Gas Tank Cleaning & Rust Removal?

[HotRodHudson]

I had every intention of taking my 37 Hudson's gas tank to the local radiator shop and have it boiled out this morning. Unfortunately I gave them a call to find out they wanted $200 just to boil it out and another $150 to seal it!

Since that's pretty ridiculous to me, I'm going to clean it out & seal it myself. Thus, I would like to get feedback about what others have had success with and what sealant to choose.

Btw, the tank has some baffles in it as its not an oem unit.

 

[SilverSS1969]

My buddy used this stuff from POR15 on one of his bikes. Worked well and never had any issues after using this product. Before using it, he had issues with rust coming loose in the tank and clogging his carbs.

He used the whole strip and repair kit.

 

[HotRodHudson]

Here's another photo of the inside:

 

[ilovevocs]

Add phosphoric acid and bb's. Shake, sit, double shot of crown royal, repeat.

 

[rsanter]

Can you buy a new one?

Bob

 

[kabinenroller]

I have done quite a few fuel tanks. I normally have them chemically striped at a rust removal place. (Like Redi strip)
I then use KBS products to etch and seal the tanks. You do not want to cut corners with this project, if you do it wrong that means dropping the tank and possibly redoing the fuel lines and carb.

https://www.kbs-coatings.com

I have used a few of the KBS products and have recommended them to others, if you follow the instructions you will be satisfied.

 

[HotRodHudson]

I ended up tossing a gallon of lacquer thinner in the tank, closed off the openings and am sloshing around every so often. With baffles inside the tank I've been worried about putting rocks, bolts, or nuts in the tank to break the stuff free. After a couple hours I reached inside with a paint stick & easily scraped off the brown varnish gunk. Adding those items would definitely help break free the crud but I'd hate to have a stuck item in my tank. So far so good, I think I will keep doing this for a couple days. Then drain it & hose it out to see how clean it comes.

 

[4EyedTurd]

Hang a chain in it, slosh it around and you can still pull it out

 

[dffay]

Yep, that's worked for me too........about 6 inches of 3/16ths or 1/4 inch link chain and some muriatic acid. Shake around for a while flipping the tank end for end. The chain is a lot easier to fish out. But, watch the sealant and the type of fuel you will use. Here in the Rockies, there is high content ethanol in the fuels and it is hell on fuel lines. And it has turned some sealants into a gooey mess. That's when you'll have to hire the radiator company.

 

[Brad J.]

Take it to a redi-strip or similar joint and get it cleaned out right. Otherwise it's gonna bite you in the ****.

Wait until you have to remove the sealer that is half floating around in the tank. I've seen it numerous times over the years.

Best option is have a new SS tank made. Fuel related problems are 2nd in line behind electrical on all the old cars I work on.

 

[pepi]

Just think driving down the road, the **** you could not see, loosens gets sucked into the fuel system clogs the filter, only if lucky. There you are on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck. That 200$ boiling will seem mighty cheap after you get the thing home.



Cleaning and sealing a motorcycle tank is a whole different kind of deal, for obvious reasons...

 

[APEowner]

I've done the rocks in the tank and shake it trick followed by the POR15 stuff and I've also just had a radiator shop handle it. Frankly, I think it's money well spend to send it out.

 

[HotRodHudson]

I poured out the lacquer thinner which brought a fair amount of crud. I then proceeded to try hosing it out. What worked well was shoving a garden hose in the tank & filled it until water was flowing up & out the fuel sender hole. Then I pushed a smaller hose down into the tank & blasted air through the hose. It looked like a mini old faithful! I did this for 15-20 minutes pushing the hose around the baffles the best I could plus blowing backwards through the pick up tube. I even flipped the tank upside down & did this to try to free anything stuck. It's drying in the sun currently & I'll have to evaluate it from there as to the next step.

Question: I need to remove any surface or other rust before I consider coating the inside, so what's a good choice? With it being so large, bulky & heavy ideally a fast acting product would be idea. I'd seen someone use muratic acid from a pool store. Suggestions?

 

[Brad J.]

I wouldn't coat the inside unless you have it professionally dipped and totally cleaned out. The $350 quoted for the job is gonna seem like peanuts if you have tank liner sloshing around in the fuel.

I've seen where muratic acid was used and then sealed and it ate right through the metal. Whoever did the job didn't use a neutralizer on the acid. Probably just washed it with water and sealed. The acid did it's job under the tank sealer. This was at my local dip stripper.

I work on this stuff for a living and the failure rate is high. Do it once and you will never look back.

 

[HotRodHudson]

If I don't use a sealer, what steps going forward would you suggest? There was already rust in the tank with the varnish before I began this, now pretty much all I'm seeing is a rusty surface. Which is what I expected after the water bath I have it. Is there a way to get rid of the rust without rinsing it with water again. I'd prefer to do DIY this & not send it out.

Here's a photo of how it is right now. Photo of same general area in the tank.

 

[straightcut]

I've taken them to Redi-Strip, then used POR15 and used the POR15 gas tank rust removal/cleaning and sealing kit. Both worked very well. Using POR15 should lock any rust not removed beneath an impervious layer of paint. I would bet the KBS Coatings recommended above would work equally well.

You know, no offense, but you asked for advice, yet you don't seem to want to use any of it...just saying... I hear you about not wanting to send it out to be stripped and sealed, so that leaves stripping it and sealing it yourself.

Best of luck with your tank.

 

[yhprum]

Have you seen this post about using oxcalic acid?

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=333218&highlight=motorcycle+rust