Cleaning the tank

[indybob]

Evapo-rust

I went with the Evapo-rust when I cleaned out the tank on my 1100E. It was about $25/gallon but I only bought 2 gallons and rotated the tank every few hours. Then rinse with water followed by alcohol to dry. The tank looks great and the solution can be used again for other rust jobs. You might want to see if anyone else in your area wants to share the cost.

Bob

[bothebrave]

When I was 15 I purchased a Honda cb125 at an auction in which the tank was pretty rusty. I used a combo of things, I put a few cups of real small gravel and shook it like h#ll! Emptied and re-shook. I rinsed with an acid based product and coated with the tank coating. My father convinced me to use the coating, but would have steered clear of it. Due to my inexperience, the coating found its way into my petcock and clogged it! Eventually forcing me to take to a local mechanic cause I nor my father realized it. So going forward I would use the vinegar trick everyone is recommending! lol

[dcil]

good ideas. I'm gonna try vinegar when I change my tank. On my current tank I used acetone and gravel. Unfortunately, there's still a couple of pieces of gravel that won't come out. A friend recommended 1/4 inch steel sling shot ammo with acetone so that you can take a magnet and get the shot out. Probably do that first to get rid of scale then fill with vinegar.

[979roadrunner]

I like using nuts and bolts or nails. BBs I think would just roll over the surface without scraping at it. You want something square edged.

[dcil]

Makes sense. will have to remember that.

[Justonv]

I used acetone with nuts and washers. My problem wasn't only rust though. The PO had put a Kreem liner in it and the first time I put gas in it, it started eating the liner out. I heard it has something to do with the ethanol in the gas, Kreem isn't safe with any kind of additives. Left a nasty stringy mess through the petcock and carbs... Anyway, acetone, nuts and washers, combined with a lot of shaking and rolling got 'er done. Of course then I discovered the corner of the tank near the petcock had pinholes in it, which leaked on me. Lined with a better product called... Red Kote, I think, seemed like pretty good stuff, but the dye comes out over time leaving a clear coat. Will freak you out when your gas looks red in your filter, but it doesn't cause any problems. Still some of the bigger pinholes that were grouped together didn't seal. Ended up denting it in a little with a ball peen hammer, then cleaning it real good and JB Weld patching it. Been holding gas for over a year and a half now no problems, and as soon as I get around to the bondo and paint job, will look good as new, haha.

[bigbabee]

I am cleaning two tanks with vinegar now. Tanks are clean after being filled with vinegar for 3 days. I don`t want to coat the tanks or leave them filled with gas. what other options do I have to prevent flash rust?

[979roadrunner]

aside from leaving the vinegar in, which I don't think would actualy hurt anything, I'd say those are your only choices. Someone else may have a better idea, though.

[Nessism]

You can fish any loose gravel out the fuel sending unit hole. I used a piece of clay on the end of a stiff wire to get any straggler pieces out. A little bittle fiddly but the gravel (aquarium rocks) do a much better job of scrubbing the metal than metal hardware.

As far as protecting the metal goes, you can try some WD-40. Spray a whole lot in there and swish it around. The WD stands for Water Displacement.

The problem with not coating is because if there is any rust remaining in the tank it will come back. Sort of like glowing embers in a fire.

[kirkn]

I am cleaning two tanks with vinegar now. Tanks are clean after being filled with vinegar for 3 days. I don`t want to coat the tanks or leave them filled with gas. what other options do I have to prevent flash rust?

You don't have to LEAVE it full of gas. All you have to do is rinse it once with about a quart of gasoline. Shake the tank all about with the quart of gas in there, enough to 'wash' the water/vinegar off the walls. Dump the gas out, and the tank won't rust.

At least, that worked perfectly on my own CB200 tank when I cleaned it with vinegar.

Done and done.

Kirk

[bigbabee]

tank cleaning

I think I will use the WD-40 followed by the quart of gasoline rinse.Hopefully I won`t get any flash rust.

[dcil]

why not slosh a little thin oil around in there? also, if your fixing to put it back into service, a little flash rust shouldn't hurt anything assuming you got rid of all the scale. if not, flash rust is the least of the problem.

[Qdude]

Wedge the tank in the dryer (couch cushions work well) so that it does not flop around at all. It just rotates with the dryer basket full of 500 bb's with duct tape over the holes. I rotated min with no heat for 4 hours. Then rinsed it with a lot of water, shop vac'd out as much crap as I could, then used carb cleaner, then vinegar. I had to weld a few holes up, but I should be good to go without a liner. I will use an extra in line filter.

[mixongw]

I removed the petcock and the float assembly and used duct tape to block off the holes. But first, I dumped in about a pound of drywall screws. I put the tank in my clothes dryer surrounded by pillows after wrapping the tank in a blanket. I set the dryer on air fluff for about an hour. After removing all the screws, there was about a double handfull of rust that came out. A flashlight inspection showed shiny metal inside. I then cleaned it out with hot water and used the exhaust of the shop vac to dry it out. I put it back on the bike as is. After three years, it still looks good.

Gary

[ikantbreave]

I'm getting ready to paint my tank and assorted parts. I have a very little bit of surface spotting rust. Maybe called flash rust? Should I clean it before or after I paint? Probably not going to have gas in it for a little while. Maybe just clean it carefully right before I get the bike going? Is there any reason I haven't seen anyone use the gas cap when cleaning the tank?? Thanks.