Rust in Fuel Tank
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Intermediate
Joined: Aug 2010
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Rust in Fuel Tank
I recently purchased a 97 Lowrider. I tore it down this weekend for paint, had some dents in the tank I wanted to fix. I was disgusted when I removed the petcock, the screen above was badly coated with grime and rust. It's kind of hard to see inside the tank but it looks like there is some light rust in there as well.
I broke the screen while pulling it out, so there is a new one on order. Do any of you have any ideas for getting all of this rust out of the tank? I have heard of some people using steel BB's, but I dont know if I like that idea ( I would be afraid I would not get them all out).
Any advice is appreciated.
I broke the screen while pulling it out, so there is a new one on order. Do any of you have any ideas for getting all of this rust out of the tank? I have heard of some people using steel BB's, but I dont know if I like that idea ( I would be afraid I would not get them all out).
Any advice is appreciated.
Novice
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 20
Likes: 0
From: Iowa
take some drywall screws and lacquer thinner or any solvent that evaporates quickly put some of each in tank shake the hell out of it and then take small magnetic retrieval tool that fits in fill hole to pull out all screws then rinse a few times with solvent and should be rust free you can get the magnet at any auto parts store
Banned
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 2,717
Likes: 1
From: Connecticut / Amsterdam
Dent's to fix , rust and more suspected hidden rust that you can not see ? what about the insides of the carb and lines ? I would not take the chance if you could buy a new or used tank here on the forum or on Ebay and get it over with , GOOD LUCK !
Last edited by Wonkaboy; Aug 16, 2010 at 08:25 PM.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,456
Likes: 11
From: PacNW; Beacon of Conservatism in a Sea of Liberals.......AZ Snowbird; Just another Conservative
Short of tumbling it with some sort of abrasive medium, I'm not sure of a good way. There are some acids/chemicals that will chemically convert any rust into black iron; check with an auto body supply shop and see if they would recommend it for a bike tank.
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,739
Likes: 10
From: Suffolk, England
Once its rusty there's not much you can do to be sure you get it all out. Best bet in my opinion is to use tank sealer, fixes the problem and it won't come back. Kreem is popular but I think its crap; its a pain to apply and will start to flake off after a couple of years. Use POR-15, its much better stuff.
Tourer
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 282
Likes: 1
From: Raleigh, N. Carolina (Via Brighton, England)
This is long...but it works
OK, Ive cleaned out a rusty 1968 Triumph Bonneville tank that would probably would have made your tank look brand new.
There's a few steps to it but you'll be guaranteed a new looking tank on the inside. Just remember to get gas in there asap or else it will start to re-rust. Por 15 and the Caswell systems work well as prevention, but Id rather just keep my tank filled with gas and maybe a little additive to prevent rust.
So, here's the process. I can't take credit for it. I saved this from a bloke on a Vintage Triumph forum. Hope it helps!
------------------------
First, drain the tank and get it dry inside. An air hose will quickly dry any gasoline that is in there. Keep in mind there are still vapors present so no open flames or sparks for now.
Go to the hardware store and in the plumbing dept you can find a rubber stopper used to plug unthreaded pipe. Get the size that fits snug in your tank neck. It will have a bolt running thru it that squeezes the rubber to make it expand and seal. While you are there, you might want to get a big wingnut to replace the hex nut on the stopper, making life a little easier. Also pick up a couple of 1/4" NPT pipe plugs.
Put teflon tape on the pipe plugs and screw them into your petcock bungs. Not to tight because the plugs are tapered and the bungs are straight thread. Just snug them up. The telfon tape will seal things.
