Bullseye

Bullseye

Well Known Member
Hello, everyone.

After thinking and plotting for many (sleepless) days and nights about how much neater and cleaner my sealing was going to be than anyone else's, I got off my high horse and realized that everyone else's sealing looks way better than mine. I know it doesn't matter what the sealant looks like as long as it seals, but I try to take pride in the craftsmanship.

Anyway, how do these pictures look? Am I doing it right? (sorry for the large picture size)

(Oh, and one more question, how do I get the proseal off of the threads of the quick drain flange? Any ideas?)

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After getting a 30cc syringe:

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Oh man, wrong forum area!

Could one of the moderators move this over to the general discussion area?

Thanks much, and sorry for the inconvenience.

Done, no biggie. M S
 
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looks good to me andrew but also looks a little generous, you could use a bit less and have no issue

I highly recommend a pneumatic sealant gun, if you'd like to borrow mine for your tanks, PM me
 
Go ahead and bite the bullet. pull off the blue stuff. surround you work area with electrical tape and then pull it off when you are ready to allow the sealant to dry. Use MEK for clean up.
 
AltonD said:
Go ahead and bite the bullet. pull off the blue stuff. surround you work area with electrical tape and then pull it off when you are ready to allow the sealant to dry. Use MEK for clean up.
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I'm using the blue stuff as electrical tape. Will be pulled off after a day or so.

I can't figure out how to use MEK to clean up the drain flange threads. Maybe a soaked paper towel around an undersized bolt spinning through the hole?

Hmm.
 
I always see people putting lots of pro-seal on the "top" of the rivet heads, but isn`t it the area of the holes there the rivet exits that need the sealant instead of the top of them. I guess the thought is that when you dip some on the head it runs down the side and seals the seam, but I made sure by putting pro-seal around each rivet. Just a thought. Right tank tested leak free first try. Have hopes for Left tank :).
 
N999ZA said:
I'm using the blue stuff as electrical tape. Will be pulled off after a day or so.

I can't figure out how to use MEK to clean up the drain flange threads. Maybe a soaked paper towel around an undersized bolt spinning through the hole?

Hmm.
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the blue doesn't work nearly as well as electrical tape does

ASKMEHOWIKNOW :)
 
Andrew do not worry about the look. :) The more proseal the merrier. Tanks may pass pressure tests with flying colors but after several years in storage they may weep. Just a thought, I remember somebody (Mel or LAdamson) told me that years ago I didn't listen. Now resealing the screws. Do not save on sealing compound here :D
 
Tank Drain

The tank drains use a 1/8" NPT pipe thread (from memory), so do NOT run a bolt up through it to clean out the threads (the threads taper). Try your local automotive store for an actual tap (not very expensive) or get a piece of 1/8" pipe with a male pipe thread on it, file a longitudinal groove in the threads and gently run this into the tank drain to clean the proseal.
 
bkthomps said:
the blue doesn't work nearly as well as electrical tape does

ASKMEHOWIKNOW :)
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I'll pull some of the blue off tonight and see how well it worked (and report back here).

Vlad said:
Now resealing the screws. Do not save on sealing compound here :D
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Bummer, Vlad.

terrye said:
The tank drains use a 1/8" NPT pipe thread (from memory), so do NOT run a bolt up through it to clean out the threads (the threads taper). Try your local automotive store for an actual tap (not very expensive) or get a piece of 1/8" pipe with a male pipe thread on it, file a longitudinal groove in the threads and gently run this into the tank drain to clean the proseal.
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Thanks, terry. I was thinking of using some greatly undersized bolt, or drill bit, or anything I could wrap a proseal-soaked towel around to softly clean out the threads, but I kind of like your idea better anyway. I'll do some googling and see if I can find a tap.
 
DanH said:
I'd suggest adhering to industry standards in use 40 years or more:
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Hi Dan.

I actually got this document from you (through Bill R.) a few months back.

I have pages 24 and 25 taped on my wall. Looks like I need to make sure to get the 250 mils in all directions and no reentrant edges (which I think I may have on a few of the shop heads).
 
Thanks for posting the documents - that's very helpful.

Just a quick comment, the word "mil" in this usage is a thousandth of an inch, or .001 inches. So 60 mills would be .060 inches, and 250 mils would be .250 inch.

Dave
 
David Paule said:
Thanks for posting the documents - that's very helpful.

Just a quick comment, the word "mil" in this usage is a thousandth of an inch, or .001 inches. So 60 mills would be .060 inches, and 250 mils would be .250 inch.

Dave
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I'm glad you cleared that up.

Seems like we could stick with measuring systems we all are familiar with. I don't mind learning something new now and then but mils? Just how do you measure 60 mils of proseal? Or how do you remove 10 mils if it turns out it is 70 mils? Whoever wrote that spec was a nerd.
 
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randyintejas said:
what are you going to do for a vent clip? I did not see one in the pic
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Oh ****. I thought about that all week, and I totally forgot until RIGHT NOW.

Ugh.

Looks like first thing tomorrow I'll be drilling out one of those perfectly set rivets...
 
I used a Q-Tip dipped in MEK to clean out threads in the drain flange or even rivet holes I needed to remove proseal from until it was needed at a later time (like where the J-Channel is installed after the ribs are done).
 
Don't forget

to run your vent line before installing the inboard most rib. Just did mine yesterday; I think you're neater than I am :)

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I submit that an easy way to avoid the potential of slow filling at the fuel pumps (as reported by some builders), is to make certain the 2 vent holes at the top of each internal rib are open and completely unobstructed. It is very easy during the assembly process to partially block the holes with proseal and overlook having done just that.

Case in point. Very recently, I gave a "heads up" to a fellow builder just before he installed the rear baffles on his newly assembled fuel tanks and guess what he found? He discovered some of those vent holes were indeed fouled by proseal and he promptly cleared those holes of all obstruction before the tanks were permanently closed up. Had he not reopened those vent holes, I openly wonder if he too would have gone on to experience the slow filling phenomena some builders have reported.
 
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Removing Plastic

You pics seem to show the proseal bridging over the blue protective plastic. It appears that about a day later the blue plastic is still in place. How are you going to remove that plastic after the proseal is set? I used tape to control the mess as others have suggested but pulled the tape before the proseal set. I would think that if you are going to use the blue plastic to control the excess sealant, your also going to need to pull the plastic before the sealant sets.

It looks like you've trapped some of the blue film.

Maybe I'm seeing something wrong.
 
DaAV8R said:
You pics seem to show the proseal bridging over the blue protective plastic. It appears that about a day later the blue plastic is still in place. How are you going to remove that plastic after the proseal is set? I used tape to control the mess as others have suggested but pulled the tape before the proseal set. I would think that if you are going to use the blue plastic to control the excess sealant, your also going to need to pull the plastic before the sealant sets.

It looks like you've trapped some of the blue film.

Maybe I'm seeing something wrong.
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Nope, you aren't seeing it wrong, but I didn't seem to have any trouble pulling off the blue film a few days later.

I'm mixing the proseal 10:1, it's about 90?F in my garage, and I'm experiencing the quoted setup times by Van's (I think the sheet taped to my proseal said 4-5 days to set, up to 30 days to fully harden.)
 
Rick6a said:
... make certain the 2 vent holes at the top of each internal rib are open and completely unobstructed...
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Rick, excellent suggestion, and something I surely would have missed.

I should be getting into the ribs tonight or tomorrow, and I'll be careful to keep those vent holes open. Mucho thanks.
 
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