Tank rust removal. No frills. Easiest. Fastest. Cheapest.

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I searched everywhere for a solution to my rusty tank. I found chemicals. I found kits. Lots of time consuming mumbo jumbo. I finally found a better solution thanks to some guy on youtube.

You will need fishtank gravel. Its at Walmart for 3.89, WD 40, duct tape, a dryer and a tub stopper (also at Walmart) that matches the size of the gas cap so you can plug it up. Make sure its big enough to not fall in and not so small that it will come off. Or anything like this. Do not use the gas cap. The dust may block the vapor release. A vacuum.

SEE PICTURES

1.) Have the tank off, remove the petcocks.... rinse it out with water, pour some alcohol in it to dry faster. Or whatever method you prefer. Just make sure there is no gas and it is completely dry.

2.) place duct tape over where the petcock(s) mounted. Make sure it sticks really well over it, you don't want the gravel you are about to put in it to get out
3.) pour the gravel in the tank. Plug the tank off with the tub stopper. Place the duct tape over the plug to make sure it doesn't come off.
3.) wrap the tank in a blanket. Then place the wrapped gas tank in a trash bag to double make sure gravel doesn't get out, so as one of your taped off holes comes undone.
4. Place the wrapped tank in you dryer. Wedge some pillows in the gaps, so it is snug and will not move of bang around.
5. turn the dryer on fluff (no heat) for 30-80 minutes.
6. Remove the tank. Remove the bag and blanket. Shake the gravel out into the bag. You will have trouble getting the last bit of gravel out. Take your vaccum hose and hold it to an opening on the tank and work it around until you get it out. If your vaccum has reverse. Blow the tank out. Or use an air comppessor to blow the stuff out.

Rinse it out with gas and fog it with WD40 or fill it up. But make sure its reallllly rinsed out good.

Bam. Bare metal clean tank. Fast. Cheap. Easy. No harsh chemicals. No smelly vingar. No games.

 

Interesting, I like it. What condition is your paint in? I ask only because even with a plug and duct tape, any of the gravel which does escape, once trapped inside a trash bag surrounding the tape, is going to eat grooves in your paint. May be worthwhile to wrap the entire tank in plastic wrap after the plug, then roll on a couple of wraps around the tank with duct tape to hole the plug and petcock covers in place. This way if a rock escapes it cant move under the plastic wrap and the paint is protected no matter what.

 

Nice job. Works like a tumbler but on a larger scale.

 

That plastic wrap is a good Idea. I don't care about tje paint thats on this tank. Its coming off. Its plastidip. Not a big fan of the stuff.

 

if you use BB's or 1/4 inch square nuts it's easy to remove them with a magnet. plus the square edge of the nuts can get farther into the corners and seams, maybe next time.

 

I'd love to see just how well it works in the corners and seams. That's the only place I'd be worried about not working out - but then you could use rust converter afterwards I suppose. I'll probably be using this method in the coming months.

 

The small rocks would probably do a better job getting into the tight areas than nuts or screws (like I used in my tank). I would be more of a hassle though to remove them as they're not ferrous.

By looking at the before and after pictures I'm still impressed by how clean the inside of the tank is without any harsh chemicals or rust removal solution.

 

It really only took me about 5 minutes of back and forth movement to get them all out. Its totally removed when you rinse it out with gas. There are some little spots in the corners, but 99% is gone. The rocks are smooth. It doesn't grind into the metal like screws do.

 

Makes sense: the glass would have a lower hardness than the steel, but a higher hardness than the rust. Whereas the screws would be the same hardness (or harder depending on the coatings/treatments) than the steel of the tank, hence the markings.

 

i'd read about this somewhere else; nice method and results!

 

you did a nice job indeed

 

Just to clarify: Use the whole bag of gravel?

 

Yes the whole bag, I think its a 5 lb bag.

 

and not your wife's dryer

 

She was cool with it lol

 

I asked mine, she said it's a no go. I'm devising another plan having to do with straps and a trailer tire...

 

the EASIEST way to get rid of tank rust is to pull the tank off and put a new tank on. 5 minute job.

Dave

 

Yes, but if everyone did that, we'd have no old stuff to play with!

 

Trudat

 

Yep. If everything were easy, nothing would be fun.

 

uhhh, I PAID for the wife's dryer, and she would definitely not be cool with it! Has anyone tried cider vinegar? I see it on youtube all the time and it seems to work pretty well...

 

It's the acetic acid that is the active ingredient there.

Still comes down to the use of acid, and if you're going to use acid, Phosphoric Acid is the way to go.

 

Didn't hurt my dryer. It was pretty quiet actually. To each his own I guess.

 

Interesting....

 

Now that I think about it... a laundromat might work out, too, if you go at an odd hour to avoid too many witnesses and walk in with the tank already wrapped in the blanket to keep suspicion down. Or wait until the wife is asleep, and don't go to bed without taking it back out. I put the valve cover in the dishwasher overnight and didn't stay up to take it out. She made sure all of Facebook knew about it the next morning.

 

HAHAHAHA, my wife would so do the same thing. I'm not sure I'd put an oily engine part in my dishwasher though.

 

The downside was that while it got the grease and oil just fine, the carbon soot was untouched. And the high heat made the aluminum oxidize a lot and it looked all gray. Not that that mattered too much, as I was sanding and priming it for paint later anyway.

 

If you use Cascade there won't be any spots.....

 

Maybe if I get that Orbit Gum girl to toss a pack in my tank, it'll clean up real nice.

 

Any suggestions for treatment afterward? Or is it safe to leave the inside of the tank unmolested after the gravel treatment? I was worried about flash rusting. Has anyone tried the gravel treatment followed by an electrolysis treatment with a quality sacrificial anode? Was wondering if electroplating after the majority of the rust is removed would be of any benefit...

