Tank Rust

[waterman]

I had used Por15 on a tank I have, unfortunately I haven't had that bike running so I can't say how it has worked. I know when I did mine I bought the kit which contained the acids and conditioner. Prior to adding the sealant paint, I dried mine by using a pistol type hair dryer (wife got new one) that I stuffed into tank and let run for a good while. I am sure that I had used a piece of chain with 1/4 inch bolts and nuts attached to remove some of the rust. I was concerned that loose bolts or gravel would lodge somewhere preventing removal. I also used diluted muriatic acid during the cleaning process. I had plenty of actual sealant left, probably 1/3 of the can.

I have seen where others had wished they had fixed tanks dings and dents prior to sealing since pounding out dents will crack sealant and defeat purpose of sealing rust in.

[tconroy]

Dang, Im glad i fill my tank with gas everyday i ride!!! It may be a hassle to stop at the gas station when your headed home but i dont have any rust in my tank because of it i think.I think as long as you keep it full to the brim you shouldn't have any rust.

[wolfie]

Anyone here ever tried Electrolytic Rust Removal on a gas tank ?


Mike

I haven't done it to a tank, but I've done a few small parts with it. It's pretty amazing. I wouldn't be scared to try doing it to a tank.

[80-81, GS 1100]

An old trick is to wrap up the tank in blankets and old pillows etc, throw in old nuts and washers etc and seal the filler / tap holes and put the whole thing in a cement mixer (wedged in tight and keep an eye on it). Noise drives the neighbours mad though, even with all that soundproofing! I've sorted out some seriously rusty tanks with this method. Final clean is with a power washer to get out all the now lose bits of grit and rust (but only on a hot summer's day or else the tank won't dry and will go rusty again). Petseal is the preffered product over here.

Wally

I don't know if the variation of that trick would work, but I have an
old XL500 tank I was thinking of doing the same thing but after duck tapeing pillows around it, putting it in my cloths dryer. (When the wife is
at work). Reason I ask, is some of us don't have mixers. Would it work
for a tank that is already dented up?

[chef1366]

To keep from p!ssing off the wife try phosphoric acid to get the rust out. Available at Lowes and Home Depot.

[Nessism]

Gas cap has a vent so liquid spills out when shaking the tank. What kind of plug can I use so it won't leak?

[neil young]

give this a try

http://www.sohc4.us/forums/index.php?topic=21623.0

[Ironriot]

Dude...... I might just try that

[hampshirehog]

The thought of swapping the cement mixer for a tumble drier appeals to me - I could do the rinse with the hose and put it back in to dry! I expect the missus would shoot me though!

[Jaguarjoe]

Gas cap has a vent so liquid spills out when shaking the tank. What kind of plug can I use so it won't leak?

McMaster Carr sells expanding tapered rubber plugs in many different sizes and they also sell modeling clay. I used the plugs to plug the sender hole and the gas cap hole then used the clay to seal up the two "ears" that are on the sides of the gas cap hole. I made a metal blanking plate and a gasket to plug the fuel outlet's oval hole.

[Nessism]

McMaster Carr sells expanding tapered rubber plugs in many different sizes and they also sell modeling clay. I used the plugs to plug the sender hole and the gas cap hole then used the clay to seal up the two "ears" that are on the sides of the gas cap hole. I made a metal blanking plate and a gasket to plug the fuel outlet's oval hole.

Good suggestion! Thanks. :-D

Spent last night and this morning working on my tank where the POR-15 job didn't work. After close inspection I've determined that the coating did not stick to the surface of the tank. I think there was water inside when the sealer was dumped in despite my baking the tank in the oven (should have cooked it longer). The POR sealer cures by absorbing moisture so water in the tank must have caused the sealer to harden up too fast and not stick to the metal. There were large chunks of hardened sealer in the tank which I managed to chip out but now I need to figure out how to get the rest out. Commercially available paint stripper doesn't seem to effect the POR sealer (I have chunks of sealer soaking in stripper and nothing has happened yet after about one hour). POR sells a stripper kit so I guess I'll have to talk to them about that.

I really created a mess with this one. Electrolysis is looking pretty good right now.

[spyug]

You can make plugs easy enough. Just get a couple of sponges. Cut to fit and wrap with duct tape or cling wrap (to stop the fluid from being absorbed) stuff in tank opening afer removing the gas cap. You can also get different size rubber plugs at the local wine or beer make it yourself stores. They likely will have a hole in the center (for the vacuum lock) so you will need to fill it or again wrap the plug with cling wrap.

On the subject of the sealer, I ordered one of the Caswell kits today. The order taker told me that the feed back on this product is very good. Tank prep is not as critical as with the other products as this epoxy likes the rusty surface to bond to. Speeds up the process a bit.

I am hoping to ride a bit this weekend so I'll pull the tank tomorrow night and sluice it down with the acetone wash. I should get the tank kit by midweek so I should be good to go qagain next weekend.

I'll report back once I get the kit and try it out.

Cheers all.
Spyug.

[spyug]

Nessim,
Sorry to hear of your problems. Acetone will get the sealer to come free but be careful using it as it will eat your paint finish. Get a trash bag and wrap and tape it over the painted surface.

Also, putting heat to a gas tank that has been in service is extremely dangerous as you likely know. Gas fumes can be present even after washing. Gas fumes are extremely explosive so when drying the tank stick with compressed air or point a fan at the opening.

Be safe guys.

Spyug.

[bexabarr]

This is what I did. I made a thread of it with pics.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=106016

Hope this helps.

[Nessism]

Nessim,
Sorry to hear of your problems. Acetone will get the sealer to come free but be careful using it as it will eat your paint finish. Get a trash bag and wrap and tape it over the painted surface.

Also, putting heat to a gas tank that has been in service is extremely dangerous as you likely know. Gas fumes can be present even after washing. Gas fumes are extremely explosive so when drying the tank stick with compressed air or point a fan at the opening.

Be safe guys.

Spyug.

Thanks for your concern Spyug. The Por-15 kit includes three parts: alkaline degreaser (followed by water wash), phosphate wash (followed by water wash), and the sealer. I cooked the tank after the phosphate water rinse thus there was no risk of gasoline remaining in the tank.

Regarding the acetone, after your suggestion I put a chunk of sealer in some acetone but after 30 minuets the sealer is unaffected. Honestly, that Por-15 sealer is some seriously tough stuff. Boneheads, like me, stay away.