I think I mentioned in my other post that the V65 I just adopted had obviously been sitting for at LEAST a year and has surface rust in the tank. From the look and feel of it, I suspect there may be some pitting as well. I have read several articles in the last couple of days about rust removal, Do any of you have first hand experience and advice on how I should proceed to get this tank cleaned up? The various chemical applications I've read about have me concerned :shock: about possibly damaging the outside finish if spilled or leaked on it, not to mention disposal issues and PPE requirements.
Any thoughts, comments or advise is greatly appreciated
I've tried Creme and another similar product with some success. I recently had a Honda Rebel tank totally restored from Don Hart. It is totally impressive. They can totally restore it or they can steam and coat it. It is a polyurethane coating with a 5 year warranty.
http://www.donhart.com/
LOLOL I must be impressed, I used the word totally a total of 3 times! :)
That is totally awesome. I'll check it out..!
Thanks
Got this tip from Kirby on the SMOT list....
Phosphoric Acid....commonly called Milkstone Remover...That brand is commonly used in the Dairy business. When ya start on the gas tank....fill it with what ever your gona use and put a hand full of nuts and bolts....ball bearings ...even some smallish rocks and shake the gas tank around..the nuts will knock off the big and loose stuff....and expose the rust close to the metal of the tank to the acid. The phosphoric acid will set up a coating on the inside of the tank that resists rust..
A friend that just picked up a Magna has rust in his tank. He was telling me something similar but hooking it up with a paint shaker. I said that would be a trick. If you need to shake it for a long time I suggested putting it in the clothes dryer packing it so it would not tumble around. Put it in a direction the tank would rotate long way allowing the nuts and bolts would go from end to end . I would add I would do this when the spouse is not home. :lol: :lol: :lol:
Jeff,
I'm guessing that I need to seal off the openings of the tank pretty tightly?? I probably don't want to get phosphoric acid on the outside of the tank if I hope to preserve the paint??
Robert,
Thanks for the excellent tip, but Tina says I CAN'T use the clothes dryer because even if she's gone, she'll find out about it. :| Any other ideas... :lol:
Do you have a trampoline and some kids?
I don't think gas fumes and clothes dryers go well together :?: :)
Man oh man, this stuff is better than the comics!!!!!!!!LOL!!!!
Quote from: trapperJeff,
I'm guessing that I need to seal off the openings of the tank pretty tightly?? I probably don't want to get phosphoric acid on the outside of the tank if I hope to preserve the paint??
I have a V45 Sabre tank that needs cleaning is the reason I asked him about it. I haven't tried it yet but I'm pretty sure you don't want it on the paint. Kirby has been around bikes a long time and when he talks MC's I listen, he has forgot more about MC's than what I'll ever learn. Send me you email and I'll give it to Kirby so the two of you can talk directly about it or check out the SMOT site for it.
I agree. I had suggested to my friend to put it in a big trash bag to prevent gas fumes going in his GAS clothes dryer. But last night he has read a different way to brake the chemical bond of the rust and the metal tank. Fill the tank with distilled water use a battery charger has a power supply put the black cable to the tank and the red wire to the water. That will brake the bond of the rust and the tank. The rust will still need to be removes by some abrasion action as the bolt in the tank to remove the rust. When washing a car hitting it with water from the hose does little good you need to wipe the dirt away. With the electrolysis the rust is just wiped away like dirt on the car.
Verrrry interesting, Robert. I need to research that the electrolysis idea. I want to be very careful lest I end up with a new type of hairdo.... :shock:
John I just seen on Ebay a NIB OEM V65 tank..
Last time I did the DIY liner a friend suggested putting all the nuts on a string before shaking them around the tank. I used jetline. It sure makes nut removal easy.
The string idea is great. We did discuss the removal but never followed that line other then it was going to be a difficult pain
Quote from: Luke 22But last night he has read a different way to brake the chemical bond of the rust and the metal tank. Fill the tank with distilled water use a battery charger has a power supply
I remembered I had something similar to that, I"ll upload it to Yahoo for a couple weeks before I delete it.
http://www.geocities.com/silverado_cowboy_2000/tankrust/tankrust.html
That string idea is great!
I was going to suggest using a length of chain for easy removal but the nuts and bolts on a string works well too
I have seen the chain idea in a couple of places on the internet.
