TANKERITE

The difference between the Tankerite and Tankerite Gum products lies in their degree of elasticity. Tankerite Gum (which is dark brown in colour) is a technical evolution of the Tankerite product, aimed at a better solution of the problem of porosity and small holes. Indeed, being a gummy product, it is more elastic and thus enables the building up of thicker layers, with consequent improvement of sealing properties.

On the other hand, it has longer catalysis times, it is more expensive, and working with it is also more complicated. In addition, it gives off a typical sulphur smell.

The use of Tankerite Gum is recommended where there are holes, small cracks or serious thinning of the sheet metal; or where there are leaks caused by riveted sheet metal joints. Thanks to its enhanced elasticity, Tankerite Gum is also useful on fibreglass tanks.

Tankerite for tanks can withstand temperatures up to 130°C. Tankerite Plus, on the other hand, is a two-part resin capable of withstanding temperatures up to 250°C, which makes it ideal for the internal lining – to be applied with a brush – of porous or lightly-cracked engine casings.

The catalysis of this product is particularly slow, therefore it is advisable to apply it only with a brush, not per direct flow, as is the case with standard Tankerite. Tankerite Plus is also resilient to the chemical attack of benzene and its by-products.

The Tankerite primer must be used whenever a tricky grip is expected, e.g. on highly-polished stainless steel, brass, copper, composite materials with low adherence properties, etc.

Furthermore, being very liquid and completely anti-corrosive, the primer is suitable as a grounding base### on very rusty tanks, where it has not been possible to strip the dusty rust away completely.

Under normal conditions, the catalysis process begins after a few hours and ends within 12 hours, whilst reticulation – i.e. complete resilience to chemical agents – takes places after a few days.

Tankerite and Tankerite Gum can be used without any problems on fibreglass and composite-material tanks, as long as their inner walls have a rough finish.

With ABS, nylon or other plastics materials, a primer must first be used. To find the best solution in these cases, we recommend calling our Technical Service, in order to better understand the type of material to be treated.

The resin catalyses even without sun, but preferably with the plug removed.

Obviously, a well-ventilated place – with a good temperature above 15°C – contributes to a good reticulation, which normally takes place within a week. Excessively low or high temperatures can slow down or speed up incorrectly the catalysis process.

The phosphating acid is used to dissolve the existing rust and to clean the oxidised sheet metal.

However, after using the acid, the use of the resin is indispensable, in order to avoid further and more serious oxidation.

The Tankerite kit is pre-dosed and ready to be mixed.

To use only part of the product, it must be divided it accurately by weight, with the aid of precision scales, following the enclosed instructions, i.e. with a ratio of 100 g of resin per 25 g of catalyst.

The resin coating must be carried out over the whole tank, in order to create a complete and continuous inner lining that is impervious to fuels.

Partial treatment could cause infiltrations of petrol, with consequent unpredictable detachment of the resin.

Splitting can take place where there is an excessively thick layer of wrinkled-up resin, or when a higher dosage of catalyst has been used. However, these are simply problems of appearance, not technical ones.

To avoid this type of splitting, we recommend draining the excess resin from the tank, before catalysis takes places, and to use the correct dosage of the mixture.

The resin only becomes detached where there is rust that has not been thoroughly stripped; in other words, when cleaning has been only roughly carried out or if there are oily residues that have not been properly degreased, according to the instructions provided.

A second treatment can be carried out on top of existing ones, provided that an accurate degreasing is first carried out, where a two-stroke mixture has been used, or simply rinsing first with surgical spirit.

At any stage, it is possible to carry out a complete removal of the resin from the inside of the tank. However, we recommend that you contact our technical service for the correct procedure to follow.

If the product fails to catalyse, this can be due to various causes, such as:

• Expired shelf-life of the catalyst (beyond 24-30 months).

• An insufficient quantity of catalyst has been used.

• Inadequate hasty mixing of the two components produces an irregular pattern of catalysis.

• The product has been excessively diluted.

• Excessively low ambient temperature – never use the product at temperatures below 10°C!

With tanks where the resin is not perfectly catalysed, a new treatment is sufficient (without using the acid) to obtain reticulation, also of the underlying layer, within 10 days.

The Tankerite resin is naturally thixotropic, therefore particularly thick.

The desired fluidity is obtained by mixing the resin first with the catalyst and then with 90° proof methylated spirits (max. 5%) or nitro solvent (max. 5%).