Rusty Gas Taanks

[Tom Gougeon]

Does anyone have any experience with removing rust from steel gas tanks OTHER than with RUSTOL? I have a steel tank that has some moderate, but active, flakey rust at the bottom of each side of the tank, but not the extensive, years of neglect type through out the whole tank. Being the thrifty (translation: cheap) guy that I am, I was trying to come up with a less expensive method of removing the rust than forking out $50.00 for a liter of RUSTOL. A friend suggested muriatic acid, but I thought I'd get a second opinion before ruining a perfectly good tank (or myself).

Thanx,
Tom G.

 

[AndyL]

Tom,
I have used several different methods to clean out old steel tanks.  Most of the tanks I cleaned out were Hodaka tanks and my Jackpiner has the glass tank.

Be very careful and wear appropriate protection (especially the eyes)

On really bad tanks: I would drop in a couple of cups of 6mm and 8mm bolts and shake them around to loosen up the rust that would flake off.  Then I have used phosphoric or muratic acid (10% hydrocloric) with the same good results.  Phosphoric leaves a coating that doesnt rust unlike muratic which leaves the metal bare which can flash rust. I also put the bolts back in the tank and do some shaking to make sure I get all the rust.  Soak times varied from 10 min to one hour depending on how bad the tank was.  Also, be aware that the combination of rust, acid and time can lead to the seams or welds in the tank seeping.

As a substitute for the acid, I have used a product called CLR (availble at Lowes or other hardward stores) or ZEP with good results but the tanks had to soak much longer (sometimes over nite)  

CLR is about $20 per gallon and ZEP is cheaper than that.

Those are the methods that I have had luck with.


Andy

[clayman]

Try using Kodak "stop bath". It is available at many photo developing supply companies. I had a twin-pipe CZ with a very rusty metal tank: I filled it about 1/4 full, let it sit for 24 hours (shaking it around many, many times). It looked like a new surface when I was done with the process. I hope that it works for you.
Clay

 

[Tom Gougeon]

Thanx Guys!

I'm playing hooky from work this week and my focus is going to be purely dirt bike restoration projects. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanx Again,

Tom G

 

[Tom Gougeon]

Thanx Guys!

I'm playing hooky from work this week and my focus is going to be purely dirt bike restoration projects. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanx Again,

Tom G

 

[Tom Gougeon]

Project gas tank restoration was a sucess! I found a product called "The Works Rust Lime and Calcium Remover" in, of all places, the grocery store. It's made by the "Lime-O-Sol Company", //www.limeosol.com. This stuff actually started foaming up when it was poured into the tank and came into contact with the rust. Two applications removed more rust than I realized was in there. A quick hot water flush out followed by a few minutes of drying with a heat gun was all it took. There was a minimal amount of "flash rust" on the newly cleaned surfaces, but a quick fog of WD-40 stopped that.
A friend suggested leaving several small magnets inside the tank to catch any small particles that may have stayed behind.
Thanx for all the helpful suggestions!

 

[fzrr750]

Tom...this is your boss. Get to work!!!
Good job on this product, Tom. I just got some to use on one of my old steel Yamaha MX tanks that I forgot I had up in the attic. The Paint is near mint still but the insides were a little crusty in a couple of spots. This works GREAT!!!!!
I used 'Rustol' on my spokes on my spare KTM rear wheel spokes and it made them look like new again. I put a light oil coating on them when I did this last summer and the spokes still look great. I thought I was going to have to buy some spokes and lace them up again but did not have to. Plus, I can use the Rustol again. I have never used it on a tank before. Has anyone out there used it before on a gas tank?

 Seeeyaaa for now.    Ed T.

71 Suzuki TM400,72 Suzuki TS400 Desert racer,76 Suzuki RM250,74 Yamaha MX360,79 KTM 250MX, 87 Yamaha FZRR750 X-endurance racer #112.