As previously mentioned in another post, put a handful of sheet rock screws in the tank. A full handful. I like standard size 1-1/4 inch screws because they can get into all the nooks and crannies. Now shake the daylights out of the tank like a big gourd player in a Latino Band. Develop a method so you make sure all the internal surfaces will get addressed. Don't forget to turn the tank upside down and do the top surfaces. After your arms hurt from shaking the tank, dump the screws into an old t-shirt or similar. All the dry rust and crud will come out with the screws. Separate the screws, clean them in the rag, put them back in and go at it again. When you have most of the dry rust cleaned out, it's not time to clean the tank. I like Mineral Spirits. Won't hurt your paint. Acetone WILL hurt your paint. Fill tank with about a quart of min spirits, put the screws back in and go at it again. I like to use a swirling motion because it cetrifuges the screws to the outside of the tank and all those little sharp threads scour the tank walls. Do this for sometime, like until your arms start getting tired. Then put a t-shirt or other rag into a funnel and dump the min spirits into a jug. If you have paper coffee filters, you can filter the min spirits even better than the t-shirt. It will be red with rust. Keep in mind that the coffee the filters will drain slower. I've had to squeeze them to get the last portion of liquid thru them. Dump the filtered min spirits back in along with the screws and have at it again. Do this until it look pretty good inside.
For inspection, you can get a small inspection mirror from Harbor Freight for a couple of bucks. Then get yourself an old Christmas light socket, the size used in window candles and nightlights. Put a 40W candelabra bulb in it (more light, and dangle the light inside the tank and inspect the corners and upper areas with the mirror. If you still see rust or pits with rust in them, give it another go with the min spirits and screws. When you are sure you've done as good a job as possible, dump the old min spirits and put in a quart of fresh min spirits and flush out the tank one more time. Inspect it again.
Now you can take out the 1/4 NPT plugs, leave the neck open and blow some air thru the tank to dry the min spirits. When it is bone dry inside, go back with your mirror and tank inspection light and give another looking over. If it was just minor rust in your tank, you may not need to seal it. But you are not done yet. It will start to rust again as soon as it is dry.
Now go to your local auto body supply shop and get a gallon of Metal Prep. It is phosphoric acid. Put your plugs back in and dump in a pint of metal prep. Put the rubber bung in the neck and slosh the acid around. Wear goggles, rubber gloves and protective clothes. This is not really dangerous stuff, but can hurt your eyes and irritate your mucous membranes. You also want plenty of air circulation so do this outside. I wear a painting mask when I do it. Keep circulating the acid in the tank. I would say you need to do this for 5 to 10 minutes. When you pour it out, be very careful it does not run down the tank and hurt your paint. Have a wet rag available to mop up any spillage. Now, go back in and take a look with your light. Tank should look very clean inside. If you still see dark spots, go at it with the acid again. Once it looks good inside, and it should be a nice dull gray, let it air dry. It may take awhile. You can put an air hose inside to hurry the process. The metal prep leaves behine what I believe is a thin zinc or phosphoric coating the prevents further rusting. Once it is dry, I like to dump in a quart of denatured alcohol and flush out the tank a couple of times to make sure all the acid is neutralized and any loose stuff left behind gets flushed out. The alcohol dries very quickly once you dump it out.
There's a few steps to it but you'll be guaranteed a new looking tank on the inside. Just remember to get gas in there asap or else it will start to re-rust. Por 15 and the Caswell systems work well as prevention, but Id rather just keep my tank filled with gas and maybe a little additive to prevent rust.
So, here's the process. I can't take credit for it. I saved this from a bloke on a Vintage Triumph forum. Hope it helps!
------------------------
First, drain the tank and get it dry inside. An air hose will quickly dry any gasoline that is in there. Keep in mind there are still vapors present so no open flames or sparks for now.
Go to the hardware store and in the plumbing dept you can find a rubber stopper used to plug unthreaded pipe. Get the size that fits snug in your tank neck. It will have a bolt running thru it that squeezes the rubber to make it expand and seal. While you are there, you might want to get a big wingnut to replace the hex nut on the stopper, making life a little easier. Also pick up a couple of 1/4" NPT pipe plugs.
Put teflon tape on the pipe plugs and screw them into your petcock bungs. Not to tight because the plugs are tapered and the bungs are straight thread. Just snug them up. The telfon tape will seal things.
