Rust in tank

[mike1414]

Hey there guys,

I bought a 79 GS550 last week and I am STOKED about it! BUT, I didn't have the light left in the day to thoroughly check the inside of the tank, and today I found that there is a bit of rust in there and also slight corrosion.

I was hoping that you all may have some ideas as to what I can do to clean/coat the inside of the tank to seal it. I have heard that to clean the tank you can put some chains in there with a bit of pine sol (or another less-harsh cleaner) and shake it around some to clean get rid fo the rust and corrosion; any ideas?.

I know that there is also RedKote to coat the inside of the tank and to prevent any further rust. Any other suggestions? RedKote is CRAZY expensive for the little amount of cleaner that you get. Any home-made remedies or cheaper solutions to pick up at a local store? I'm sure I could fine something online, but I'd much rather get something quickly so I can ride this thing NOW!

Thanks all!

[tkent02]

Electrolysis, vinegar, there are some commercial rust removers, different kinds of acids, lots of choices. How bad is your tank?
As far as lining the tank, there is POR 15, and some others. Last resort, I'd rather leave them bare buut since you are in a humid environment you may need something if you let the bike sit idle a lot.

There are lots of threads on thsi forum about gas tanks.

[mike1414]

My tank isn't terrible, it has 4 or 5 silver dollar size rust spots and just a bit of corrosion on the "spine" of the tank on the inside. I never actually thought of vinegar; great idea there. I actually plan on making it my daily, so it won't be sitting at all.

The tank coating supplies are quite expensive, and obviously I don't want to mess it up by doing something wrong. I never thought of leaving it bare either. I just thought that lining it was how it was supposed to be, never really read too much into it. I did a quick search about tanks on the forum but didn't return great results. I'll go deeper in depth with my search.

Many thanks.

[Griffyn]

Hit it with some CLR and a handful of screws. Shake vigorously. Rinse with acetone and blow dry.

If that doesn't clean it well enough for you, I recommend Caswell Novolac Epoxy. If you do the above, you're already prepped for it and ready to go. $50 gets you enough to do 2 tanks, just be sure to get full coverage as novolac is pretty thick stuff.

[tkent02]

If you ride the bike it won't rust. It's when they sit, with a half empty tank, that condensation takes place and puts water in your tank. Then it rusts. I have never been one to use a liner unless the tank already has holes in it, have never had a problem later.
I do top off the tank before letting it sit very long.

A little surface rust inside won't hurt anything, unless there's enough for it to work loose and block the petcock or the carburetors. If it's a little more than that, some nails or a chain, maybe aquarium rocks and shaking the tank will knock any loose stuff off, it will be fine. I used some old used antifreeze and a bunch of roofing nails once, the anti freeze kept it from rusting until it was filled with gasoline.

Any of the acid treatments make the metal want to flash rust, you might clean off a tiny bit of surface rust and then have it flash rust worse than it was.

[limeex2]

The flash rust is exactly what happened to me. Used vinegar. Slight surface rust before, now I have tons of fairly heavy flash rust. Now I am not sure where to start. Suggestions??

[tkent02]

Electrolysis will take it off easily.

[mike1414]

If you ride the bike it won't rust. It's when they sit, with a half empty tank, that condensation takes place and puts water in your tank. Then it rusts. I have never been one to use a liner unless the tank already has holes in it, have never had a problem later.
I do top off the tank before letting it sit very long.

A little surface rust inside won't hurt anything, unless there's enough for it to work loose and block the petcock or the carburetors. If it's a little more than that, some nails or a chain, maybe aquarium rocks and shaking the tank will knock any loose stuff off, it will be fine. I used some old used antifreeze and a bunch of roofing nails once, the anti freeze kept it from rusting until it was filled with gasoline.

Any of the acid treatments make the metal want to flash rust, you might clean off a tiny bit of surface rust and then have it flash rust worse than it was.

Sounds like I will be ok without lining the tank then, because I plan on riding it every day. ESPECIALLY during this beautiful Spring weather we are having down her in FL!

Thanks guys.