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How to clean and remove rust from inside metal gas tank
Rusted gas tank
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Youtube is full of ideas, even examples lots of homemade tumblers. I have one I might try in the next few months. And I think one of the best tips I've seen is instead of using nuts and bolts inside, use small chains instead. Much easier to remove.
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I've had good luck in the past on steel 3-wheeler tanks with the POR-15 kit that cleans and seals the tank permanently.
Rob
Rob
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op, I deleted your other 2 post on this same topic, please do not make more than one post on the same topic, more than one post will NOT get you any answers any faster than one post 
. if ya don't get a response in that thread ?, give it time, ppl here work..lol.
. if ya don't get a response in that thread ?, give it time, ppl here work..lol.
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Rusty tank cleaning (Acid method) - Kawasaki Vulcan 750 Forum : Kawasaki VN750 Forums
Only way that works properly.
Only way that works properly.
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thanks one1 for reposting that here, sorry I had to delete the other thread with your info ?, but 3 threads on the same topic was to much..lol.
I've used vinegar and muriatic acid, both of which will get you shiny, but both also will re-rust quickly.
Muriatic acid is really way too strong unless you have a really, really bad tank. I had to resort to using it on an old Honda ES3500 generator that had about an inch of sludge attached to the bottom of the tank. It flash rusted in a matter of seconds, and I filled with vinegar (much milder acid) until it was clean again, then flushed out with water/baking soda to neutralize the acid, then flushed with premix and it stayed pretty clean. Still flash rusted a little, but not bad.
Muriatic acid is really way too strong unless you have a really, really bad tank. I had to resort to using it on an old Honda ES3500 generator that had about an inch of sludge attached to the bottom of the tank. It flash rusted in a matter of seconds, and I filled with vinegar (much milder acid) until it was clean again, then flushed out with water/baking soda to neutralize the acid, then flushed with premix and it stayed pretty clean. Still flash rusted a little, but not bad.
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First...sorry for multiple post..New at this..i appreciate everyone's input. .i have already tried vinegar/baking soda treatment. .worked great.. but rusted back over in 2 days..didn't know other methods were needed to seal it..tomorrow I'm going to try the acid treatment and see how it goes..
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I absolutely love the POR15 treatment. Works great but you must have patience and follow the instructions carefully to prepare the metal or the urethane will not stick. I've cleaned and sealed some really bad fuel tanks on bikes in my signature below but it does take time.
In the finest traditions of Louisiana ******* technology, I have duct taped a few tanks to my grand son's 250ex and tumbled the tank with nuts, bolts, washers, railroad spikes (whatever will fit through the hole) to get things thoroughly clean. Don't forget to use a window box fan blowing on the engine to keep the four wheeler from overheating. This process also makes a lot of noise.
I also boil the Marine Clean liquid and the phosphoric acid on an old Coleman stove to speed up the chemistry of removing the rust and varnished fuel. This process stinks so do it outside.
Buy only the fuel tank liner kit product from POR15. They have lots of other paint products but only one that is suitable for fuel tanks. The tank liner liquid is only available in a gray silver color so if you see or think about buying any other POR15 product in a different color then you are about to pick the wrong thing. And you will soon be very sorry.
All in all, I'm the poster child for POR15. I have a huge writeup about POR15 stored on a different computer and I will post those words here later today if I remember.
Rick
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk
In the finest traditions of Louisiana ******* technology, I have duct taped a few tanks to my grand son's 250ex and tumbled the tank with nuts, bolts, washers, railroad spikes (whatever will fit through the hole) to get things thoroughly clean. Don't forget to use a window box fan blowing on the engine to keep the four wheeler from overheating. This process also makes a lot of noise.
I also boil the Marine Clean liquid and the phosphoric acid on an old Coleman stove to speed up the chemistry of removing the rust and varnished fuel. This process stinks so do it outside.
Buy only the fuel tank liner kit product from POR15. They have lots of other paint products but only one that is suitable for fuel tanks. The tank liner liquid is only available in a gray silver color so if you see or think about buying any other POR15 product in a different color then you are about to pick the wrong thing. And you will soon be very sorry.
All in all, I'm the poster child for POR15. I have a huge writeup about POR15 stored on a different computer and I will post those words here later today if I remember.
