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Opinion on tank rust

Dogma

Dogma

Forum Sage
This one might belong in technical info, not sure. I went and fetched a parts bike for my 850 last Thursday:

Partsbike.jpg



It also came with a seat, in pretty good shape, and a tank. The tank was in the PO's shed when it burned down:

RustyTankTop.jpg

rustytankinterior.jpg

Rustytankbottom.jpg



Here are my questions:

All this rust is on the surface. All the metal seems solid. What is the best way to restore and preserve this thing? Should I attempt electrolysis, or would something else be a more effective route to take? I don't have anything I would need to do electrolysis on this thing, and I would need a pretty big tank. Also, some of the paint is still on it. Is there some professional service that could clean this up? Should I attempt to remove the fuel level unit before any of this process?

After the metal is clean, how should I protect it? Since I don't have immediate use for the tank, I was thinking I should coat the inside with Por15 tank sealer, and maybe hit the outside with at least some primer.

You can't see it in the pics, but there are a couple big dents in the top of the tank. Is it realistic to think that these could be hammered out? If so, at what stage should I attempt it?

Again, thanks in advance for your advice.
 
crag antler said:
go to http://www.por15.com/
They have a whole catalog dedicated to just this.
Great products. I have used them in the past.\\:D/
Click to expand...

Aha... I didn't realize they went beyond merely preventing rust. That starter pack looks about right. Not sure how I'll do the inside though. It looks like it goes on with a brush, so I guess I'll have to pour a bunch in and slosh it all around.

Thanks.
 
How would you go about hammering the dents OUT? you must have small hands! If you have a Dent wizard service around town, like the car dealers use here, he may be able to do something.
 
Dogma, Was This The One

Dogma, Was This The One

on Craigslist in winton woods for 250 bucks?
 
PAULYBOY said:
How would you go about hammering the dents OUT? you must have small hands! If you have a Dent wizard service around town, like the car dealers use here, he may be able to do something.
Click to expand...


I hadn't gotten around to figuring that out yet. I've seen the Dent Wizard truck running around. Maybe I'll have to give 'em a call.
 
I think you should separate it in to two issues. The first issue is the outside of the tank and second being the inside of the tank. The reason I say this is that you probably could approach them differently. For the outside, you could take it to a powder coater or some other place that has a sandblaster and blast the hell out of it. That would eliminiate the need for a giant tank to dip it in for the electrolysis. As far as the inside is concerned, you could take it to a radiator shop and have it boiled out, or you could try electrolysis at home. I would vote for electrolysis, but I'm kind of a do it yourselfer.
 
dogma,
are you any good at welding? I think your best bet would be to cut the tank in half, sandblast it in two pieces; getting the inside and outside of the tank. Then weld it back together, treat the inside and prime the outside. I had a link to a website where a company actually did this, but I cannot find it anymore. Seems lengthy, but it would really be the easiest and best way to get the job done.

Cory
 
I'd get the outside sandblasted. You have to remove everything from the tank; you may want to replace it anyway. I filled in the dents on my Kwacker tank; not work the hassle or $$$ to any other way. If it's not double walled (like mine) I hear you can use a broom stick, stick it through the filler hole and pop out the dents that way.
The inside, I would try evaporust. You could even try it on the outside.
http://www.theruststore.com/Evapo-Rust-Gallon-P1C1.aspx

Good luck!
 
My local radiator shop dipped my tank in their acid bath then coated the inside with sealer for $65. It etched the paint but you don't need to worry about that. There is a local bike shop that has all their tanks done this way before the custom paint jobs are done. Headache free and reasonable.
 
Thanks all. I don't weld well enough to attempt splitting it, even if I had a welder. I think I'd still end up using chemicals on it anyway. On the flip side, it's not worth the $65 to have it dipped and coated it is?

I think I'll try one of the chemical options that was suggested. Minimal investment, and I think I have other uses for it... thanks again everyone.
 
No disrespect but that tank looks like junk to me (unless you can find someone who can weld). Looks to have several rust holes through the metal although it could just be the photos. The metal is no doubt very thin in places so I'd just ditch it and watch ebay. Dents can be pulled but thin metal, and holes, are another matter.

Sorry for the thumbs down opinion. Good luck.
 
Nessism said:
No disrespect but that tank looks like junk to me (unless you can find someone who can weld). Looks to have several rust holes through the metal although it could just be the photos. The metal is no doubt very thin in places so I'd just ditch it and watch ebay. Dents can be pulled but thin metal, and holes, are another matter.

Sorry for the thumbs down opinion. Good luck.
Click to expand...

That was my first thought when I saw it. But there are no holes that shouldn't be there, and everything feels and sounds solid when I bang on various parts I thought might be thin. We'll find out. At least I'm going to learn a thing or three about rust.
 
Dogma said:
.... Should I attempt electrolysis....
Click to expand...
Why is the tank hairy or something:-s:shock::razz:


Dogma said:
You can't see it in the pics, but there are a couple big dents in the top of the tank. Is it realistic to think that these could be hammered out?
Click to expand...

Body shops have dent pullers that utilize pins which are tack welded on, the dent pulled, the pin then get broken off and the remaining nub ground off...no holes. The tank needs paint anyways!
 
Nessism said:
Sorry, thought these were holes...
Click to expand...

No problem. It's really hard to see for sure. Even when I look at the 5Mp original images, I can't make out what those are. For example, the first one you circled appears to be in the middle of the fuel level sensor plate. In the original image, I think I can make out one or two screw heads even. Even though I think that should be on the other side of the tank, and have Phillips heads instead of hex heads. I could be wrong about that, but that's what I'm trying to say.

OK, just for kicks I went out and looked at the actual tank. The first one you circled really is a hole. A nice clean hexagon shaped hole in the fuel lever sensor's mount plate. No idea what that's for (for now). The second one I can't be sure I found on the tank. What remains of the paint is flaking at the edges, and probably made a shadow when the flash went off.
 
Glad somebody got the bike here on the forum. I was gonna retrieve it Friday, after my 20YO and I got back from his college retrieval run. 200 bucks aint bad.
 
PAULYBOY said:
Glad somebody got the bike here on the forum. I was gonna retrieve it Friday, after my 20YO and I got back from his college retrieval run. 200 bucks aint bad.
Click to expand...

You must be one of the three he said was interested. Maybe you'll beat me to the next one. If I can get a title for this one, I don't think it will stay a parts bike. There's not that much missing.
 
Dogma said:
At least I'm going to learn a thing or three about rust.
Click to expand...
You will also learn about how much heat distorts metal, how to repair warpage, dent repair, metal finishing, filler application, sanding, blocking, painting.
while increasing your vocabulary at the same time. :(
 
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