Possible new twist on rust in the gas tanks solution?

[80GS850GBob]

My bike, when I got it, had some real oddball stuff swishing around in the tank, as well as some rust spots inside. Found a shop rag and a bunch of brown paper towel pieces in it when I pulled the petcock {petcock had a vacuum leak in the seal}. Since then, while going thru other PO issues, the tank shown more rust in it from sitting in my basement {dehumidifier set at 45%rh}. Last month I put 6 gal of white vinegar in it to do the burn-off of rust...I let it sit for 2 weeks. The black crud in there scared me but once I swished it around after letting half out she came out pretty clean...pretty clean. Now she's flash rusted again even after a decent shot {probably 2 cups} of lacquer thinner giving that a good swishing to coat everything, right after I drained the vinegar. Ugh!
So, after researching here and around the old car forums, I'm left with the not so pleasant thought of coating the inside of the tank with some kind of sealer....dragons blood, red whatever, white cream...they all don't seem to have great reviews. For some it's A+ for "this" brand...and equally more negative reviews of others for said same brand...no one shot miracle cure here.
So, I thought about the last 25yrs of my old job...making rivets....and the different kinds of plating they received. Inspecting the fuel sender I saw that it was somewhat cruddy {like the rest of the inside of the tank}, but she was still zinc plated to begin with. Given that, I searched around to find the best plating for a strip and revamp of my sender structure while I had it apart...searched for fuel sender rewinding too {nichrome wire - I posted about oddball readings from my sender but it was just low batteries in my tester}.........and btw, yes, I pulled and blocked off the sender before my vinegar treatment. I did use my old petcock though so I could easily remove the vinegar...have a new one on the shelf.
Anyway...given that the oem fuel sender coating was zinc {kind of yellowy}, I've found out that there's an "EN nickel plating" or clear or yellow zinc and hot galvanizing. I have to strip my paint off the tank anyway {cracked/chipped} so a "dunk" of some kind won't hurt my tank...most folks it would.
Has anyone else looked into a plating process, of any kind like this, for the inside of their tank?
I sent a tank plating request/quote off to the local platter across town since they do small batches and actually say they do car/motorcycle part plating....chuckle...wonder if they've done tanks too. A Norton forum says it's been done with good results...found the same on a Goldwing forum......"should" work for us too......right?

 

[Nessism]

You're reinventing the wheel. Go to Home Depot and grab a gallon of Kleenstrip Etch and Prep. It's phosphoric acid and will derust the tank pronto. If there is varnish inside the tank that should be removed first of course. The Etch and Prep will remove all the rust in just a few hours. Dump it out to save, rinse with water, and then quickly dump in a couple bottles of IA. Shake well and dump that out and hit the tank with a very heavy shot of WD-40. At most your tank will get a little brown residue on it but no real rust.

 

[80GS850GBob]

I've got a new gallon of evaporust {last week} and an old gal of POR metal prep {2yrs old/never opened spare for the trunk floor on my old car...bad trunk lid seal neglect from PO}.
I was just wondering about a more permanent wheel replacement, in this day and age of required ethanol additives at the pump. I do appreciate the input though.

Btw...what's "IA"?...and would marvel mystery oil suffice in place of WD-40?

 

[Nessism]

Isopropyl alcohol. And WD-40 is a water displacement product, thus it's the proper product for removing water and protecting the metal.

 

[Boriqua]

I used the KBS kit.
https://www.kbs-coatings.com/cycle-tank-sealer-kit.html

My tank had alot of surface rust with large floating pieces of rust in it. I went all the way through the liner process but I must admit that with the Kleen and Rust blast the tank looked new inside and I almost didnt do the liner. According to the company the rust blast has a healthy dose of zinc so you dont get flash rust between the time you clean it and the time you do the liner. Those to products should do you well and then you can decide if you want to do a liner. I was blown away with how the tank looked after just the rust blast phase.

 

[Dre]

You're reinventing the wheel. Go to Home Depot and grab a gallon of Kleenstrip Etch and Prep. It's phosphoric acid and will derust the tank pronto. If there is varnish inside the tank that should be removed first of course. The Etch and Prep will remove all the rust in just a few hours. Dump it out to save, rinse with water, and then quickly dump in a couple bottles of IA. Shake well and dump that out and hit the tank with a very heavy shot of WD-40. At most your tank will get a little brown residue on it but no real rust.

I can't get that product in Canada, is there an alternative, metal rescue?

 

[JTGS850GL]

I can't get that product in Canada, is there an alternative, metal rescue?

Can you get the Evapo-Rust? We can get it ad Walmart here. Works absolutely great.

 

[limeex2]

After using vinegar and making it go from light surface rust to WHAT JUST HAPPENED, I used Metal Rescue after watching a guy do a mint Z-1 tank that was just nasty inside. Turned out perfect! No chemmies needed afterwards, no returning rust. Its not cheap but it works and can be reused and will not harm paint in the least. I have 2 more tanks to do and will reuse it. The stuff is so harmless that you can rinse the tank in water and dump it on the lawn.

 

[Dre]

After using vinegar and making it go from light surface rust to WHAT JUST HAPPENED, I used Metal Rescue after watching a guy do a mint Z-1 tank that was just nasty inside. Turned out perfect! No chemmies needed afterwards, no returning rust. Its not cheap but it works and can be reused and will not harm paint in the least. I have 2 more tanks to do and will reuse it. The stuff is so harmless that you can rinse the tank in water and dump it on the lawn.

Yeah its like 35$ for one bottle. How bout a vinegar soak for 24 hours (to the top) then a rinse with metal rescue? Vinegar is cheap.

 

[Dre]

Can you get the Evapo-Rust? We can get it ad Walmart here. Works absolutely great.

80$ for evapo rust. Yikes. That's a new bike part. Lol

 

[limeex2]

Yeah its like 35$ for one bottle. How bout a vinegar soak for 24 hours (to the top) then a rinse with metal rescue? Vinegar is cheap.

And doesnt work. And now you have to coat your tank. If you mess up when coating it, good luck. I had $78 into it, I can derust the 3 tanks I need to do and it cost me about $25 a tank, cheap when think about time and effort on more tank work and carb work that may be needed.

 

[Dre]

And doesnt work. And now you have to coat your tank. If you mess up when coating it, good luck. I had $78 into it, I can derust the 3 tanks I need to do and it cost me about $25 a tank, cheap when think about time and effort on more tank work and carb work that may be needed.

Very true. Ok