fuel tank restoration

[dueller]

Link for ya

Hey Hammer, would you describe the electric method? And what is 'wash soda'? I'm 60 and never heard of that.

Check out this link http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=95247

[Hammered]

Washing soda is just sodium carbonate. Arm and Hammer sells it by the box for cheap. It only takes about a 1/2 cup to every 5 gallons of water. I just tried this out on an old garden pump can. To get the line of site, I hung the donor electrode in the can itself. Course I have a bore scope at work so it made it easy to check after a couple days sitting.

All you need is a large enough non conductive tub like container, water, washing soda, electrode for attracting the rust, battery charger oh and something rusty.

[1948man]

70GT, you say "reline." If you mean that literally and there is a failed liner in your tank, the plot thickens. Getting out a failed Kreme job is difficult. I used the molasses trick to derust my tank and it works great if you aren't in a big hurry (just Google "molasses,rust"). Ditto on the need to put something in the tank to prohibit flash rust after you get the rust out. Search on this site for Caswell for another coating option which worked perfect for me. If you get a little flash rust, you can just coat right over it.

[tkent02]

I have done about ten tanks using electrolysis. It gets them clean, but it takes some time and effort. Apparently while wet sanding I got some water in the 650 tank I just painted, it's a little rusty inside now. Guess I'll be doing the electrolysis again. Just a tablespoon or so is enough soda for several gallons, it is not part of the chemical process, it is only there to make the water conduct electricity better.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

I'll share my de-rusting experience too, what little of it there is.

Tank Cleaning: with Evapo-Rust (PDF file)

After cleaning with Evapo-Rust, I did not line my tank with anything. It's still rust-free after a year.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Bill Alexander]

Killing ALL the rust is recommend. There are all kinds of methods to do so including acids, sand blasting, and sealer paints (such as POR-15). On my seat pan I sand blasted all the rust off best I could but there was still rust flecks down into the pits in the metal. After blasting I used POR-15 paint to seal down any remaining rust. POR-15 claims you can seal over rust but I'd rather remove as much as possible before sealing just to hedge the bet.

I agree.
I have done a couple of tanks with POR15 sealer and very happy with the results. Also used POR15 products (rust preventitive paint, Blackote & Glisten) on the seat base, frame, wheels and engine covers. You could say I am a bit of a fan of POR15. Has has been said by others "FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS" Preparation is important.

I was just wondering about the outside. I have seen stuff with names like rust stop and such and always wondered if they actually stopped reaction of rust on the outer surfaces..

I just painted the outside, with regular auto paint but I'm sure the POR15 rust preventative paint would give good results on the tank underside. Could use POR everywhere but the colour range is a bit limited

[dueller]

I just painted the outside, with regular auto paint but I'm sure the POR15 rust preventative paint would give good results on the tank underside. Could use POR everywhere but the colour range is a bit limited

BUT! You could always paint over the POR with whatever color you wanted. At least the rust is "hopefully" neutralized.