Getting the rust out-HOPEFULLY

I'll try the Works stuff next time if it has hydrochloric acid in it that is the same stuff that is in the Permatex Rust Dissolver but you get a whole lot more for a bunch less

"The Works" toilet bowl cleaner will also take the blueing off of a gun barrel. I know that one for a fact lol.

I just cleaned out a nasty kz900 tank. First I used a gallon of viniger and strung together a bunch of nuts. Drank beer all day, one beer tumble the tank around another beer etc until i was quite buzzed. Both results were great. I then poured in four gallons of apple cider viniger and let it sit two days shaking around a little
Drained and quickly added one gallon of distilled water shaked with half cup or so baking soda,this prevents flash rust. Tank is spotless.
Dumped in a little two mix from the weed whacker and swished
cheers

Well, I don't have any pictures, but after this thing sat for two weeks or so, the rust is definitely gone on the arrears I can see. My next concern is the ceiling of the tank. It obviously didn't get bathed as well as the rest I'm sure. I think I'm going to get a large Rubermaid tote and just submerge the whole take in the vinegar/baking some solution. I'll repost in a couple weeks if that works.

Thanks for all the suggestions and insight

Cheers

I have been cleaning a tank that I needed for the A4. The gas had not solidified yet and I thought it would be a easy job. I am in the second week but ho[e to have it ready to sand by the weekend.

I had other tanks but wanted a standard petcock.Roy

Chum wrote: Well, I don't have any pictures, but after this thing sat for two weeks or so, the rust is definitely gone on the arrears I can see. My next concern is the ceiling of the tank. It obviously didn't get bathed as well as the rest I'm sure. I think I'm going to get a large Rubermaid tote and just submerge the whole take in the vinegar/baking some solution. I'll repost in a couple weeks if that works.

Thanks for all the suggestions and insight

Cheers

Not sure why you would be using baking soda. Learning as far back as my high school chemistry, if you put a base (baking soda) into an acid, its going to weaken it or neutralize the acid completely. So by putting the baking soda in the vinegar you are weakening it and making it less effective. As far as the top is concerned. What I did was have the the tank in rubber maid container because where I duct taped the petcock hole leaked ever so slightly at first. But I only filled the inside of the tank and did not have it submerged. The way I got the top of the tank was as follows. I filled the tank with the vinegar as high as I could (mine had a functioning cap) in the tank. Then I set the whole thing in the container (you only have do this to if you have leaks). Then every couple of days I would tilt the tank forward or backwards so that the vinegar makes contact with the top section of the front half or top section of the back half. Submerging the tank will of course accomplish the same thing. It will also completely remove any paint that is on the tank. So if you like the paint job it has on it, don't submerge it.

One option for sealing furl tank interior --
www.caswellplating.com/restoration-aids/...gas-tank-sealer.html

Good Fortune!

Check this out works great, www.rusteco.com

Just fill your tank up with apple cider vinegar and let it sit a few days, swish er around now and then. Use distilled water mixed with a little baking soda to flush it out to prevent flash rust. I did it on a kz900 tank that sat for 20 years. Came out clean as new and stayed that way plus didn't harm the original paint
cheerz'
gregz

Chum wrote: Hello ladies and gents,

I'm trying a rust removal solution one of the members shared. I'll try to share my results soon. Just slowly trying to get my KZ650 road worthy.
Based on the picture provided, does it look like I'm heading down the road to a rust free tank? I know it's just one picture but ill fill in the blanks with this; about 4 gallons of vinegar and a cup of baking soda filled to the brim. The screw acting as the conduit at which point my 10 amp chargers positive terminal is attached. The screw is suspended in the solution with a plastic lid and the negative terminal connected to the tank directly.

I dont know if anyone answered this because I was too lazy to read through the whole thread but I tried a lot of things to get all of the rust out of my tank with only decent results. A couple things I tried are soaking the inside using crystal drano and water (didnt do much) and electrolysis (got a lot of he smaller looser stuff out). The one thing that got the inside looking like a new tank with not a spot of rust was THE WORKS toilet bowl cleaner! I know it might sound crazy but it took all of the rust out and it was cheap! First remove the petcock and plug the hole wiith something so it wont leak (toilet bowl cleaner will eat the seals in the petcock) it will also eat the rubber seal on the gas cap so plug that too if you plan on keeping the stock cap to use. If you are trashing both, like I did, go ahead and keep them on and just switch the petcock to "off". I poured 2 bottles (cost me less than $3) into the tank and shook it around inside making sure it coated the whole tank, let it sit for 5 minutes then shake it around again. Repeat this for 30 minutes and then rinse very thoroughly with water making sure to get out ALL of the toilet bowl cleaner because it is very corrosive. Once you do this you can dry it out with a blow drier and then fill it with gas, oil it, or coat it. If you dont do one of these right away it will flash rust. Ths rust isnt real bad, just a powdery rust that forms.

KZJOE900 wrote: If you're not in any rush and have time on your hands, I used with vinegar on my tank with excellent results. Took about two weeks. But it was pretty bad in at the beginning. If you search this site for the topic, you will also see recommendations for using oxalic acid which everyone who used it highly recommend it. Apparently, it will also coat the metal to keep it from getting flash rust.

YUP, absolutely!

Oxalic acid is availably cheaply at ACE hardware stores, it's a powder you mix with a gallon or so of warm water, put in sealed tank, agitate thoroughly every 15 minutes or so for about and hour, and if heavily rusted, maybe repeat. Got my rusted tank perfectly clean - and doesn't damage painted surfaces at all!

Some pics showing an old used tank I picked up for a future custom paint job - inside was original covered with a velvet-like layer of rust: