Gas tank sealing

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white1j0
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Gas tank sealing

#1

Post by white1j0 »

I have a set of '56 gas tanks that were in kind of rough shape, they were pretty cruded up inside with rust and other crap, I spent about a week cleaning them with Naval Jelly and hot water, I got them pretty clean, then I sent them out and had them restored and primed, they been sitting for about a year now and today I removed the masking tape over the bong hole and there is light surface rust inside inside the tanks, any ideas how to clean them back up without ruining the primer, or should I use a sealer and if so which sealer is the best., Thanks Whitey
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Re: Gas tank sealing

#2

Post by Mr.Big »

Try some Metal Rescue. Works well and will not damage the paint. Put in a gallon and just rotate it around for a few hours at a time and it should clean up and surface rust. When done be sure and rinse well with water and I like to coat the inside with MMO when done to help prevent any flash rusting.

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Cotten
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Re: Gas tank sealing

#3

Post by Cotten »

Whitey!

Vinegar is cheap, safe, easy, effective, and gentle.
Muriatic acid is more effective, but not the rest.

Neutralizing with baking soda gives it an extra kick at the end, but beware of hydrogen build up. Shaking this as a slurry with cracked corn is great for picking up particulates from the far reaches of the tank.

Submerging a tank in warm water, corked tightly, will display any pinholes.
Only if you find leaks, and conventional repair is impossible, would I risk a sealer.

Good luck!


....Cotten
white1j0
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Re: Gas tank sealing

#4

Post by white1j0 »

I just ordered a gallon of Metal Rescue from Performance auto, it was half the price of Amazon, I'm going to try that first and see how it works, the rust is fairly light, I don't want to chance screwing up the primer, plus I had the emblems put on when they restored the tanks, I don't want to remove them, in fear of breaking the screws, I'll let my paint guy deal with it,as far as muriatic acid, its pretty caustic, and if there is any thin spots it's liable to eat through, and by the way what is MMO, Thanks Whitey
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Re: Gas tank sealing

#5

Post by steve_wood »

Marvel mystery oil
ladderguy
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Re: Gas tank sealing

#6

Post by ladderguy »

I had my tanks done by a company called Gas Tank Renu. They turned out great, better then new.
t-jacobs
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Re: Gas tank sealing

#7

Post by t-jacobs »

Someone told me about a trick for cleaning the inside of tanks. Put about two hand fulls of 1/4 20 hex nuts in the tank and a tablespoon of oil. Seal all openings well. wrap the tank in blankets and place in a clothes dryer. Put enough blankets in the dryer to hold the tank centererd and so it can not move around. Run dryer on a no heat cycle for a couple hours. Never tried it but it sounds great in theory. Should work like a ball mill.
Cotten
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Re: Gas tank sealing

#8

Post by Cotten »

T-jacobs!

I made a tumbler that rotates about one rev per second.
Using aquarium gravel in a baking soda slurry...,
TUMBLER.jpg
it still takes WEEKS!

....Cotten
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t-jacobs
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Re: Gas tank sealing

#9

Post by t-jacobs »

Like I said I have not tried it but it sounded good.
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Re: Gas tank sealing

#10

Post by t-jacobs »

Im do like the tumbler you made. Good idea.
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Re: Gas tank sealing

#11

Post by lwood »

My low buck solution to cleaning rust in tanks. You need a roll of duct tape, 1cup pea gravel, 1 qt. cheap trans fluid and your garden tractor.Tape up holes put gravel and oil in tank tape up filler hole. Next put your garden tractor on jackstands tape tank to rear wheel secure well dont want any dents from it coming off and bouncing on the floor.Start the tractor use low gear at idle.Rotate the tank 90 degrees to get in all the nooks and crannies.This polished the inside of my 53 tanks like new in just a couple of hours.For light rust it wont take that long.This wont harm the paint other than some tape residue that willjust wipe off with alittle WD-40. Just some brokea$$ hillbilly farmboy engineering.

lwood
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Re: Gas tank sealing

#12

Post by 58flh »

I have done similar in the past!--I think we all did at 1 time or another!--What I found that worked good also was regular .177 caliber BBs for a air gun!--I put half a cup in with MMO & Shake, take a rest, shake ,rest--well you get the idea :lol: .--It worked GREAT!--Next time Ill use a tumbler geared down from a washingmachine motor I have laying around!---Nice set-up COTTON!--I like the tractor deal to!--Both simple & effective!---The manual approach took 40-min. per tank when doing bobs!--A shortster tank took about 15 min.! 8) ---Richie :lol:
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Re: Gas tank sealing

#13

Post by Cotten »

I tried a Red Devil paint shaker once, but the aquarium gravel just stayed in a cloud in the middle!

....Cotten
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Re: Gas tank sealing

#14

Post by white1j0 »

That's one nice set up you have there Cotton, I like it, I didn't get the Metal Rescue yet, but about a year or two ago someone told me about using horse molasses, you dump about a quart in the tank, and leave it coat the inside, a couple days later you rinse it out with hot water and supposedly the rust is gone, anyone else ever here about this?
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Re: Gas tank sealing

#15

Post by Cotten »

white1j0!

Yes, molasses basically turns to vinegar, under septic conditions anyway.

I'll wager that it takes more than a few days to do a thorough job, however.

Its all about how deeply rusted the tanks may be.
All too often, removing all rust means "daylight".
But it is better to find out sooner, than later!

....Cotten
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