As previously mentioned in another post, put a handful of sheet rock screws in the tank. A full handful. I like standard size 1-1/4 inch screws because they can get into all the nooks and crannies. Now shake the daylights out of the tank like a big gourd player in a Latino Band. Develop a method so you make sure all the internal surfaces will get addressed. Don't forget to turn the tank upside down and do the top surfaces. After your arms hurt from shaking the tank, dump the screws into an old t-shirt or similar. All the dry rust and crud will come out with the screws. Separate the screws, clean them in the rag, put them back in and go at it again. When you have most of the dry rust cleaned out, it's not time to clean the tank. I like Mineral Spirits. Won't hurt your paint. Acetone WILL hurt your paint. Fill tank with about a quart of min spirits, put the screws back in and go at it again. I like to use a swirling motion because it cetrifuges the screws to the outside of the tank and all those little sharp threads scour the tank walls. Do this for sometime, like until your arms start getting tired. Then put a t-shirt or other rag into a funnel and dump the min spirits into a jug. If you have paper coffee filters, you can filter the min spirits even better than the t-shirt. It will be red with rust. Keep in mind that the coffee the filters will drain slower. I've had to squeeze them to get the last portion of liquid thru them. Dump the filtered min spirits back in along with the screws and have at it again. Do this until it look pretty good inside.
For inspection, you can get a small inspection mirror from Harbor Freight for a couple of bucks. Then get yourself an old Christmas light socket, the size used in window candles and nightlights. Put a 40W candelabra bulb in it (more light, and dangle the light inside the tank and inspect the corners and upper areas with the mirror. If you still see rust or pits with rust in them, give it another go with the min spirits and screws. When you are sure you've done as good a job as possible, dump the old min spirits and put in a quart of fresh min spirits and flush out the tank one more time. Inspect it again.
Now you can take out the 1/4 NPT plugs, leave the neck open and blow some air thru the tank to dry the min spirits. When it is bone dry inside, go back with your mirror and tank inspection light and give another looking over. If it was just minor rust in your tank, you may not need to seal it. But you are not done yet. It will start to rust again as soon as it is dry.
Now go to your local auto body supply shop and get a gallon of Metal Prep. It is phosphoric acid. Put your plugs back in and dump in a pint of metal prep. Put the rubber bung in the neck and slosh the acid around. Wear goggles, rubber gloves and protective clothes. This is not really dangerous stuff, but can hurt your eyes and irritate your mucous membranes. You also want plenty of air circulation so do this outside. I wear a painting mask when I do it. Keep circulating the acid in the tank. I would say you need to do this for 5 to 10 minutes. When you pour it out, be very careful it does not run down the tank and hurt your paint. Have a wet rag available to mop up any spillage. Now, go back in and take a look with your light. Tank should look very clean inside. If you still see dark spots, go at it with the acid again. Once it looks good inside, and it should be a nice dull gray, let it air dry. It may take awhile. You can put an air hose inside to hurry the process. The metal prep leaves behine what I believe is a thin zinc or phosphoric coating the prevents further rusting. Once it is dry, I like to dump in a quart of denatured alcohol and flush out the tank a couple of times to make sure all the acid is neutralized and any loose stuff left behind gets flushed out. The alcohol dries very quickly once you dump it out.
when i get rust out i strain some pee gravel, then do about 5 cups of gas and put in the pea gravel, shake the **** out of it... then get it all out... done
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,447
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From: Danville Va, Providence NC
If you do use a liner sealant, do not use KREEM. It is worthless, I followed all directions, acid prep, etc., did it exactly as instructed, and it peeled off in sheets after less than a month. Waste of $65 for me, total waste.
Good luck. RD
Good luck. RD
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Novice
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 20
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From: Iowa
yeah i recommend a tank liner called kwik poly i have had good luck with it but make sure with any tank liner you take care not to let the liner dry in the ports of the tank i did a three wheeler tank once and plugged the reserve port in the tank just a heads up
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