Muradic acid time :-0

[Guest]

From reading a few post most say that this stuff works like a champ but be cautious and wear protection! I was wondering if anybody had any tips on soak time? Do I still need to vigorously shake the tank? Is it a good idea to coat the inside with "redcote" when I'm done? What if I let it sit overnight? Will it hurt anything? I wanted to hear some info on guys that have actually gotten down with this nasty stuff, this is my only major hold up on my resto project is the rusty ass gas tank

[Allie]

I got a snootfull of vapors once, knocked me right on my asgard. It felt like it was tearing my sinuses out by the roots. I used vinegar in my tank with great results, but it wasn't very far gone to start with. Not sure but I'd think Muriatic acid would work much faster, the vinegar does its stuff overnight. Might have a really thin tank by the morning... I left brass harmonica reed plates in vinegar overnight once and it killed them.

[wymple]

I used it to clean up gun parts in the past. Worked great and overnight I couldn't see where it had any effect on the metal itself. I've not tried it on a tank, tho. If vinegar works, sounds safer.

[Phred]

Why not use Evaporust instead. I poured a gallon in the tank, set the tank up at different angles for several hours at a time. Evaporust uses a process called chelation which removes the rust from the steel. Blew out the tank with compressed air and fed an old sheet through it to remove any residue. Tank turned out clean as a whistle. Evaporust can be re-used again. I poured it through a coffee filter to remove the fine particles of rust.

[Nessism]

Stay away from the muriatic acid. It's dangerous and harsh. Not the right material to clean a tank unless you have a lot of experience with the stuff.

Evaporust is great. Only downside is cost.

Vinegar will work. A little slow maybe.

Phosphoric acid (Metal Etch and Prep as sold by Home Depot) is ideal for cleaning rust inside a tank. This is a common material used by professionals to clean rust and etch the metal before painting.

[chuck hahn]

Yes...muriatic will eat thru in a very short time..DO NOT USE!! Like Ed said..Phosphoric acid. Get the powder and mix it up with water and fill the tank or get the Prep and Etch as its a concentrate that you cut with water. I use a 50/50 mix. I also use green auto painters tape and cover the entire tank if the paint is to be saved. Start at the bottom and overlap about 1/4 inch as you go up...just like shingling a roof. Any acid will ruin the paint quickly if it gets on it.

[Dabears]

Oh damn! Good thing they were only $3.99 at my local hardware store! I'll look for some metal etch tomorrow or maybe some of the phosphoric acid, where can I get it in the powder base?

[chuck hahn]

Don't know if Home depot or Lowes still carry the powder form. But the Prep And Etch liquid is fine. Comes in a gallon jug and is green in color. Half a jug and fill the tank with water. I have let tanks sit all night and not get any eat thru...but that also depends on just how rusty it is and if its rusted very thin in spots. But no worries if it does leak.

I would put a liner in it after derusting so a pinhole isn't a concern if it happens. The Caswell 2 part epoxy kit has instructions as to how to deal with pinholes. What you do is finish the derusting process. Cover any small holes with duct tape and apply the tank liner..paying special attention to roll the epoxy heavily across the pinhole areas. Leave the tape on and let the liner cure for 24 hrs. Remove the tape and use rubbing alcohol to remove any tape adhesive. Now you simply do the Bondo filler directly over the hole and do your painting.

[Allie]

Don't know if Home depot or Lowes still carry the powder form. But the Prep And Etch liquid is fine. Comes in a gallon jug and is green in color. Half a jug and fill the tank with water. I have let tanks sit all night and not get any eat thru...but that also depends on just how rusty it is and if its rusted very thin in spots. But no worries if it does leak.

I would put a liner in it after derusting so a pinhole isn't a concern if it happens. The Caswell 2 part epoxy kit has instructions as to how to deal with pinholes. What you do is finish the derusting process. Cover any small holes with duct tape and apply the tank liner..paying special attention to roll the epoxy heavily across the pinhole areas. Leave the tape on and let the liner cure for 24 hrs. Remove the tape and use rubbing alcohol to remove any tape adhesive. Now you simply do the Bondo filler directly over the hole and do your painting.

Ahem... that's 'voltage grade assembly tape'.

[chuck hahn]

LOl Allie....Go fast tape.. speed tape..even fixes jet airliner intakes apparently!!! HA HA. Good enough for Red Green.....good enough for me.

[83GS1100E_Tornado]

Why not use Evaporust instead. I poured a gallon in the tank, set the tank up at different angles for several hours at a time. Evaporust uses a process called chelation which removes the rust from the steel. Blew out the tank with compressed air and fed an old sheet through it to remove any residue. Tank turned out clean as a whistle. Evaporust can be re-used again. I poured it through a coffee filter to remove the fine particles of rust.

^ THIS! Evapo-rust is the bomb! Used it many times, and it's REUSABLE too! Doesn't make a mess, isn't toxic, won't eat paint, and it WORKS! Also, once you're done, DO NOT LINE THE TANK WITH ANYTHING! Liners are a recipe for disaster, they will all fail eventually, I don't care what kind it is or how it was prepped. Unless you are just trying to flip and forget, I would NEVER line a tank on a bike I was keeping. I've seen way too many of them FAIL miserably!!!!!

[chuck hahn]

Well Phred, NONE..NOT ONE...I have ever done has failed and the oldest on in my bikes is almost 10 years old. So I would think the ones you've seen fail have had prep issues rather than it being a product related fail. Biggest cause of a "fail" is the tank isn't 100% DFRY inside and the moisture prevents bonding....which in turn leads to peeling and such problems. Ssoon as I rinse one out the heat gun goes in the filler neck and its dried well. And I mean WELL....LOL

[Grimly]

Cheap cola works well, if you can't get anything else locally. You know the kind of thing; supermarket own-brand Cola for a dollar a gallon
Full of metal-cleaning goodness.

[Dabears]

Alright I decided to get a $20 gal of evaporust from oreillys, I'm also gonna coat the tank but make sure I prep it well, wish me luck fellas as this is my biggest draw back to riding her this summer, I'll post some before and after pics if I can