• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Surface rust in tank-big concern?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Surly
  • Start date Start date
S

Surly

Guest
I drained the gas that had sat in my GS for the last 17 years. The tank was mostly full, and the gas had the pink tint that old gas has. Yeah, you can imagine the carbs after 17 years with that crap in them. There was no rust in the tank at that time.

I popped the cap off the tank last night and noticed a very fine patina of surface rust is starting to form. It wipes off easily, but should I be concerned about doing an acid treatment as I've been reading about, or just put some gas back in it and shake it up every couple of days to recoat the metal? I think the tank is sound, as it had gas in it while it was stored.

Hopefully, with the addition of one of Mr. Barr's o-ring kits I'll have this GS running by months end so long term storage procedeures aren't necessary.

As always, I appreciate the help.
 
That surface rust will wind up in your carbs if you let it form in the tank. THAT'S A VERY BAD THING. My advice is to get the rust out ASAP and refill the tank all the way with gas or add a cup of kerosene or diesel fuel and a cup of motor oil and shake it up about once a day. Once you're ready to start it you can drain that stuff and add at least 2 gallons of gas or so and go from there.
 
That's what I was afraid of. Okay, phos acid it is. Do I need to pull the petcock, etc. prior to doing this? What is a good neutralizing agent? Baking soda and water perhaps?
 
I used muriatic acid and it worked great. You can get this stuff at Menards for cheap $2, or anywhere usually where they sell pool stuff. You have to take everything off of the tank (petcock, fuel lever sender, etc) and what I did was used duct tape to close the bottom holes, put about a quart or so in it then taped the top and swished that stuff all around inside and let it sit for about 3-4 minutes. Then I took the tape off the top and ran a water hose down in it and let it run for about 30 minutes. Then I used a hair dryer to dry it out and it was a nice pretty silver inside when I was done. Hooked everything back together and now I still have an Electrical Problem!!! (didn't think it would fix that, but it did get the rust out of my tank)
 
Phosphoric acid is the safest. It won't hurt the sound metal and converts any rust that might be left behind to iron phosphate.
 
I am going to use the Behr Concrete Etcher and Rust Remover. It has Phos Acid in it, and the best part is that I still have some leftover from when I epoxyed my garage floor. Wow, I get my tank cleaned without spending more money and I get to get rid of a bottle I've been tripping over for the last two years? Does it get better? Sure, but I'll take a victory, however small it may be. I may even throw in some gravel just for kicks and more noise when I shake the tank to make me feel like I'm doing more than I really am.

Thanks guys.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top