Since its raining AGAIN today, I may try to get the tank off for a little closer inspection.
So this is how I handled the rust problem.
I took the tank off on Friday the 27th and gave it a thorough looking at. Definitely lots of scaling and pitting in the tank. The outlet was partially clogged with rust debris. I talked with a local sandblaster who said he could blast the inside of the tank, but he couldn't be sure he'd get all the rust. So Wednesday last week, when there is no footballl practice, I stopped by the Wally World and bought a 1500 count tube of BB's. I poured them in the tank, taped all of the openings shut, wrapped it in a comforter, packed it in the dryer with lots of blankets and pillows so the tank itself wouldn't bounce around, and ran the dryer for an hour. When I took the tank out and looked inside, the rust was pulverized. It was dust...! After about a half hour of shaking and bouncing and standing on my head, I got all the BB's out. I blew much of the dust out with my air compressor, and yesterday flushed it 4 times with gasoline. After that, I rinsed the inside of the tank with acetone, drained it and blew it dry and sealed it with Red-Kote which I had to drive to Killeen to get. I'm completely thrilled with the results and believe I will have a totally rust free fuel tank after its finished curing out...
:D
You are a lucky man trapper, I thought only us single guys could tumble tanks in the dryer, cure paint in the oven and wash parts in the dishwasher without getting KILLED!!! :shock: :? :shock: :wink:
Curtis
Well...
I don't know if it's luck, but
my wife's very tolerant, and for some reason loves me. :o I must be like a kid...you know, no matter what they do, you still love 'em... :mrgreen:
From Tina:
Hey, guys....love has nothing to do with it! Secretly, I was hoping the dryer would break so Trapper would be forced to buy me a new one! :lol:
As I fire up the way back machine I can hear "Hey honey, why don't take some time for yourself a do a little shopping today. Buy yourself something nice. Take your time, a couple of hours ought to do."
Meanwhile...a plan is afoot.
Another option;
I have done a couple of tanks.
This stuff works well but you do need to take the tank to a car wash and thourghly remove gas and oil or it will reduce the effectiveness.
It is called EVAPO-RUST and safe on the paint and reusable. It is available from O'REILLY and AUTOZONE A galllon is about 20 dollars.
http://www.evapo-rust.com/
http://www.evaporust.com/
I have never used but have read about 3 tank liners I think live up to there claim better. Kreem is not one of them. Por-15 is, I think Red Kote is another and would have to research what the other is.
But when and if it starts to peel and how to get it out.......I would recommend if possible, to clean and use an in-line filter unless you must coat.
I am currently working on a GT750 and GT380 which the EVAPO-RUST cleaning method has worked well. Once you remove the solution I washed again at the car wash than dumped a quart of alcohol in the tank, slosh, drain and let dry. Don't forget to install a in-line filter.
Terry
Quote from: trapperFrom Tina:
Hey, guys....love has nothing to do with it! Secretly, I was hoping the dryer would break so Trapper would be forced to buy me a new one! :lol:
After reading this to Deb I got the OK to use the dryer also! :D Not sure if that is good or bad news. :roll:
If you put a gas tank in the dryer, your crazier than hell! That's my take on it; you'll never get ALL the rust out, and what remains will spread no matter what.
A plastic liner is good, but must cover ALL the inside of the tank; miss a spot and your toast!
Everything lasts for a while, some longer, but nothing is forever. Remember that when you're trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear!
lol
This forum is really good; no BS mostly. I like that.
Greg
I have cleaned out many old gas tanks with a bottle of BB's. You can buy a bottle with 6000 BB's for about 7 bucks. Pull the petcock and pour in the bb's, then shake the you know what out of it. You can pour out the bb's and use a magnet to get the last few out. Next, I blow out the tank with compressed air.( wear a dust mask because this creates one hell of a "rust cloud") Put in a quart of gas and rinse out the remaining rust.
When I find rust in the tank I also clean the carbs.
This method worked great on a 1976 Yamaha XS 360 that had been left outside for 14 years. I got about 3 cups of solid rust dust out of the tank before I used the compressed air.
Hope this helps.
You can also wash out with Alcohol after you do the shake it all about, the alcohol will evaporate and help dry it..
A lot of great comments and some very good experiences. Seems as if I didn't do too bad restoring the tank. I'll get around to reinstalling it on the bike after I hook up Tina's new dryer.... :P