Fuel tank rust removal

[subxero]

anyone have any experience?

I have zero.

Been reading a bit and am leaning towards 1 or 2 methods.

Either Evapo rust or electrolysis to remove the rust

And then maybe treat the tank with caswell tank sealer

thoughts and opinions please

[Ghostt]

I did my own using muriatic acid, I purchased at Lowe's, but you must be extremely careful, of the vapors, and acid itself, and then neutralize afterwards.

Another method is to buy POR15 KIT, that will contain everything you'll need including the coating so you won't have anymore rust issues, but if done improperly the coating flakes off.

Third option, and one I personally recommend is to find a radiator shop, most of them offer the cleaning, and coating service at reasonable prices, and it's professionally done, so no worries.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by Ghostt

Third option, and one I personally recommend is to find a radiator shop, most of them offer the cleaning, and coating service at reasonable prices, and it's professionally done, so no worries.

Radiator shops, they are hidden gems.

[Ghostt]

Here are the before and after pics of my NINJA 500 tank, the after picture does show a little rusty, but it's just flash rust, the tank was spotless when first finished, it looked this way after neutralizing the acid.

[Ghostt]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Radiator shops, they are hidden gems.

Yes they are, also they can repair any problem areas that the tank might have developed after the cleaning process.

[subxero]

oh snap, that tank looked pretty rough. Mine doesn't look near that bad Ill look into a shop that can help but it would have to be pretty cheap as I am on a tight budget. Time will tell

[Ghostt]

Originally Posted by subxero

oh snap, that tank looked pretty rough. Mine doesn't look near that bad Ill look into a shop that can help but it would have to be pretty cheap as I am on a tight budget. Time will tell

Last time I checked cleaning, coating was about $75.00 USD at my local radiator shop. Considering the cost of just the POR15 KIT, it's a no-brainer

POR-15 Cycle Tank Repair Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H9K4JQ..._WB7Yub0NMMGXS

[FreelancerMG]

Just remember that you can't do too many cycles of this. That rust you are removing is still material and eventually you'll wear the through. Each time you remove rust, you're removing material as well and there isn't any way to really reclaim that iron without smelting it all back down again.

[Ghostt]

Originally Posted by FreelancerMG

Just remember that you can't do too many cycles of this. That rust you are removing is still material and eventually you'll wear the through. Each time you remove rust, you're removing material as well and there isn't any way to really reclaim that iron without smelting it all back down again.

A very good point, hence I recommend the lining of said tank. My Ninja 500 I didn't, but then again I've always kept it full, and water free.

[subxero]

Originally Posted by FreelancerMG

Just remember that you can't do too many cycles of this. That rust you are removing is still material and eventually you'll wear the through. Each time you remove rust, you're removing material as well and there isn't any way to really reclaim that iron without smelting it all back down again.

normally not the spelling grammar police but I think you meant "can"?

[flitecontrol]

I use The Works toilet bowl cleaner, which is around 20% hydrochloric acid. IIRC, muriatic acid is around 40% acid. A bottle of The Works runs about $1.50 at WalMart, and you shouldn't need more than two, if that.

I cleaned a Ninja tank that looked worse than the rusty one pictured above, and there was zero residual rust. However, if you live in a humid climate like mine, you have to get a cup or so of WD-40 in there to displace the rinse water and dry it quickly. I have a very old hair dryer that has a flexible tube coming off the heater portion. Just stuck that in the cap hole and let it run on low for a couple of hours. Hooking a hose to the exhaust end of an Electrolux vacuum cleaner would be a good substitute. Here's a link describing the process in detail: http://www.hondarebelforum.com/f39/t...ning-7168.html

[JohnnyBravo]

Remove tank
Add rocks, bolts, chain, or some other rust knocking stuff inside
Some folks put in one liquid or another
Shake it till ya knock all the rust out, then get all the crap out of the tank
Get all the stuff out of tank

Taaaaaa daaaaaa you just got the rust out of your tank waaaalaaaa (voila)

Pour in that gas tank sealer, coat thoroughly
Let dry... Have I said walaaaaaaa yet?

[HKr1]

Brother used a pressure washer, everything came right out!

[FreelancerMG]

Originally Posted by subxero

normally not the spelling grammar police but I think you meant "can"?

No you can't Rust forms when the surface layer of iron reacts with the oxygen to form an iron oxide. Since whatever treatment you use will remove this layer of rust off of the material, eventually you'll reach a point where there isn't any more iron to wipe away with and you'll just end up making a hole. These products just strip this outer layer of reacted iron off of the non-reacted iron underneath and the process begins again. While my mind often goes faster than my fingers and I do end up with a lot of errors and typos, that one word wasn't one of them.

