Cleaning the tank

[Justonv]

I used acetone with nuts and washers. My problem wasn't only rust though. The PO had put a Kreem liner in it and the first time I put gas in it, it started eating the liner out. I heard it has something to do with the ethanol in the gas, Kreem isn't safe with any kind of additives. Left a nasty stringy mess through the petcock and carbs... Anyway, acetone, nuts and washers, combined with a lot of shaking and rolling got 'er done. Of course then I discovered the corner of the tank near the petcock had pinholes in it, which leaked on me. Lined with a better product called... Red Kote, I think, seemed like pretty good stuff, but the dye comes out over time leaving a clear coat. Will freak you out when your gas looks red in your filter, but it doesn't cause any problems. Still some of the bigger pinholes that were grouped together didn't seal. Ended up denting it in a little with a ball peen hammer, then cleaning it real good and JB Weld patching it. Been holding gas for over a year and a half now no problems, and as soon as I get around to the bondo and paint job, will look good as new, haha.

 

[Guest]

I am cleaning two tanks with vinegar now. Tanks are clean after being filled with vinegar for 3 days. I don`t want to coat the tanks or leave them filled with gas. what other options do I have to prevent flash rust?

 

[979roadrunner]

aside from leaving the vinegar in, which I don't think would actualy hurt anything, I'd say those are your only choices. Someone else may have a better idea, though.

 

[Nessism]

You can fish any loose gravel out the fuel sending unit hole. I used a piece of clay on the end of a stiff wire to get any straggler pieces out. A little bittle fiddly but the gravel (aquarium rocks) do a much better job of scrubbing the metal than metal hardware.

As far as protecting the metal goes, you can try some WD-40. Spray a whole lot in there and swish it around. The WD stands for Water Displacement.

The problem with not coating is because if there is any rust remaining in the tank it will come back. Sort of like glowing embers in a fire.

 

[kirkn]

I am cleaning two tanks with vinegar now. Tanks are clean after being filled with vinegar for 3 days. I don`t want to coat the tanks or leave them filled with gas. what other options do I have to prevent flash rust?

You don't have to LEAVE it full of gas. All you have to do is rinse it once with about a quart of gasoline. Shake the tank all about with the quart of gas in there, enough to 'wash' the water/vinegar off the walls. Dump the gas out, and the tank won't rust.

At least, that worked perfectly on my own CB200 tank when I cleaned it with vinegar.

Done and done.

Kirk

 

[Guest]

tank cleaning

tank cleaning

I think I will use the WD-40 followed by the quart of gasoline rinse.Hopefully I won`t get any flash rust.

 

[dcil]

why not slosh a little thin oil around in there? also, if your fixing to put it back into service, a little flash rust shouldn't hurt anything assuming you got rid of all the scale. if not, flash rust is the least of the problem.

 

[Qdude]

Wedge the tank in the dryer (couch cushions work well) so that it does not flop around at all. It just rotates with the dryer basket full of 500 bb's with duct tape over the holes. I rotated min with no heat for 4 hours. Then rinsed it with a lot of water, shop vac'd out as much crap as I could, then used carb cleaner, then vinegar. I had to weld a few holes up, but I should be good to go without a liner. I will use an extra in line filter.

 

[mixongw]

I removed the petcock and the float assembly and used duct tape to block off the holes. But first, I dumped in about a pound of drywall screws. I put the tank in my clothes dryer surrounded by pillows after wrapping the tank in a blanket. I set the dryer on air fluff for about an hour. After removing all the screws, there was about a double handfull of rust that came out. A flashlight inspection showed shiny metal inside. I then cleaned it out with hot water and used the exhaust of the shop vac to dry it out. I put it back on the bike as is. After three years, it still looks good.

Gary

 

[ikantbreave]

I'm getting ready to paint my tank and assorted parts. I have a very little bit of surface spotting rust. Maybe called flash rust? Should I clean it before or after I paint? Probably not going to have gas in it for a little while. Maybe just clean it carefully right before I get the bike going? Is there any reason I haven't seen anyone use the gas cap when cleaning the tank?? Thanks.

 

[Guest]

I used the gas cap when I cleaned my tanks with the vinegar. No problem.

 

[Im Faster]

okay.. a few questions...
will duct tape over the petcock hold up? or will it leak out the vinegar.. for soaking
if it will hold up will it also in the dryer

should i use some nuts in with the vinegar or is soaking sufficient?

looking at my tank how long should i expect to have to soak..



here is my tank

 

[hampshirehog]

okay.. a few questions...
will duct tape over the petcock hold up? or will it leak out the vinegar.. for soaking
if it will hold up will it also in the dryer

should i use some nuts in with the vinegar or is soaking sufficient?

looking at my tank how long should i expect to have to soak..