Rick
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk
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Hello,
I used the motorcycle sized POR-15 kit (about $50 plus S&H on E-Bay) to derust and reline my fuel tank and it worked great. Don’t use anything else from the POR15.com web site except the fuel tank liner kit because they make other rust preventative products but only one kit that has urethane that can resist fuel. My tank was not perforated with rust but it was very rusty and loaded with congealed gasoline varnish. Although it was not called for in the instructions, I ran two cupfuls of lacquer thinner with 20 nuts and washers shaken through my tank before starting the POR-15 process to help things along. Be careful with this lacquer thinner stuff . . . it strips paint big time. It is also bad for your lungs so really be careful here and avoid using it if your tank is not badly rusted. I used a piece of old fuel hose to close off the two drain holes and lots of duct tape (no filler cap) when I filled the tank with the sealer.
The kit has an alkaline and acid bath that must be used with hot water to clean and prep the metal and then the metallic urethane (I think that is what it is) is used to seal up any remaining rust areas. There was very little rust remaining after I had done the alkaline and acid soaks. Run your fuel tank cap through this process and it will unclog the vent hole if it was clogged but do not use the tank cap for the urethane step or you will weld the cap in place with the urethane. This, of course, would be a bad thing. Use eye protection and heavy rubber gloves to cover up your skin. I also heated up the cleaning water and the etching water in a pan on an old Coleman stove. The heat speeds up the chemistry during the cleaning and etching steps. I have done eight tanks with POR 15 and my worst tanks have taken days to clean, de-rust and etch. Keep heating up your cleaning and etching water and reuse it. Don’t forget to invert your tank so the inside top gets cleaned and etched.
Here is where most people make a big mistake – the tank must be absolutely, completely and totally bone dry before putting in the urethane liquid. Just letting it dry by itself is not good enough and it will rust again before it dries. You must rig up a way to use a hair dryer or heat gun to pipe hot air inside the fuel filler hole of the tank to force it to dry. No other method is suitable and the urethane will not stick to water. Budget two hours for this step and periodically rotate the tank around to get all the water out of the corners and the internal tank bracing. SERIOUSLY – every last drop of water must be removed and this can only be done quickly with forced hot air. You have been warned.
The urethane drains out of the tank drains with ease after you have sloshed it for thirty minutes or so. Make sure to apply a little to the top surface of the tank where the cap goes to keep rust from forming there. But wipe the stuff off the paint quickly if you accidentally get it on the outside of the tank because once it cures, you cannot get it off.
They give you a lot of the metallic urethane and it would be enough to do maybe two motorcycle-sized tanks but you would need additional alkaline and acid prep products. Stir the urethane can very well because a lot of the good stuff settles at the bottom. I poured most of mine out of the tank after about thirty minutes of sloshing. But I could not get enough out to keep it from puddling in the bottom of the tank which they said would be bad later on – too thick and it could delaminate and flake off. Most tanks keep too much inside even when it is completely upside down. I had to use straws to “vacuum out” the excess but please be careful using this technique because I am certain that it tastes worse than it smells. Even after you vacuum the excess out, you still need to turn your tank about every minute to keep it from puddling at the bottom. I eventually put some hot air into the tank to speed up the curing process because it was below the optimum cure temperature of 72 degrees F but I only did this for a minute or two. After that, it was still able to ooze a little inside the tank but just barely. The point here to keep it away from the low drain hole and avoid a thick puddle somewhere. Turn the tank so that it oozes onto the sides and top of the tank in thin layers.
The cure time at or above 72 degrees is four days. I am always waiting on something else to be finished so four days is not problem for me but you might plan ahead if you need your tank faster than this. The company also sells some kind of urethane curing accelerant but I have never used it. Do not think that your wife will let you bring the still damp tank into the house to finish curing because this stuff smells awful.
This really was not a difficult project . . . just follow the instructions. It has to be bone dry of water on the inside!!! And this entire cleaning process could take a week of diligent effort every day on your part.
Rick - Bossier City, Louisiana
I used the motorcycle sized POR-15 kit (about $50 plus S&H on E-Bay) to derust and reline my fuel tank and it worked great. Don’t use anything else from the POR15.com web site except the fuel tank liner kit because they make other rust preventative products but only one kit that has urethane that can resist fuel. My tank was not perforated with rust but it was very rusty and loaded with congealed gasoline varnish. Although it was not called for in the instructions, I ran two cupfuls of lacquer thinner with 20 nuts and washers shaken through my tank before starting the POR-15 process to help things along. Be careful with this lacquer thinner stuff . . . it strips paint big time. It is also bad for your lungs so really be careful here and avoid using it if your tank is not badly rusted. I used a piece of old fuel hose to close off the two drain holes and lots of duct tape (no filler cap) when I filled the tank with the sealer.