[subxero]

Originally Posted by FreelancerMG

Just remember that you can't do too many cycles of this. That rust you are removing is still material and eventually you'll wear the through. Each time you remove rust, you're removing material as well and there isn't any way to really reclaim that iron without smelting it all back down again.

it's a minor technicality and i knew what you meant but one more try.

Say it with me

"Just remember that you CAN NOT do too many cycles of this" = you can do as many as you would like

If you replace CAN NOT with can it changes the meaning to = YES you CAN over do it

[flitecontrol]

Unless the rust is so deep that it's flaking off in large pieces, sloshing acid around in the tank long enough to get rid of the rust doesn't remove enough metal to amount to a hill of beans. I've experimented with it and found that the acid reacts quickly to the rust (iron oxide) and very little with clean metal.

If there are no leaks after cleaning, there's really no need to coat the tank. Just top off the tank after riding to minimize condensation, which is why most tanks develop rust. If there are leaks in the tank, tape over them and use Caswell epoxy tank sealer. Other sealers aren't nearly as good. http://www.caswellplating.com/restor...nk-sealer.html

[Somchai]

Just use Coke...

[Finesse]

I have plenty of experience with this...

http://www.kreem.com/tankmask.html
^this is the product you need to buy to coat the entire outside of your tank so as to prevent any acid spillage from eating through the paint. it works well, apply 3-4 coats and let each dry completely

http://www.kreem.com/tankprep.html
^this is what actually removes the rust and crud. follow the directions completely and it will work. I've seen HORRIBLE tanks become quite usable using these products.

the best place to do this is with a large size sink, if you have a basement basin-type sink that would be good. you need to block off any holes. is this a fuel injected or carbureted bike? if you have a hole the size of the fuel pump it will be harder to block off but I did a ducati tank with a fuel pump and just left the pump in to avoid having to block it. the acid did not damage the pump.

PM me if you have any specific questions, I've used these products and they definitely work!

[Finesse]

also remember that if you use bolts to shake around in your tank, use ones that can be retrieved with a magnet on a wire. will save you a huge headache and frustration. I never used bolts in the tanks that I did and I was happy with the results. but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt. depends on how bad your tank is. if it's just rust I don't think you need bolts. but I did a couple tanks with actual chunks of crap in there.

this is a photo of what came out of the ducati I worked on. the bike wouldn't start because there was what looked like chunks of mud and rust in the tank and it clogged up the fuel lines and the fuel pump couldn't suck anything clean into the lines. when I pulled it apart it was.. let's just say, a nightmare.

after I used the kreem stuff and filled the tank (remember to fill it completely full with fuel after you de-rust it) the bike fired up fine and had no more problems with fuel.

[alex.s]

ewwww

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by Somchai

Just use Coke...

this is correct! coke contains phosphoric acid which is very strong and disintegrates iron oxide rust, another option is diluted PCB etchant available at radioshack. works much better. another option is muriatic acid for pools (dilluted) just remember not to leave it in too long or you'll eat through the whole tank wall

[cuong-nutz]

I did vinegar, then electrolysis, and redkote.

[Hero Danny]

What kind of bike is it? You may find a good deal on ebay for a new tank. I personally, wouldn't trust a tank that had rust in it.

[ninjunk]

muriatic is my favorite method, especially if you are trying to maintain the paint on the outside. I just took my tank to a radiator shop because i want the paint off it, when they get done the paint is totally ruined or completely gone. They are charging me $50 just to 'boil' it... he said 100-150 if i wanted him to weld up the holes and coat it, but i'm going to do that myself.

The muriatic acid is fast and cheap

1) make a secure block off plate for the petcock. If you have some plexiglass laying around it works good for this. I've used corks, rubber, all kinda wierd junk. Anything aluminum or zinc (the petcock is made out of zinc) will completely dissolve in seconds.

2) pour in the gallon of muriatic. fill the rest of the tank to the top with water

3) drink a beer or 5. The concentration of the acid and the crustiness of the rust determines how long it will take to work. A 2-3 gallon motorcycle tank mixes 1 parts acid to 1 or 2 parts of water and takes about 2-5 hours. Watch it closely, its extremely reactive and it will eat a hole in your tank if you don't stop it once the rust is gone.

4) dump the acid into your neighbors' flowers. or better yet use it to clean oil off your driveway. it will literally dissolve concrete so be careful.

