Topic: Cleaning inside of alloy fuel tank

[NickO]

I need to get the fuel "varnish" removed from the inside of an aluminium fuel tank, (this crappy unleaded / ethanol stuff that's been stood too long). It looks like the inside of a caserole dish that has been in the oven for about a week at 450f, all brown and hard baked-on

Anyone know a foolproof way of going about this without risking damage to the external paintwork?

[fang]

Rub some bacon on it.
Rub Some Bacon on It

Aside from bacon, I don't know of any good varnish removers that are also paint- friendly.  If you can be careful, then Acetone with a string of nuts wired together.  Dump it in there, slosh it around.  Don't let it spill.  Count the nuts first so you know they all came back out. 

You of course want to avoid using acids which might be paint friendly and work well on steel tanks, but will dissolve the aluminum.

-fang

[Old Scrambler]

I have used Kerosene with good success........just fill to cover the crud and let sit for a day or so.......you don't need to use nuts and the shake & bake routine if you have no rust.......when you empty the diluted kerosene (I put it on my gravel driveway) let the tank sit for a day or so with the lid open........then use some acetone or carb-cleaner to attack any remaining 'gooh'.........a final rinse with gasoline and a long thin brush to get at the corners of the tank should get you back in business. If this do-it-yourself process does not get the job done......I have had GREAT success by taking the tank to a radiator repair shop and have them steam-clean the tank........It costs about $75 around here.

[fang]

wut?  no bacon??!!

[Old Scrambler]

I save the good stuff (bacon) to clean my own tank (stomach)..............Casius Clay once said that "he never ate bacon because the sizzling sound in the pan was the maggots trying to get out."

[NickO]

As you may have guessed from the time since I my original post, I have not been in much of a rush to get this job done!

On the advice of someone who renovates old 60's & 70's Japanese bikes, I used some commercially available TFR (traffic film remover). The "varnish" started to dissolve on contact and with generous use of a steam (hot) pressure washer, the inside of the tank was like new in about 20 minutes 

[Sam Green Racing]

I'll have to remember that one Nicky.

[Rubberman2003]

Evaporust should work on the varnish and such, and its a lot safer than a lot of things!