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getting rust out of a fuel tank


Buickgsman

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I picked up a B12 about a month ago and I am trying to clean the fuel tank. It had some decent rust from obvious water. Also the fuel was really crustified on the bottom of the tank. I put in some de ruster(phosphate liquid) which works great on small stuff but this appears to be pretty serious stuff. Is there a good way to get the rust out of this tank along with the crusty fuel? I have a small rust spot i need to weld up then I want to put the tank in use. Muriatic acid? other wonder treatments? Thanks Bob
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Bob, The ready remedy I saw on these forums is to use some of that waste hardware from your shop (nuts, bolts, washers, etc) Use bungee cords to fasten the tank to a rear wheel, and take it for a noisy ride. best nuts for this purpose would be a 3/8-16 square nut (acting like the blades on a shredder). This should loosen most if not all of the rust and scale in the tank. Wayne
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You could try a 8oz bottle of Navel jelly dump it in and let it work it will clean up rust even if pitted.neutralize with water and then dry.
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I've heard of the nuts in the tank and bungee to a tractor wheel and take a spin. I have tried the Eastwood tank repair kit (for a motor cycle, not a car) and I followed the instructions to a T and it worked great. There are other tank repair kits out there. Good luck. jh
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i tried the nuts and bolts trick. worked well. then i used the eatmans tank repair stuff. about 12 years later the tank is still not leaking. i tried to weld a patch on the bottom of a tank but the heat from the torch melted the solder out of the seam where the two halves meet. i was worse off than when i started. evenually scrapped that tank
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A friend told me to try short drywall screws because of the sharp tip and the hardened steel. It worked pretty well to get the loose stuff off. Then I followed with a mild dilution of muriatic and gradually strengthed it until it seemed to foam up on the rust. Then I rinsed it three times with a mix of water and baking soda to neutralize the acid. It looked like grey metal inside and the brown rust was gone. After I dried the inside of it, I sealed mine with the west system epoxy by mixing a batch of it, pouring it in the tank and turning it until it coated the whole inside. It hardens fast so you have to work quick. I used a 3/8" fine thread bolt to plug the bottom hole. It hasn't leaked since.
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What I have done to old motorcycle tanks is put a bunch of nuts and bolts in it wrap in a blanket put in dryer for a while. There is another method I used look up "Ken French electrolysis method" that works good too.
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there is a epoxy you can get that coats the inside of the tank making it new again. i have never used it, but have read on other tractor forums people having good results. not sure what exact brand they are useing. you could research it. im sure someone here has used a epoxy tank repair kit. my buddy {25yr body shop } has used it before and i can get the brand he used if you want. here is just a example - http://www.caswellplating.com/aids/epoxygas.htm
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As far as a hole in the tank, I used J-B Weld and gas will not eat it away. Has worked many times and for years. It is great for many repairs. But I am sure that most of you know about J-B weld. It has been used on cracked blocks and heads.
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A buddy of mine used the nuts and bolts trick and bungee corded it to a wheel on his garden tractor, but he jacked it up and let it run and clean up while he was doing other things. Nothing wrong with seat time, but you also don't want the neighbors thinkin' you've gone over the edge.
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I have taken mine to local car wash and used presure washer to blow it off. #1 worked great when i did it. #2 the tank was thin and blow a hole out the back.. It shines them both up really good like new. Good luck:D
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I had an old RV that had tank issues. I found PUR 15, it is a start to finish kit. It even sealed leaks in the tank. I thought it was easy to use. They specialize in treating rust.
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Cleaned 1 w/media & coated w/Kreem (from cycle shop) >10 yrs ago; still good. Havo 1 on bench now I decided to do on the cheap strapping it to the wheel w/bb & water to knock the rust lose. I've listened to the bbs rattle and rinsed out lots of rust but not satisfied its clean enough yet. Ill strap it on again come spring. Will use Kreem again but for my $.02 I like the paint shaker idea or media blast rust buster ideas.
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I have had great success with muriatic acid in the past on 4 or 5 tanks. Five to to minutes in that and they are spotless. Needs to be neutralized with baking soda and good to go or coat with one of the products mentioned above.
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Most radiator shops clean tanks and put in aome thing to keep them that way around here the want $40. to do a b10 tank and $100. TO DO A TANK FOR A iNTERNATIONAL H
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