Topic: In the tank......

[Bob Wessner]

I don't see anyone posting here about POR-15. I have read many praises here on POR-15 and also many boos on Kreem. The tank that came with my bike (in 2000) has bad rust in it.I would like to try and restore it being that it is dent free. The stock paint is faded and has the usual scratches so I am not too worried about the paint.It did not leak but I would still like to line it if I can sucessfully get the rust out.I bought a gallon of muratic acid awhile back but haven't tried it yet.Now I'm hearing about this toilet bowl stuff and molasses. Whatever I use, I will make sure it don't leak before I go any further with lining it.I am currently running an ebay purchased tank that is clean but has dents. (if it ain't one thing,its another!!!!). One more question.....what works good to cork up the fill & petcock holes when cleaning with chemicals? How about those rubber expansion plugs you can get for freeze plugs? Look forward to any tried & true testimonials.

After 22 yrs of sitting, the tank on my 750 had rust in it. I bought the POR-15 kit (3-step, degreaser, acid wash and liner). I used only the first two and it left no flash rust and a thin gray coating (the POR-15 acid wash is phosphoric acid). I left it at that. It's been more than two years of riding and the inside of the tank looks the same, no rust. I try to keep it topped-off if it will be a period of time between rides, but other than that, the inside looks almost like new. Highly recommend the POR-15 products.

[drlarryw]

MOLASSES WORKED!!!!  Filled tank with 4:1 mix of water to Grandma's Molasses.  Shook frequently over about 36 hours.  Rinsed well [molasses and rusty bits came out easily], dried with hair dryer and compressed air.  IT IS CLEAN AS NEW!!  I filled it with fresh gas and Stabil and it's ready to store for the winter. 
Best part, besides no acid use, is having molasses cookies baking in the oven.  A sweet, metallic aroma!!
THANKS so much for your info and encouragement!!
Larry in Boston
75 CB750F

[mick750F]

Okay Larry...DON'T bring any cookies to the next meeting. This molasses method is intriguing. I wish I had a tank to try it out on.

Mike

[Bob Wessner]

Molasses is acidic, albeit a mild form. Did you see any evidence of flash rust after rinsing? Sounds like it did a great job for you.

[drlarryw]

No flash rust.  Heeding the above warnings, as soon as the tank was dry I filled it with gas, so from rinse out to dry to fueled up took only about an hour.
The cookies however, left a metallic taste in my mouth, and the extra iron has added....um, "bulk" to my system.
MIKE, I've got 2 bottle of molasses left over.  What about that old yellow tank......oops, never mind.

[Master Ted]

I swallowed the hook and gave the molasses a try. I had a rather light coat of rust to begin with. Went to local feed store and purchased a 4 gal tub for $10, mixed 4 part water to one part molasses and let it sit in tank for one week. After rinsing, sloshing acetone and coating with ATF/fuel mix the results were satisfactory.

Would I do it again? The results were good enough that I'd rather go this route than fiddle with acid. If the rust problem were greater than light/moderate I'd go the acid route.

That is all. Out.

[c_kyle]

Has anyone tried Coca-Cola?  I have seen that you can clean all kinds of stuff with it.

[BobbyR]

Coke has Phosphoric acid in it and Mythbusters showed that it actually worked when rubbed in with Tin foil. I would use these methods either Molasses or Coke before I used the strong and dangerous chemicals.

[736cc]

add nuts, bolts, screws to any acid (molasses?) mixture and agitate a good idea