The kit has an alkaline and acid bath that must be used with hot water to clean and prep the metal and then the metallic urethane (I think that is what it is) is used to seal up any remaining rust areas. There was very little rust remaining after I had done the alkaline and acid soaks. Run your fuel tank cap through this process and it will unclog the vent hole if it was clogged but do not use the tank cap for the urethane step or you will weld the cap in place with the urethane. This, of course, would be a bad thing. Use eye protection and heavy rubber gloves to cover up your skin. I also heated up the cleaning water and the etching water in a pan on an old Coleman stove. The heat speeds up the chemistry during the cleaning and etching steps. I have done eight tanks with POR 15 and my worst tanks have taken days to clean, de-rust and etch. Keep heating up your cleaning and etching water and reuse it. Don’t forget to invert your tank so the inside top gets cleaned and etched.
Here is where most people make a big mistake – the tank must be absolutely, completely and totally bone dry before putting in the urethane liquid. Just letting it dry by itself is not good enough and it will rust again before it dries. You must rig up a way to use a hair dryer or heat gun to pipe hot air inside the fuel filler hole of the tank to force it to dry. No other method is suitable and the urethane will not stick to water. Budget two hours for this step and periodically rotate the tank around to get all the water out of the corners and the internal tank bracing. SERIOUSLY – every last drop of water must be removed and this can only be done quickly with forced hot air. You have been warned.
The urethane drains out of the tank drains with ease after you have sloshed it for thirty minutes or so. Make sure to apply a little to the top surface of the tank where the cap goes to keep rust from forming there. But wipe the stuff off the paint quickly if you accidentally get it on the outside of the tank because once it cures, you cannot get it off.
They give you a lot of the metallic urethane and it would be enough to do maybe two motorcycle-sized tanks but you would need additional alkaline and acid prep products. Stir the urethane can very well because a lot of the good stuff settles at the bottom. I poured most of mine out of the tank after about thirty minutes of sloshing. But I could not get enough out to keep it from puddling in the bottom of the tank which they said would be bad later on – too thick and it could delaminate and flake off. Most tanks keep too much inside even when it is completely upside down. I had to use straws to “vacuum out” the excess but please be careful using this technique because I am certain that it tastes worse than it smells. Even after you vacuum the excess out, you still need to turn your tank about every minute to keep it from puddling at the bottom. I eventually put some hot air into the tank to speed up the curing process because it was below the optimum cure temperature of 72 degrees F but I only did this for a minute or two. After that, it was still able to ooze a little inside the tank but just barely. The point here to keep it away from the low drain hole and avoid a thick puddle somewhere. Turn the tank so that it oozes onto the sides and top of the tank in thin layers.
The cure time at or above 72 degrees is four days. I am always waiting on something else to be finished so four days is not problem for me but you might plan ahead if you need your tank faster than this. The company also sells some kind of urethane curing accelerant but I have never used it. Do not think that your wife will let you bring the still damp tank into the house to finish curing because this stuff smells awful.
This really was not a difficult project . . . just follow the instructions. It has to be bone dry of water on the inside!!! And this entire cleaning process could take a week of diligent effort every day on your part.
Rick - Bossier City, Louisiana
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Thanks guys..helped me alot
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The key to not having the inside rust over again right away is to fill it with gas right after you have treated the rust.
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you can do it yourself with tank cleaner / neutralizer / sealer kits , many say how good POR-15 is , but I have never tried it yet ----- what I do is go to the local radiator shop , he soaks the tank in the tank they soak radiator in , it strips it to the bone , you will lose the paint , so be it , he cut a window in the bottom of the tank when they are extremely rust , he says to assist in getting all the trash out the tank , once cleaned he weld the window up , then applies some red colored liner which has been great for me , cost about $90 , the tank kit from the dealer was costing $50 ------ I did the electrolysis thing shown on you-tube with a battery charger , it ate the tank away , but that tank was in bad condition already , you use baking soda , water , low voltage charger and a electro rod made into a plastic cap ,
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