Gas tank cleaning

[Stuckinmud15]

Is there any particular "technique" to properly clean out the tank? I can't imagine being able to scrub much of the inside because its sealed..should I just be soaking it with some cleaner? Thanks for advice.

[jwhughes3]

It depends...

on what you need to clean out? Varnished old gas? Just some carb cleaner like Berryman's in there rolled around will loosen up gummy varnish deposits -

Most likely though you mean rusty flakes? That's a completely different animal and you will get a number of options ranging from electrolysis to dropping in a bunch of nuts or chain to physically dislodge the rust (after removing the sender and petcock towers of course).

Finally you need to consider how to avoid a repeat - possibly coating the tank.


If $ is no object and you are repainting, go to a radiator shop to have it dipped.

If you are doing it at home and repainting, consider electrolysis.

Otherwise 90% of us just use mechanical means to dislodge it with the nuts and chains. I didn't Kreem© mine but mostly because I just don't think it was that bad to begin with.

Hope this helps you think about options - keep asking about the one you want to do and then search on that method. There is a wealth of info in here.

John

[natemoen]

Yeah I was going to suggest the radiator shop as well, I am waiting for mine to get done at a rad shop at the moment. Call around though cause prices seemed to vary here. I got quotes as high as $150 just to dip the tank but found a place that did it for $40. It would cost a bit more though if you wanted to keep the paint on the outside cause that involves more work, but if you are planning on repainting then this is a work free way to remove all the paint and bondo if there is any.

[crazy steve]

If it's really crusty inside, dipping at a rad shop or electrolysis is probably the answer. But if you just have surface rust, look here: http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...leaning&page=4 You can just slosh this around inside the tank and clean it if it's not too bad...

[DGXSER]

As stated, it depends what is in there you want out. I had to clean a bunch of rust and old varnished up gas out.

I first tried using Citric Acid. It worked some but not as well as I wanted. I understand you can get a much stronger concentrate than what I started with though.

I then went to the electrolysis method. Worked really well and got it spit-spot in there. But it also exposed a few locations where the tank wall was thin...as in REALLY thin. And I got paint bubbling from gas leaking through pinholes in places. So, I coated the tank.

Also, be aware, the acetone and denatured alchohol will eat the heck out of paint!!!DAMHIKIJK!!

[bikerphil]

I can't imagine being able to scrub much of the inside because its sealed

Do you mean "sealed" as there is a coating in the tank? if so, be careful as chemicals such as acetone will desolve some types of tank coatings.

[jetmechmarty]

Rust removal

I saw Metal Rescue demonstrated on Two Guys Garage. If it works like they say it does, it's a simple solution.

[Diskman01]

My '78 tank was fairly rusty inside. It was creating red gas and clogging the filters. I drained it, pulled the sending unit, rinsed it with HOT water then tried to plug the holes with plastic bags. Ran an entire bottle of C.L.R. into it and let it sit for about 45 minutes. Rinse and repeat I guess.

Oh, I dumped about 2 feet of steel chain into it before I ran the CLR through and shook it around with some Dawn dish soap. The chain seemed to remove about 80% of the loose scale. The CLR managed to create nice shiny steel again that promptly flash rusted before I could get out to the garage and run some mixed weed-whacker gas through it.

100 times better now. My shiny new filters are full of nice green-tinted gas with no chunkys and after cleaning the carbs, the bike actually runs again.

However, my water drain tube is slightly clogged. This was the downfall of the rusty gastank as the bike was stored outside and the original gas was mixed 50/50 with water when I got the bike.

[natemoen]

Shaking chain around inside has been known to damage the drain tube as well.

[latexeses]

The washing soda/ battery charger system is so easy to do. To me it is a no brainer. I guess that answers the question why I like it.

Take a look at this.

http://twinoak.altelco.net/~jacil/cl...ElecSetup.html

Use the battery charger instead of a battery though.
Good luck.
Rodger

[greatnw]

I used a strong chemical (can't remember which one, got it at home depot) and a couple of handfulls of nuts and bolts. Mine was pretty bad. Got all the rust out, but it did expose a constellations worth of pinhole leaks. I soldered them all up and coated the tank POR 15. I really like the POR 15. If I had to do it again I'd either use electrolysis or the POR 15 product that combines with the rust to help minimize damage to the tank. The acid and nuts were a little harsher than they needed to be.
In the end, I picked up a nice used one that was in great shape. I'll keep the coated tank for the next project!!!!!