Posted by Marty [24.86.3.25] on Sunday, June 09, 2013 at 03:37:39 :
In Reply to: Cleaning Rust from a Gas Tank posted by Greg Coffin [4.228.135.155] on Sunday, June 09, 2013 at 01:48:39 :
Greg, there's lots of different ways to clean a rusty gas tank. Acid is the most thorough but also the most dangerous. Screws & cement mixers work as well but ultimately what the problem is is that all of these methods will leave the inside of the tank, bare & unprotected from rust...a lot more severe rust than you have now.
When a tank is new, it's made from steel that's coated to prevent rust but screws, gravel, bolts & acid will remove that coating & leave the steel vulnerable to rust.
They make several coatings that are owner applied but enevitably they all come off sooner or later & cause big problems.
Here's really the only 3 sensible options in fixing a rusty tank..
1) Take it to a rad shop & pay the guy $20 to put it in his acid tank & flush it out. Then plan on a good fuel filter & keep the tank full of fuel. Plan to likely do this again sometime in the future because it will rust much quicker now but it's an option that doesn't cost much & it will leave you with clean fuel for now.
2) Have a company like Tank Renew restore your tank. Basically they cut a big hole in the tank & sandblast it inside & out. Then they have a plastic coating they pour into the tank that's impervious to fuel. They coat the outside as well & it basically turns your tank into a plastic tank that'll never rust again. Cost...roughly $500.
3) Proceed with step one. Now take the tank to a plating shop that does Cad plating & have them zinc plate your acid cleaned tank. It works great but the plating shops don't like doing it because it's hard to work with a gas tank & getting all their chemicals in & out isn't easy.
My personal favorite is #3 simply because it comes out looking like a brand new NOS tank & the cost is not a lot...less than $100 the last one I did.
Method 2 will last longest...maybe forever but I just don't like the look myself. I'd far sooner pay to fabricate a stainless tank if I wanted a tank that was going to basically last forever.
I had a tank Cad plated over 20 Years ago & it still looks new so that's the way for me.
Screws & a cement mixer will certainly get the rust out for you but just don't let anyone talk you into coating it with any junky home coating kit...they just don't work with today's new fuels.
Those are my experiences.
Follow Ups: