Topic: Thoughts on Gas Tank?

[SlapShooter90]

Hello all,

I've done some electrolysis on my tank over the last week. I've read on here that a black residue is common following this type of treatment. I am planning to soak the tank in acetone to remove the peeling old liner, rinse with denatured alcohol and fill with fresh gas. Based on my pictures would you guys recommend any additional treatments?

Thanks for the help!

[ekpent]

M.E.K. may be better then acetone in the liner. Protect the paint with either product. I recently removed some very tough rust from a Suzuki T500 tank very quickly with muratic acid that the 'Works' toilet bowl would not cut.

[Detroit350f]

+ 1 for M.E.K. Stripped the old Red Kote liner that failed and was clogging my petcock.  Liner was applied directly over the existing rust by a previous owner. M.E.K. Worked really fast for me. Have a hose handy because that stuff will harm paint.

I also had wood screws inside to help knock the flakey rust down.

[RAFster122s]

I believe that MEK is the only thing that will touch dissolving POR-15 liner.  The MEK is truely nasty stuff.  Do it outside of course.  Put the tank in a large container so, if your stopper pops out you will not lose all your MEK.  Often it will only take one or two good whiffs of the MEK to give most people a massive headache that can make you sick for a day.  It is very nasty stuff and serious health issues are possible...unlikely to be able to get it in California.  They want to protect you from yourself even if you don't want to...

Wear a good organic and toxic chemical rated cartridge respirator to protect yourself.  Splash shield and gloves or goggles for chemical use ( venting designed to keep splashes from getting inside the goggles).

Yes, removing the liner is a must do... if you are getting a black layer where it did electrolysis, what was your anode metal?

Good luck!

[greenjeans]

For those that have used "the works" to remove rust, what are you neutralizing it with when finished and how do you rid of it ?
It really does a number on rust almost immediately.

[chewbacca5000]

For those that have used "the works" to remove rust, what are you neutralizing it with when finished and how do you rid of it ?
It really does a number on rust almost immediately.

baking soda, water flush, then de-natured alcohol to sop up the water.  I helps to do this on a sunny day to quick dry.  Drying fast is the key to prevent flash rust.  Coat with 2 stroke oil or marvel mysetery oil

[BomberMann650]

+3 for MEK.

[drumstyx]

I've come to a conclusion in my tank-derusting technique -- once the old liner is out (MEK or methylene chloride) I'd use muriatic acid to get the heavy rust, then rinse, which will almost surely flash-rust, then metal rescue ($$$ I know, but after trying everything, including electrolysis, I splurged and bought the 5 gallons I needed), then rinse (save the stuff, you can reuse it!), then rinse with dry coat by the same company (workshop hero I think). Boom bang boom, a perfect tank.

A word of caution: I did this with a tank I was getting repainted, BEFORE repainting it. MEK, methylene chloride, muriatic acid...all will seriously harm paint.

[Stev-o]

Have a question for you tank prep gurus:

What do you think of sandblasting the inside of a tank? 

My powder coater, who also sandblasts, has a display Candy Apple Red tank that he powder'd, it looks amazing.  I thought about giving him one of my rusted tanks to work his majic on, letting him blast the entire tank in and out and then powdering the exterior.

I dont have a specific tank in mind and realize if the tank is badly rusted it will blast right through the tank.

[drumstyx]

Have a question for you tank prep gurus:

What do you think of sandblasting the inside of a tank? 

My powder coater, who also sandblasts, has a display Candy Apple Red tank that he powder'd, it looks amazing.  I thought about giving him one of my rusted tanks to work his majic on, letting him blast the entire tank in and out and then powdering the exterior.

I dont have a specific tank in mind and realize if the tank is badly rusted it will blast right through the tank.

I've vaguely heard of this sort of prep, but the only jobs I've seen had a section cut out (usually the whole bottom) and then rewelded, which is...extreme, to say the least.

[RAFster122s]

Wonder if you could powdercoat a tank a metallic silver then using a flake kit flake it with a candy paint followed by a urethane clear on top of the candy once it achieved the color depth needed with the candy?
I was thinking the flake sunrise orange...

But it would probably be better to epoxy primer the exterior after the tank was completely derusted and prepped for the epoxy primer.  The inside being cleaned, derusted, and coated with Caswells if necessary or peace of mind...  Then on top of the epoxy primer nd use a HOC candy flake kit or VMR or similar high quality paint kits.
 
I am not a fan of strong acids such as The Works toilet bowl's Sulfuric acid or Muratic Acid .  Especially if heavy rust or bubbling rust in the bottom.  The problem is the seam at the bottom ...you need something to get rid of all the rust in the tank without eating through the tank bottom.  Tank repairs such as cutting the bottom out of a tank are very time intensive operations and it requires a welder with good skills on thin sheet metal. It has to be carefully and slowly stitched back together so you do not overheat the tank's steel and cause it to warp. The welds have to be cleaned and ground down to create a cosmetically sound repair and that means you have to weld thick enough to deal with that operation to prevent the grinding from creating thin and weak joints. If your tank bottom is very thin you have to stitch in a new piece along the bottom replacing the thin steel to give a durable bottom addressing the rust thinned metal.

So you are talking about a lot of someone's time doing this.

Cal's mention of glass beading should be noted, it will be far less aggressive than other media such as sand which will remove the rust.  The metal in the tank is what, maybe a millimeter thick?

I think the prep-n-etch is a good way to go before most liners as long as the thin zinc coating is compatible with the tank coating.  It is with POR-15.

Adding some Marvel Mystery Oil or 2-stroke oil after cleaning is only  used if you are NOT coating the tank after cleaning the rust out.  Otherwise it contaminates the metal and causes a failed liner if not cleaned thoroughly.

Glass beading does a light peening of the surface which can help from  what I have seen.