You'll have to knock up a blanking plate to cover the petcock hole and use a bit of old inner tube or similar as a gasket. If the tank has got a fuel level sender it's best to pull that and blank off as well.

No need for nuts in the vinegar (leave the acid to do it's work - no need to shake etc) and it's guesswork about how long it will take - depends on the temperature plus strength of the vinegar. My 1100 tank, which looked the same, took 2 days using the cheapo Asda (= Walmart in the UK) vinegar, daytime temperature in the high 70s.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

I found these (pipe stoppers) at the hardware store and used them to plug the fill hole and the fuel gauge hole.

For the petcock I used a robber stopper. It wasn't perfect, leaked just a little, but it worked well enough.

My Evapo-Rust story is on my website.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Im Faster]

well ive got mine soaking in vinegar..

i will update,..,.

 

[Im Faster]

okay so after soaking for a week here is the result

how can i now clean out the vinegar and the rest of the crap in the tank?
water? but if i do that.. will it cause rust? again

 

[Im Faster]

and here is a before and after post with the 2 closer together so you dont have to scroll
before

after

 

[GEE-S]

how can i now clean out the vinegar and the rest of the crap in the tank?
water? but if i do that.. will it cause rust? again

Definitly no more water just because its free does not mean it will do, buy some metho shove it in mix it round and dump ity and leave it in the sun to evaporate, as this will mix with any water and also remove any resadue with mininmal crap left over.....


I have tried everything you guys have described and more?..

Any acid base will eat away at the metal period, so go hard as that?s all you are doing and remember this, you keep doing this then I will ask you a Q: how long do you think your tank will last until it becomes thin as alfoil A: do it about 4-5times and you get close, for this reason?.how many times has the outside been bare metal sanded also!

My GS tank after restos and electrolysis, acid a few times and anything else I tried in the past, is now cut in 2 and is being used as a base to make a tank out of carbon fibre, that was the only way I STOPPED the rust to cut it in 2 and paint it, now I can safely say it will not rust and why did I resort to this? Because I never sealed it (that stuff is damn expensive but. now I have no tank you way it up) it just kept rusting till it pitted out in the corners and once I split it I was amazed at how bad it really was??

If you don?t believe me then hers the pics of the tank and have a close look at the photos you will notice not much pitting around the areas you can normally see i.e. inside the fuel filler area but have a look under it???(that was cut and painted about 2yrs ago and still NO rust trust me that was one of the hardest things to do was to cut the tank, together it would be about time for another resto)

But! All is not lost, life deals in mysterious ways. My current boss is a CV drive shaft, radiator and best of all TANK specialist (me I am a power steering tech by trade) and I have discussed this in length with him as he to restores bikes as well, old triumphs 50-60 models, NOW!

After you have cleaned out all the rust you MUST MUST MUST seal the inside metal again regardless? As it WILL return if you don?t (all fuels attract moisture especially alcohols), I am noticing it with the other tanks I have they are on there way out just like the GS. This all started back when I first got it, I took it to the sandblaster once in 1990?
KNOBS!??Filled it with water as ?blasting creates sparks? they said, why didn?t they fill it with sand instead that stuff doesn?t kill things overtime??.

Anyway?.. all that has been described works, it doesn?t matter how you achieve the de-rusting as long as the result works BUT, what is the main key here is SEAL IT AFTER, to prolong the inevitable??
By the way my boss who has been doing tanks now for 30yrs, quote ?there is a reason they describe it as cancer, just like humans there is no definite cure as yet?

 

[979roadrunner]

Given my choice I would put a plastic tank inside the metal one, or even, despite the fact it'd be ugly, just put a plastic tank on and be done with it.
All my dirtbikes and my old XL 500 had plastic tanks, never a problem with them.
This may be why the 'Wing has a plastic tank (as well as for mass centralization)
BMW's, I'm told, lines their tanks from the factory. Wish other makers did, too.

 

[Skaat]

I'm in the middle of cleaning using the electrolysis setup shown on this and BassCliff's site. (pretty cool science-y stuff IMO). The anode seems to be coming out pretty much free of the red rusty stuff, but still gobbed up with lots of black and grey bits. I'm hoping that this is not the tank itself being eaten away by the electrolysis process. Has anyone else experienced this same phenomonon? (sorry, just a little loopy tonite).