How bad is rust on the inside of a fuel tank?

[Res7]

So I pulled my tank off to do some work on it and as the float comes out i notice all this black crap. On closer inspectoin i see that my fuel tank is rusty on the inside. i figure the engine is pretty safe as it has an in tank fuel filter and an inline one, but how bad is it to have rust on the inside of my tank? Is it part and parcel of owning an older bike?
Can i get it flushed and sealed again?
Does it need replacing?
If it does need work, who does that kinda stuff?
If you are in the know, i'd like to come in too.
Cheers in advance.
Kane.

[Hagarr]

I have a bandit which i bought and found the tank was rusted. BUGGER!!

Went to Fibreglass & Resin Sales here in Perth and bought a tank repair kit which the longest part of the fix was waiting the 4 x days for the stuff to set.

So far everything is looking good.

A very easy fix the hardest part is making up the bungs to block off where the fuel tap and float were located. Just follow the directions on the tin basically.

Cost was about 120 dollars and enough to do another tank if required.

There ya go my two bobs worth !!!

[sickboy]

That sounds similar to the stuff I used in my Rickman tank ,POR15 is the stuff I used,its a Bike specific kit and will treat a 20litre tank and cost me $63 plus postage,it comes with 1 litre of Marine clean ,1 litre of Metal ready and 250 mls of the Sealer and instructions,I removed all the taps and filters and made some bungs by wrapping some eletrical tape around a bolt and pushing that in the fuel outlet and similar with the fuel inlet ,only I wrapped some tape around a rag until it was a snug fit,I made a couple of those and follow the instructions.
have a look here, www.por15.com.au

[Res7]

Had a look at the link but i can't figure out how I'm supposed to do the inside where i can't reach or see?

[Pommy Chopper]

quote:Originally posted by Res7

Had a look at the link but i can't figure out how I'm supposed to do the inside where i can't reach or see?



You just pour it in and move it around.

[sickboy]

http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/519891865795451.jpg

sorry for the pic size,but it should give you some idea,even a fat handed twat like me can do it.

[Res7]

I are not dumb.

[Chris41]

POR15 is the go, I put a handful of chipboard screws in and rattled them round for a while B4 starting the process I don't like the tank Kreem brand it came of in sheets when i used it.

Chris

[pt]

haha! fucking ace somehow i didn't get the instruction sheet in my kit, but the problem is now solved! it's only one sided isnt it?

and where did you get it for $63? mine cost more than that:(



on the same topic, whats the verdict on the outside of the tank? the tank im doing has a few chips that have started to rust along with some rust starting to form along the join between the top and bottom half of the tank.

should i:
A)sand the whole thing back, hit it with rust inhibiting primer then repaint.
B)only sand the rust spots and repaint patches (don't care if colour is slightly off)
C)do nothing and just seal it

and finally is the underside of the tank critical? i think my tank has been left upside down and there are patches of surface rust. sand them back and treat or forget about it?

[chopaweeza]

It's an Old Trick but a good one. Molassas dip . I have a tub of 20:1 mix doing tanks at the moment and it's cheap as chips. I'll use the tank liner from POR(which you can buy seperately for about $30)on the tanks that are not being repaired or modified . A 20:1 mixture , leave it for 3 weeks and all the rust & crap is gone. Environmentally safe , cheap and simple. The cost of doing the tanks I have in the mix at the moment is $2 each so it ain't expensive .

[pt]

wow holy crap! i've just looked at some info on that. do you need to strip all the paint before putting it in there? and there was some mention of removig as much rust as possible before putting it in. is that necessary?

i imagine i would still seal it with the sealer after the dip?

[chopaweeza]

Most paint types aren't effected by the mixture . Here's some before and after pictures .

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a130/chopaweeza/GSXR%20CHopper/Waratah3002.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a130/chopaweeza/MolassasEnd001.jpg

This is after 17 days with a 20:1 mixture . The tank was covered by rust scale and the molassas has dissolved most of it . I've left it in the solution for this week and it will be clean by Saturday . Thats heavy rust and there was no Prep . When it's finished you use a hose to wash the tank inside & out . I use a hand full of gravel , shake it around the inside of the tank with a few liters of water for about 5 minutes to clean any left over residue or scale from the inside. Then I use a air hose to quickly dry it out , do any repairs needed and then use POR15 liner . The remaining scale on the tank in the second photo was rubbing off with finger pressure and I could have had it fully clean with 5 minutes & a wire brush. You can chuck your tank into the tub I have going if you like as I will only half fill it with my remaining tanks . Only use the Molassas you get from the product stores as the health food stores type doesn't work anywhere near as good . A 10 liter tub cost me $15 and that is enough to do 8 bike tanks at a time.

[pt]

wouldn't mind chucking it in, but i've gotta go away for 3 weeks and won't have time to drop it over. if youve still got it going when i get back i'll definitely chuck it in. otherwise its off to a horse supply place to buy a shitload of molasses!

[chopaweeza]

I'll be running it for the next 2 months . When I pulled the tanks out yesterday the paint on most had started to bubble or peel . Here's another piccy of the same tank. Note the scale is almost completely gone . The rust on some parts was as a result of me leaving them out while I had to nick into work for a few hours otherwise if I have flushed and dried them sooner it would be no problem.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a130/chopaweeza/MolassasWeek3002.jpg

[jmw76]

Hi Wayne,

The old molasses mixture works really well.
I have used it all sorts of things for years.
It's not good at removing grease build up, but rust and scale it is fantastic.

You need to be carefull with Aluminium parts as it can be fairly agressive. Particularly if you leave the components in for too long.

I remember on time when I was trying to clean up some old gudeon pins for some pistons. I forgot about them and left them soaking for a quite number of weeks. There wasn't much left when I pulled them out.

Like everthing, you just need to be carefull. Overnight often works for a mild clean up. Heating the mixture also accelerates things a little. The main trick is to check on progress regularly and move the object around in the mixture. With delicate parts you need to check more regularly.

I have a 60 litre plastic garbage tin that I have permanently made up with this stuff.

Cheers

[ozzy1100]

yer ive seen the molasses used on vintage tanks my mate is doning up i couldnt belive how good it worked