Need Rust Removal Opinions (Fuel Tank)

A. I thought the phosphoric acid left something that kept it from re-rusting too quickly, that iron phosphate maybe. They definately have phosphoric acid up in ACE Hardware by me, sold for de-rusting purposes.

B. re: that coca-cola trick of mom's -- phosphoric acid is in coke. that's what leaches the calcium from your bones when you drink it all day.

well, when i cut the muriatic acid with water it didn't seem so bad. i just removed the moisture with m.e.k and then followed it up with a tank liner treatment. seemed to work. will a 50/50 to 70/30 mix with water hurt the metal? i keep a close eye on it, never leave it in more than a couple hours.

I just got a replacement tank for mine. The liner is coming out in chunks on it. The new one has light surface rust that comes off with your fingers. Suggestions?

MaddMaxx wrote:

I just got a replacement tank for mine. The liner is coming out in chunks on it. The new one has light surface rust that comes off with your fingers. Suggestions?

I believe acetone will remove the liner, and now that it's peeling it needs to be done. I think liner jobs fail so often because the instructions are not followed to the letter.
I used a phosphoric acid bath with a chain to remove and protect my tank. It is still rust free after 2 years. I wrote about it and put it in the Filebase, " How to clean a rusty gas tank" or something like that.

Kent

Broken bottle glass works better than anything period with the dryer trick. Be careful blowing it out when you are through.

Steve_B wrote:

Hi Members, I have a question about derusting my tank!

I read on this board that muriatic/hydrochloric acid and water works best but no store around me carries it! I was wondering, can I just not eat for a while and drink lots of water, and then vomit into my tank?? How much water to drink to achieve the proper acid to water ratio? Also would any stray food-chunks hinder the cleaning process?! Thanks,

- Steve

Steve below are two emails I received on results from useing safest rust remover for this application this may help you out I have include some of my own pics of results and the web address. Good luck!
Jess








www.safestrustremover.com/

Jessie,

I found this product Safest Rust Remover using google. I was just doing a search on how to remove rust. I used the product to remove the rust from the inside of the gas tank of my RM125 Suzuki MX dirt bike. The bike is a 1975 model and has sat for several years (about 5-. When I looked into the gas tank, I was shocked on the amount of rust that was in the tank. I tried several things to remove it, but SRR product is the only thing that worked! After filling the tank with the product and letting it soak for over night, I was amazed that all of the rust was gone. It looked like a new tank inside! When I first decided to get my MX bike running and looked inside the gas tank, I thought I might never be able get it running again without buying a new gas tank, but this product made it possible for me to clean all the rust from the tank so I could keep the original tank and get my RM125 MX running again.
Paul


Jessie,....Howdie from Colorado Springs!

Actually, I repair 1990 and older Honda Motorcycles,
and a customer told me about the safest rust remover.

I did use it in a fuel tank on a 1978 GL1000 Gold Wing
that sat in a feild for 12 years in Mississippi. There
was over an inch and a half of rust piled in the
bottom and sides, and after flushing it with water for
20 minutes, and soaking it with the rust remover for
36 hours, it took it to bare metal, just like advertise. Very happy with the results!

Thanks!

Jim Coker
Vintage Motorcycle Repair
Colorado Springs, CO [img size=150]

Post edited by: NHRAdragRacer, at: 2006/09/06 10:38

Costa Mouzouris is the editor of Cycle Canada Magazine. I'm saving his article on tidying up his thousand dollar beater bike just for things like dealing with a rusty tank. I like his method because the chemicals used are relatively benign and easy to pick up just about anywhere. My experiences dealing with acids like HCl prompt me to stay away, the biggest problem being disposing of them afterwards.

Try this link: www.cyclecanadamagazine.net/ForumArticle...d/96/Just-Grand.aspx

If that doesn't work, here's the relevant paragraph.

"The interior of the fuel tank was a mess with rust covering the entire visible surface and some light flaking. To remove the rust, I used CLR, a product that removes calcium, lime and rust. I emptied a bottle into the empty tank and sloshed it around. I did this while servicing the carburetors, so the CLR had time to work. After a few hours, I drained the CLR and washed the inside of the fuel tank with dish soap and water. After thoroughly rinsing the tank with water and draining, I added a bottle of fuel-line antifreeze. This alcohol-based product will effectively remove all the remaining water from the tank. After draining this, I let the fuel tank sit for a few hours with the gas cap open for it to dry. Since I wasn’t yet ready to fill the tank with fuel, I then coated the interior with WD40 to prevent further rust from developing, which it will do quickly on bare metal."

The only caveat I would offer is that it may be a Canadian only product.

Heavens, no. CLR is sold in the bathroom cleaning section of any grocery store. If I'm not mistaken, it's a very mild solution of hydrocloric acid. So if you have access to muriatic acid (which is a watered down solution of hydrocloric acid) just cut it even more with water, and you have CLR.