Sealing around flush mounted Gas caps

[Jim]

What do you guys do to seal the clear around flush mounted gas caps for a Harley tank?I planned on taping the area that the o-ring seal will touch but,it goes right next to the paint edge,no lip?Jim

 

[Mowe]

Hey Jim. I wish some of the old timers would give you an answer on that cause I'm curious myself. I've read a few post where they use finger nail polish, but not certain if that applies to a flush mount tank. Good Luck.........Mo

 

[Jim]

hey Mowe,It's still kinda slow around here,I just painted them tonight,I painted and cleared them all the way to the edge,we'll see what happens.Jim

 

[Austin]

I prep the tank around the edge of the fuel hole with 180 grit on the bare metal. Then when I paint, I mask just inside of the edge for the paint to stop (so the tank is sanded BEYOND where the paint stops). After the paint is dry and my buffing is done I use fine line tape and tape on both sides of the paint edge so the paint edge is exposed (about 1/16-1/8). Then I apply either por 15 black or por 15 tank sealer with a brush to cover the exposed paint edge so the vapers have to get through the por15 before the could ever lift the paint. I've done quite a few this way and haven't had any come backs yet.
P.S. Keep in mind the fuel cap seal sould seal againt bare metal NOT paint so you want your paint just outside where the cap seals.
Austin

 

[Jim]

Thanks austin,I just got done with em but,I will sand down the sealing area and,I do have some POR.thanks again,Jim

 

[airartist]

I have had problems with gas vapors and peeling around the opening in the past. sealing the edge with clear and/or nail polish didn't work. The last job I did with a flush mount I also used the tank sealer and I haven't heard back from the customer about any problems. No news is good news, right? It only makes sense that this technique would work. Tank sealer is used to seal and line the inside of a tank to prevent damage to the metal through moisture and fuel. Good luck /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bigokay.gif

 

[Jim]

Thanks for the reply,I went the POR route and alls well.I got on the POR site and the guy told me, gas will not soften POR and will work perfectly for this application so....I'm gonna keep useing it.I wonder if they make a clear or silver POR?I'll have to look.Thanks again,Jim

 

[flamethrower]

Jim, I am a POR-15 dealer and they do make a clear and a silver POR, but I'm not sure I would use that to seal a gas cap edge. Let me know how it holds up. The tank sealer is great! So is the POR-15, but other than the gloss black, you're going to have a heck of a time matching colors. (The one drawback of POR-15).

 

[Austin]

Thr POR 15 gas tank sealer is silver in color. (but alittle transparent).
Austin

 

[Jim]

Randy,What is the smallest size of sealer they sell,I'm sure it will last me a long time,Thanks for the replies guys!!!Jim

 

[flamethrower]

The Fuel tank sealer comes in Pint, Quart, or Gallon.
The pint size is $16.
Qt is $26, Gal is $76.

It's made to put inside the tank, and is recommended that for a five gallon Harley tank, you dump the whole pint in. Swish it around for a while and then pour out the excess. I have never heard of using it as a cap area sealer, but it is good stuff, so I'll take Austins word for it.

 

[Austin]

I generally use the regular black POR, but I have used the tank sealer on a couple of tanks where the black would have stood out and looked out of place.
Austin