Ethanol and fibreglass

[moizeau]

Not a Z, it's a TY250 so please move if required.
My daughter's coming over and wants to have a play but the tank had a leak last time out. The tank rattled and fibreglass fell out.
There were some bubbles in the gel coat....

It seems the fibreglass has become porous and lifted the gel coat.
This is after a sand

The underneath is fine but I guess it's thicker and hasn't reached the gel coat yet though the inside will be in the same mess.

I'm thinking a Restom kit for fibre and epoxy on the inside then make the outside pretty?
Anyone else had this issue?

[zed1015]

Yep! Ethanol dissolves the resin .
You will need to wash out the tank to get rid of any remaining traces of the fuel , Possibly throw in a hand full of nuts or sharp gravel and give it a good shake to scrub off any remaining loose fibres and then wash out with soapy water and once dried find a suitable ethanol resistant liner.
On the outside if its took out the resin and left glass fibres i'd mix up some fresh resin and drip it on those areas to be absorbed then once set do whatever it needs to make it pretty again..

[moizeau]

Thanks Rob, I'd forgotten the gravel wash prior to sealing.

[moizeau]

All went well. Restom chap I emailled for confirmation on how to use it was superb. After sales 2nd to none. The tank was 5 litres brimmed which was right on the edge of 2 kits, 2 to 5l and 5 to 15l. I was advised to get the larger kit due to it being porous. It came with 2 bottle of degreaser. I used 1 bottle of degreaser but all the resin. You mix 1/2 of a bottle with hot water and swill the tank and leave it for 5 hours. Then empty and wait for 7 days, then repeat. Once dry add the bi-composite mix and gently turn the tank through all angles until it stops running. This takes 2 hours. I was being particularly anal here. I had the remnants of the mix in a tin. Turned the tank, turned the tin, when the mix had completely moved in the tin I turned the tank and the tin again. Watched and repeated for 2 hours. It did seep a bit at one part of the seam.
The mix, though not fluid stayed tacky 12 hours. After a day it was surface hard and glossy.
Then wait 7 days until fuel can be added.
It's been in there now for nearly a week and no sign of a leak or degradation to the liner.
Very impressed and will use again if needed.