Opinions on sealing a fuel tank

The tank on my KZP is only slightly rusty.  I have Evapo Rust soaking in it as we speak.  I've read several threads, after searching, about how to clean it out after removing the Evapo.  What I really haven't seen is suggestions for sealing the tank afterwards.  The tank does not leak, nor does it have any heavy rust and I really do not want to use any sealant inside the tank, if I don't have to.  I plan to use ONLY non-ethanol gas in it, as that's readily available here and in the state I may be moving to. So, since most of you are more well versed in these older bikes, what is your opinion on the use of sealants and do you think they are needed in my case?  As always, thank you.

Avoid using any sealer in the tank like the plague.
If it's not leaking it doesn't need it.

We've cleaned out a bunch of rusty tanks with EvapoRust. Skipping the water rinse and going straight to a diesel rinse prevents flash rust, coats the tank with diesel and protects it until you put it back in service and won't hurt a thing because it dilutes into the gas as soon as you fill it up.
The tank won't need any sealer unless there was a spot that was just about to rust through and the EvapoRust dissolved the rust plugging the soon to be hole. We have never had to use sealer on a tank.

I agree with the others; skip the sealer.  Only reason to do it is if the rust is quite deep, with rust pitting where you can't reasonably remove.

Get yourself a mirror and good flashlight, and look inside the tank to make sure all the rust is gone.  The top of the tank and hump can be tricky to derust.  Save the Evaporust, and put it back in the tank for as long as needed to get rid of all the rust.

Skip the sealer if the rust is removed with Ospho or similar. If you have to seal it, use a quality two-part sealer such as Caswell. I had a bad experience with Redkote. 

Thanks all!!!  This is what I was hoping to hear and see!

Another don't seal it reply. ha ha. 5 or 10 years ago. there was some minor rust in my fuel tank with a small amount of rust/crud around the petcock screen. so I cleaned the tank with muriatic acid from the hardware store. tank maintenance this year to replace the o-rings and petcock diaphragm, there wasn't any rust or crud on the screen. not one bit. kinda surprising. 

If anyone is wondering why I am agreeing with "don't seal" but have seen in my build thread that I have sealed my tank, the reason for this was due to the amount of welding etc involved with converting my filler cap there is the possibility of a "pin hole" in one of the welds, I don't want to be in a position where possibly escaping fuel vapour "pickles" my paint job 

Wookie58 wrote:

If anyone is wondering why I am agreeing with "don't seal" but have seen in my build thread that I have sealed my tank, the reason for this was due to the amount of welding etc involved with converting my filler cap there is the possibility of a "pin hole" in one of the welds, I don't want to be in a position where possibly escaping fuel vapour "pickles" my paint job 

I rehab'ed a tank one time that was in quite poor condition.  There was a very poorly applied Kreem liner, which I had to strip.  Then, there was considerable rust that needed to be mitigated.  I use phosphoric acid to derust.  It works pretty fast, and is far safer and less damaging to the metal than muritac acid.  Anyway, after soaking, a leak sprung up, so I brazed it closed.  Back to soaking...and another leak.  After the 6th leak, I gave up on brazing, and used duct tape instead.  Got most of the rust out eventually, but there were lots of pinholes, so I sealed using Caswell's epoxy sealer.  That stuff is crazy thick, but it sealed everything nicely.  For sealing, where the metal isn't significantly weakened, I like Por-15 sealer.  There is a special technique to getting a nice coating of any sealer.  With the Por-15, I keep the stuff moving inside the tank until it kicks off.  That way, you get two or maybe even three coats of sealer inside the tank before the stuff firms up and stops flowing.  It's good stuff.

In general I would  not to coat a tank. But some need it. I have an XS2 650 Yamaha with Por 15 that was done about 13 years ago with no problems. it has done done correctly of course.

 
 

Theres nothing wrong with sealing the tank if its applied properly. Unfortunatly most arent. The sequence is involved and has to be followed precisely but once done properly it'll last.
what no one has mentioned is if you use ethanol fuel.
ethanol is hydroscopic and water and bare steel dont mix well. Its the water absorbtion thatll rust the tank.
in the uk we cant buy fuel that is ethanol free now  😥.

Warren, I mentioned that in my original post.  I absolutely will not use ethanol fuel in this bike.  I don't use it any of my other bikes, my old hot rod truck, or lawn equipment.