Gas Tank Treatment

[TJS]

I followed the procedure from another guys post.
As the rust cleared....the holes started to show. There were a few around the bottom and two on the seam that joins the bottom to the top.
I used 5 gallon jugs of white vinegar for 6 days. I did one baking soda wash; then I was called away on family time. So, I came back the next morning and had flash rust. I started with one gallon of applecider vinegar. The tank leaked like crazy! I couldn't put enough duck tape on it to stop all the leaks. I gave up! I'm going to try to find some one who can repair it all or use it as a form to build an aluminum or carbon fiber tank.

Here is the procedure that I copied and saved to file:

What you need:

A shitload of vinegar(enough to fill right to the brim)
baking soda(to neutralize the acid)
patience(it takes a day or two)
WD-40(if you're not going to mount the tank right away as it will protect the metal)
So, drain and add baking soda and water? Swish and drain?..or let sit for a day? Please post some pictures!

Yeah you got it.

You fill to the brim with vinegar let it sit for a few days. I attached a 12" piece of non-painted chain to a coat hanger and swished it around once and a while to help break up any scaling. After a few days empty out the tank and flush like crazy with water. At this point if there still is a little rust you can pop some more vinegar in there for another day or so.(what the hell it was $6) or if you think you're done then dump in some baking soda to kill the acid and fill it up a bit with water. Swish it around really well, or even better I filled it to the brim with the baking soda/water mix and let sit for a couple of minutes. Then flush out with water. The last step so you don't get flash rust is spray a can of WD-40 in there and swish it around really well. When you want to mount it on your bike flush out the WD-40 with a bit of gasoline and you're ready to rock.

I used a riding mower fuel filter that was designed for gravity feed(like our bikes) on the fuel line just in case there are a few piddly bits. I'm sure if you had a power washer you wouldn't even need to bother.

[TJS]

pics

[TJS]

more pics..last pic is the flash rust

[Sean]

Was this on a parts bike? How'd you get all those holes?

[TJS]

It was on a race bike that sat for years. I got it off ebay.

[rider123]

You have to do the baking soda right away and flush at least 10 times, otherwise with oxygen it starts eating through the steel again. I'm sorry to say but it's quite possible leaving it for 24 hours with that vinegar and oxygen, without neutralizing with baking soda and alot of water flushes, it might have helped open up some of those holes. When I did it I flushed it out right away with baking soda and then a bunch of water. It only take 5 mins. You did a good job but killed the most important part which is to stop the acid from keeping on eating the metal. When there is no rust left it eats the metal and if the metal is a little weak due to rusting it's quite possible it will eat through and create pin holes. However all is not lost you can coat the inside with RedKote or some other product. Just make sure it's rated for at least %10 alcohol. THe old Kreeme stuff wasn't rated for that so it eats through really quickly with modern fuel, however they may have changed the formula to compensate.

Those are my instructions and as you can see by the "T5" picture it' does do a good job(it could have probably used 1 more vinegar session or a good scrape with a length of chain). Just remember to neutralize the acid then put a whole can of WD40 in there and swish it around if you're not going to mount it right away. Good job though. It's a good experiment, boy was that thing rusty as hell. Removing the rust may have just opened up the holes which were the only thing keeping it sealed.

If it did work out for you, you just keep the tank topped up for the first few months until a bit of a gasoline varnish builds up to protect the metal. Also gasoline is a natural rust eater, although at a much reduced rate. This works well but it strips the inside to bare metal, hence a rust inhibitor like WD-40 until you mount it. My girlfriends bike was done around 4 months ago and no new rust at all. You'll notice that the areas that were heavily rusted will turn gunmetal gray once treated with the acid(vinegar).

[AlanDog]

Well I followed basically the same protocol and it worked well. Not sure how large your pinholes are, but I used the Caswell Epoxy gas tank sealer kit and it might work for you.... I say that because even when you pour it in, it is a thick syrup, and in about 30 min it hardens. So it may not leak out of holes and then it dries really hard and leaves a pretty thick coat, a couple millimeters I imagine.

But I didn't have any pinholes. And after vinegar treatment I dried the tank with acetone, did not use WD40 and did the epoxy job right away.

[rider123]

Yeah thats a good idea. There are several products that will help you out so you can save the tank. Just try and make sure to do a little research so that it can take alcohol. Because they put so much junk in gasoline nowadays.