for allowing me to lurk for a few months. Y'all have some great advice. So I thank you for that. In case anyone else has this issue, i thought I would return the favor and make a quick post to help out others.

I recently acquired a 1965 Allstate. I'm refurbing a bit. One the things I wanted to "fix" was the deteriorating sealant a previous owner had put into the gas tank. I suspect it was "Kreem", though I don't know for sure. Could be POR-15 or some other. The internet advice pointed to paint strippers with methylene chloride. However, I live in California, and methylene chloride is now banned here.

So, I rolled the dice and bought a stripping kit from KBS coatings.

https://www.kbs-coatings.com/cycle-tank-sealer-plus-kit.html

It worked like a charm. My tank is squeaky clean now. Tips I learned from internet search and from calling KBS customer service:

1. Tape up the outside of the tank if you want to protect the outside finish.
2. Warm the stripping compound in hot water for about 15-20 minutes.
3. Throw some nuts and bolts in the tank. (somehow, I magnetized a few washers in the process. That was fun getting them out )
4. Be prepared to shake the tank for 30 minutes plus while the stripper does it's work.
5. Having a power washer handy can help at the end to get any stubborn pieces of sealant off the hard to reach corners.

All in, it took my about two hours to prep the tank, clean it, rinse it, and dry it. Not too bad.

Happy to help others with advice if they need it!

No before, during and after pics?

It's hard to photo the inside of the tank, but here is one of the tank prepped from the outside. That tape is a 3M floor tape. The rubber cork I got at Lowe's, and I drilled the "pull" on it. Also, looks like I can only post one pic at a time. If anyone wants others, let me know!

Next time I think to post, I'll try to include more pics.[/img]

Top side

Welcome and tks for the info and pics. Actually, you can add multiple pics in a post -- you just need to hit add attachment after each one when the screen refreshes (if memory serves). Good luck with the project.

Me shaking the gas tank for about a half hour. Good upper body workout! Mask helped with the fumes. Do this job outside!

Using the missus's old hair dryer to dry the left over rinse water from the tank. I just set the temp to "cool" and let it run for about a half hour. No moisture was left over inside when done.

genius.