Rust removal, old fuel tank

[pflaming]

Vinegar. Vinegar can be used to clean rust from the inside of a gas tankbecause it contains acetic acid. This can be accomplished by filling the gas tankwith water and then draining that. Next, plug the hole where the petcock goes, and fill the tank with the vinegar, leaving it in overnight.

 

Has anyone ever use this method?

[kencombs]

Yep.  Not on automotive gas tanks, but a lot on tractor/garden tractor tanks.  And, for general derusting  of parts.  It will change the rust into a black film that must be removed.  Small parts I just scrub with hot water and a brush.  bigger stuff gets pressure washed.  And, be cautioned that rerusting will occur quickly if not dried and protected somehow.   I use a product called PickleX 20 on stuff to be painted, WD40 on others.

[thisoldtruck]

Good old fashioned molasses mixed with water works very good too.  Works on most rusted parts as well.

 

Takes forever though, like two weeks if the parts are rusted really badly!  But it does work really well. 

[kencombs]

12 hours ago, thisoldtruck said:

Good old fashioned molasses mixed with water works very good too.  Works on most rusted parts as well.

 

Takes forever though, like two weeks if the parts are rusted really badly!  But it does work really well. 

That works too.  Use molasses from your farm feed store.  Lots cheaper.  Works slow, doesn't seem to harm iron/steel, stinks after a while but it's ok to dump just anywhere and is actually good for plants.  I've seen blocks soaked in that stuff for weeks, absolutely rust free inside and out.

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[Los_Control]

Molasses is a great way to go, with my little experience of it.

I did have a small 20 gallon barrel I used once for this purpose. I was able to soak my heater cases in it after I diss assembled and removed the heater core of course.

The doors on the heater were rusted closed, one area was badly pitted. It all cleaned up to bare metal, the doors work perfect, the pits remain.

I do want to do this again, but in a bigger way.

 

Problem I had with my experiment, was at my uncles property, the skunks would come at night and drink the molasses. I had to add more.

And the small barrel was not big enough to be real useful, fine for small parts.

Just thinking you need to put this in a area away from animals/wild life

 

Best Idea I read on the internet, a few guys got together, they got a free hot tub off of craigs list, they put it in a old barn and filled it with molasses splitting the cost.

iirc was about $300 to fill it, bringing 5 gal buckets to the feed store to fill.

They used it all summer long and then dumped it in the field when done. It acts as a fertilizer.

They dipped doors, fenders, hoods trunk lids all summer long.

Also I think you need temps about ~70 degrees or higher to be successful.

[pflaming]

The fuel tank on my Sportster is part of the body, welded in!  So I’m going to use a 3” hole saw and cut two holes in opposite Ends of the tank. Then I can get in there with the high pressure steam cleaner nozzle and blast away, let the water and  debris drain out. Then plug those holes, fill with cheap vinegar and let it work overnight. Next morning drain and repeat the steam cleaning step. Once it drains and dries, put plugs in the holes and add gas to the tank. With a sentiment bowl filter and a standard flter setup, should be able to capture debris as I use the engine. 
 

wish me luck. 

[Dodgeb4ya]

You will need luck sealing up those two holes you are drilling in the tank.

How will you plug those two 4" holes safely?