5) rinse the tank.. like crazy. Take the block off plate off of it and let a garden hose run in it for like 20 minutes pouring out the bottom and overflowing the top.

6) wash it out with dish soap water solution. the dish soap will get out any remaining greasy gunk and its a base that will neutralize the acid. Squeeze a little dish soap in there and shake the tank with water in it

7) do the rinse thing again. like crazy. drink another beer and let it run for 20-30 minutes

8) fully dry the tank by sloshing around some denatured alcohol.

--- this is where you would do the coating, follow the manufactuers instructions, i prefer caswell but usually I don't coat my tanks, only when they are pinhole leaky or really rotten and the caswell can actually fill the pinholes and seal them up. ---

9) put the petcock on, gas cap on, fill the tank with a mix of 2-stroke oil and gas. i usually do a good slosh of oil (maybe 4-5 ounces) with about half a gallon of gas, slosh it completely inside the tank.

10) put the tank on the bike and promptly fill it the rest of the way with fresh gas. you can leave the oil in there it won't hurt anything.

my theory is that having oily gas sitting in the tank helps oil soak into the porous metal and protects it from ethanol gas that can hold dissolved water. the ethanol gas dissolves water and oil, but the oil bonds better to the metal. Keeping the 2-stroke premix in there for the first tankful protects the metal.

[subxero]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

What kind of bike is it? You may find a good deal on ebay for a new tank. I personally, wouldn't trust a tank that had rust in it.

the tanks are not cheap especially in decent shape let alone if you can find them and at this point in the game most of them have had rust at one point in time

rust removal from tanks on older bikes is very common, not a lot of other options


Lots of good suggestions here, i will definitely look into some of them a little bit more

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by subxero

the tanks are not cheap especially in decent shape let alone if you can find them and at this point in the game most of them have had rust at one point in time

rust removal from tanks on older bikes is very common, not a lot of other options


Lots of good suggestions here, i will definitely look into some of them a little bit more

I remember my pregen had it's tanked kreemed before. (not sure when) But some of the stuff was breaking loose and that's what clogged up my carbs and cause hesitation.

[flitecontrol]

The PO of my 750 Vulcan had the tank Kreemed at the stealership. In less than a year, the rust was breaking through the Kreem in large flakes and it was a pain to get the Kreem out. Once I did, I derusted the tank and kept it topped off to minimize condensation. The inside of the tank is still spotless six years later.

Caswell is the only sealer I trust. http://www.caswellplating.com/restor...nk-sealer.html

[subxero]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

I remember my pregen had it's tanked kreemed before. (not sure when) But some of the stuff was breaking loose and that's what clogged up my carbs and cause hesitation.

inline filter FTW

catch it before it becomes a bigger problem

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by subxero

inline filter FTW

catch it before it becomes a bigger problem

Yep, I ended up installing a filter after the fact... unfortunately all this was done by previous owner so by the time the bike was in my hands the damage was done.

[subxero]

^ I c

Yeah the key is definitely doing it correctly.... well obviously but it seems trying to rust treat a tank and or seal it and doing it improperly can quickly make things worse off.

[ninjunk]

Originally Posted by flitecontrol

The PO of my 750 Vulcan had the tank Kreemed at the stealership. In less than a year, the rust was breaking through the Kreem in large flakes and it was a pain to get the Kreem out. Once I did, I derusted the tank and kept it topped off to minimize condensation. The inside of the tank is still spotless six years later.

Caswell is the only sealer I trust. http://www.caswellplating.com/restor...nk-sealer.html

Yeah this is why i don't coat tanks.

about 10 years ago when they started putting more ethanol in fuel the ethanol ate the old version of Kreem. Turned it into snotty goo.

They claim to have a new formulation that is ethanol safe, but i still don't trust most tank coatings... you never know what stupid stuff they are going to put in gas next.

[flitecontrol]

The irony is in the case of the VN750, the tank didn't need to be sealed, it just needed the rust removed. If a tank isn't leaking, there's no real need to put sealer in it unless you're concerned about condensation causing rust in the future and want to seal it preemptively.

If the Kawasaki stealership hadn't figured the PO was a cash cow, they could have removed the rust and everything would have been fine, He paid them almost $2,000 to go through the entire bike, fix or replace anything that needed it, do all the needed maintenance etc., (he gave me the receipts when I bought the bike). They kept the bike for almost six months, and he sold it three months later. I got the bike for $1,000 because it had throttle issues. Guess what was wrong? The throttle cable was frayed!