 

I haven't done any of this yet, but my plan was to tumble it with the gravel, then clean it out with rubbing alcohol, blow it out with compressed air, then swish rust-convertor inside afterwards to get what the gravel missed. I think I want to add some kind of sealant, too, as the tank I'm working with has some damage along the seam. I'd be worried about it leaking if I don't.

 

Any rust convertor in particular? I was thinking of going through with the gravel method, and the finishing with one of the many products on the market to remove the remaining acid and then attempt to either re-plate or seal the inside.

 

I'll have to check again what it was, but I can tell you I picked it up at the local Ace Hardware. I think it was less than ten dollars.

 

you guys and your tank treatments! the rust converter i'am guessing is the white stuff that goes on like thick milk and turns black when dry. does it say it's safe for gas tanks? i'd test it for a week or so on something in a container of gas, just to be sure. For the tank liner, it might last forever but if it starts pealing off, your in a bad way. If your tank might be damaged, that's another thing. I know if i was to look at a used bike i'd rather see some rust than liner. And flash rust won't hurt anything at all. Now electroplate, that's kind of different. A copper plated tank would be the beans.
I'm done now

 

my 550 seca has a "professionally lined" tank and so far so good. got it that way a year and a half ago.

FU

 

Caswell epoxy liner. Folow the directions exactly. It will never peel or break down.

 

Noted and added to Amazon wish list. Thanks Moe.

 

Finally remembering to follow up on the rust convertor I mentioned. It's this:


Of course, once I use it, I'll report back with a review. Don't hold your breath, though. I don't plan on getting to it anytime soon.

 

My only fear is the gasoline getting to it...

 

that stuff has organic acid in it, be careful to not breathe the fumes or get it on your skin or clothing.

http://henkelconsumerinfo.com/produ...S&LANG=EN&COUNTRY=US&VKORG=3450&MATNR=1381192

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/tds/S_TRMT_EXTEND_tds.pdf

FU

 

Good call. Thanks.

 

Any word online about how it reacts to gas? It says "converts rust to a paintable surface", but I doubt painting the inside of the tank is an option. Or is it? I have small amounts of rust in my tank, so I'm considering all the options...

 

he is planning to coat the inside of the tank, so there will be no contact with gas.

FU

 

Duhh. After posting questions i looked back further in the thread and saw the stuff about coating.

 

I finally got curious enough and looked it up to see what the converter makes, and it would seem while it might not necessarily be adversely affected by gasoline, the extra step of a sealant isn't a bad idea. Also, since it would seem the converter doesn't have great depth penetration ability, tumbling the inside of the tank with gravel to get any thicker rust off first is a good idea as well.

From http://www.autos.com/auto-repair/how-does-a-rust-converter-work:

"How a Rust Converter Works in Theory

"Rust converters are designed to neutralize existing rust as well as prevent it from advancing its damage. The active ingredient in most rust converters is Tannin, in the form of tannic acid. This tannic acid combines with the Iron Oxide to form a more stable compound called Iron Tannate, which is typically black in color compared to the reddish color of rust. Many commercial rust converters will include both a polymer to act as a protective layer, and an additional acidic compound designed to accelerate the chemical processes related to the tannic acids. One such acid, known as Phosphoric acid may also work as a rust converter itself, by reacting with the Iron oxide and converting it to black ferric phosphate.

"Limitations and Function in Practice

"While scientific evidence exists proving that applying tannic or phosphoric acid to Iron Oxide does indeed promote the formation of Iron Tannate and Ferric Phosphate respectively, this same evidence shows these formations tend to only occur along the outer most layers of the metal. What this means is that while rust converters may be effective at removing light cases of surface rust, their ability to penetrate and convert deeper deposits of rust may be limited to non-existent. This means that for advanced cases of rust, these converters may be useless. In addition, any metals treated with a converter as part of an auto rust repair regiment should be cleaned and coated with a protectant as soon as possible after the converter has done its job. Otherwise, surface rust may quickly regain a foothold on the metal.

"When it comes to rust, the best approach is one of prevention rather than treatment. There are many different methods to preventing rust that can be quite effective, but once rust has become a problem, it can be very difficult if not impossible to fully remedy the problem."

 

Ahahahahahahaaha that's so jokes lmao!!!

 

I gota do this to my tank after taking the small dent out of it. Still don't know if I wana tack a brace from the outside with welding and then pull it out or to cut the tank open and hammer it out whilst cleaning it at the same time. The possibilities are endless.

Great post man. It's genius because it is so simple.

 

Simple technique, impressive results. Thanks for sharing!

 

Just did this, and posted my results in another thread, but figured I'd chip in here as well just for posterity.

5lb bag of aquarium gravel AND 200 small bolts, tumbled for around an hour and a quarter in the dryer on air fluff.

The dryer was a fantastic idea, and so long as you're careful to securely pillow wedge the tank so it can not bash around there's no danger to the tank or dryer.

I wrapped the tank in an old ratty blanket, put it in a black plastic garbage bag, THEN wedged it into the dryer.

My results weren't nearly as good as the OP's, but I had a lot of spots of old tank liner stuck in there too left over from my MEK try.

I found it to be fairly successful, but left a lot of surface rust. In the future, I'd only do that on a tank with large chunks of rust that need pulverising.

Afterwards, I gave it a soak with Metal Reduce. THAT worked flawlessly and I cannot recommend it strongly enough. It's water based and non acidic - safe for rubber, hands, paint, etc. Easier to dispose of too. 2 hours saw total removal of all the rust, and the stuff is reusable too.

 

My tank appears to have been lined at some point in time.
It's a cream color.
How do I remove that, and should I?