Make the interior of your tank look brand new for $2

Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 1:59 pm

By trial and error and searching I have found a fantastic way to clean the interior of your tank and make it look brand new for $2.

1. Buy one liter of 31% muriatic acid(hardware,building supply and pool chemical shops all sell this -Canadian Tire for us Canadians sells it for about $4) - protect your self by using gloves,goggles and a mask
2. Rinse out your tank and find a cap to cover the discharge - this process will eat your petcock
3. On a concrete or ashphalt surface: using a plastic pail pour in 1 liter of water and add 500 mls of acid (ALWAYS DO IT IN THIS ORDER - WATER INTO THE PAIL FIRST)
4. Use a funnel and pour the solution onto the tank. Stay away from the tank opening as corrosive vapors will be emmitted.
5. Throughly rinse off any acid mixture that may have touched your painted surfaces - RIGHT AWAY
6. Install your tank lid and slosh the acid around - stop and let the acid work for a few minutes.
7. Repeat this procedure 5 or 6 times
8. Flip the tank over and let the acid work on the underside of the top surface for a few minutes.
9. Turn the tank back over and have a look at the progress. Add more pure acid into the tank if necessary.
10. Drain the solution into a plastic pail and discard appropriately.
11. rinse the hell out of everything - the inside of your tank now looks brand new
12. Once all the water is out reinstall your tank and add fuel as the newly cleaned metal will rust if not covered.

I only used half of my acid so my total cost was $2 - it works amazing - no more rusty crap going into your petcock screen and fuel filter.

Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 3:01 pm

Wow,

This will come in handy when I get ready to use my spare tank next year. This should be in the Tech Documents section.

Send a PM to Glenn.

Dave

Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 5:37 pm

I use this procedure all the time. I discovered it by looking for something to get KREEM out of my gas tank. It works good. I usually rinse it out at the carwash because the water is hot and it helps it evaporate. After the tank is clean and I have most of the water out I pour in a little motor oil and swash it around. The stuff is toxic though so be careful with it. It also eats paint so I dont know how it would work on a tank with a nice paint job. But usually tanks with a nice paint job dont have rust inside.

Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 5:44 pm

works great!! good tip...just dont get it near any aluminum!!

Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 6:24 pm

THere's another technique that is just as effective against rust, but is safe on paint ... as odd as it sounds, it uses molases. Takes a couple of weeks to do is thing, but the molases eats the rust, and is also simple to get rid of. I had two tanks done a few years ago, with complete success.

.. Gregg

Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 7:33 pm

motnick wrote:

I use this procedure all the time. I discovered it by looking for something to get KREEM out of my gas tank. It works good. I usually rinse it out at the carwash because the water is hot and it helps it evaporate. After the tank is clean and I have most of the water out I pour in a little motor oil and swash it around. The stuff is toxic though so be careful with it. It also eats paint so I dont know how it would work on a tank with a nice paint job. But usually tanks with a nice paint job dont have rust inside.

i like the idea of adding a little motor oil to protect the inside of a tank not to be used for awhile....I have 3 of those.... Smile

Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 7:37 pm

This is essentially one of the steps of the Kreem or POR15 process, except the the acid used is phosphoric not muriatic (hydrochloric).
The basic difference between the two when it comes to this application is that muriatic acid will leave a clean iron oxide surface and phosphoric acid will leave a clean iron phosphate surface.
Most of us are familiar with iron oxide by another name, rust. The iron phosphate surface however is a naturally rust inhibiting surface.
Phosphoric acid is what is in most commercial rust removers, CLR and Coca Cola. It's also in dairy line cleaning solutions which can be found at most farm supply stores like TSC for far less money than CLR.

CB1100F Joined: May 13, 2005 Posts: 3217 Location: NE OHIO

I have used a similar process but I use the phosphoric acid. Home depot Acidic Toilet Bowl Cleaner , about 8.00 per gallon. Mix with water and let set for awhile or shake with a piece of chain in the tank to loosen realy bad rust. Leaves a nice gray surface, unlike Kreem. Phosphoric acid only eats the rust and not the raw metal. No realy bad fumes and I save it in Gal milk jugs till i need it again. You can also buy raw Phosphoric acid at the body shop supply store, and some hardware stores.

Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 9:11 pm

internet searching will reveal a multitude of metal cleaning techniques.....but muriatic acid works, its cheap and its very easy to come by........ Wink

Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 9:21 pm

firemun59 wrote:

internet searching will reveal a multitude of metal cleaning techniques.....but muriatic acid works, its cheap and its very easy to come by........ Wink

It works, but its very aggressive ... eating metal in addition to the rust. To the point that where you didn't have leaks before the acid treatment, you may well have afterward.

The phosphoric acid (and for that matter, the Molasses) treatments do not have that downside, are as cheap as muriatic acid, and have the advantage of leaving an inherently protective coating over the metal.

Lots of choices!

.. Gregg

Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 11:45 pm

Keep some baking soda around when you do this. If you need instant neutralization then pour on the baking soda. You get Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and water.

Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 1:32 am

Good tips guys.
I'm going to try the phosphoric acid on my '84 XL600R trail bike tank - my 900 doesn't need it.

Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 1:45 am

gregg-k wrote:

firemun59 wrote:

internet searching will reveal a multitude of metal cleaning techniques.....but muriatic acid works, its cheap and its very easy to come by........ Wink

It works, but its very aggressive ... eating metal in addition to the rust. To the point that where you didn't have leaks before the acid treatment, you may well have afterward.

The phosphoric acid (and for that matter, the Molasses) treatments do not have that downside, are as cheap as muriatic acid, and have the advantage of leaving an inherently protective coating over the metal.

Lots of choices!

.. Gregg

i have an old tank that i will experiment with the molasses treatment......as far as the phosphoric acid goes, it does sound great but I could not readily find it.........some places had it at too high a volume and at a silly price.....have any of you north of the border types found a good location to pick some up?.....i have a third tank that will receive that method

Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 2:31 am

Seems to me that TSC stores sell it. Might also be known as "milk stone remover".

Regarding the molasses approach, I forget the details (should be refernces on line), but I think you need to mix it 50-50 with water.

.. Gregg

Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 3:07 am

motnick wrote:

I use this procedure all the time. I discovered it by looking for something to get KREEM out of my gas tank. It works good.

The interior of the tank on my 1100 is a nasty combination of rust and some sort of sealer,( maybe KREEM ?), that did not hold up well to years of neglect. This procedure will remove this? Shocked

.

Guest

KREEM will break down with Acetone. I've had to remove old treatments several times with it but sometimes takes a couple of goes at it.

Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 6:33 am

i used just plain old vinager in my tanks. filled them up with straight white vinager and left over night. the nice thing about this is vinager is much more environmentally friendly. i actually just stuck in the garden hose and flushed it all out the next day in my back yard. didnt even kill the grass. but the inside of the tanks were nice and clean. afterwords i sprayed WD40 into the tanks along with some paint thinner and a couple bottles of Heet [if you live where there is winter, you know what this stuff is]. the first tank-full of gas i added some sta-bil, which has a rust inhibitor. havent had any problems since. this is a little more expensive than $2.00 for the acid, but like i said, its much more friendly.

Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 7:08 am

rtabish wrote:

i used just plain old vinager in my tanks. filled them up with straight white vinager and left over night. the nice thing about this is vinager is much more environmentally friendly. i actually just stuck in the garden hose and flushed it all out the next day in my back yard. didnt even kill the grass. but the inside of the tanks were nice and clean. afterwords i sprayed WD40 into the tanks along with some paint thinner and a couple bottles of Heet [if you live where there is winter, you know what this stuff is]. the first tank-full of gas i added some sta-bil, which has a rust inhibitor. havent had any problems since. this is a little more expensive than $2.00 for the acid, but like i said, its much more friendly.

Jeeberz! now i have to figger pound cakes! Laughing

Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 11:35 am

I have always used muriatic acid (HCL)to etch the inside of tanks. Its not a problem with gloves and glasses.If you spill a little on your arm or on the painted surface ,just rinse it with some water. I use a wine cork or a rubber fitting that came on a new part like a steering box or master cylinder to plug the petcock hole.The next step is to flush with water to remove sediment and acid.Then neutralize with a strong base.I use Castol Purple cleaner,agitate, then add water.Flush again with water.Now rinse w/ acetone(2 or 3 oz) to clean and remove all traces of moisture.Let it dry in sun for a short time until all acetone has evaporated.You are now left w/ a clean ,etched(white metal) inside ready for the POR-15.Open etched metal like this will rust quickly if left uncoated and I would not even consider a halfass solution like keeping gas full to stop future rust.A zinc rinse may help some but the POR will stick like glue to this etched surface. I always wait for a day in mid 80 degree range because the chemical reactions work best in hot weather.Always let the POR dry w/ the tank upside down and you can remove the petcock stopper before curing, to clean threads(acetone) and blow a little compressed air to clear completely.Use as little POR as necessary to completely cover the inner tank surface.Let the rest drain out the cap side.The tanks come out perfect.I posted on this last summer in detail but I am computer impaired and can't figure out a link to that post.

Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 3:05 pm

TSC and farm supply stores carry phosphoric for the dairy farms, relatively inexpensive. It's used for cleaning the milking lines or something like that.
The hotter the acid mixture is the better it will work, not to say that you should have it boiling but somewhere above ambient.
The baking soda rinse is a good plan as well to neutralize the acid, then lots of water for a rinse.
A few ounces of methyl hydrate or alcohol works well for getting rid of the last drops of water left in the tank.
If you are going to use the tank immediately I suggest adding some gas line antifreeze or alcohol to the first tank of gas just in case there are a few drops of water left. They will find their way to the carbs and leave you parked somewhere, been there, done that, there was no T shirt.
If you are going to store the tank, then definitely slosh something on the inside, oil, engine fogger, diesel fuel, actual rust preventative spray, Mazola, etc. Anything other than WD40, if you leave corrosion prevention for any length of time to WD40 you will be disappointed. There are lots of spray can products that will do the job as they are supposed to, WD40 isn't one of them.
I have seen a tank that was spotless inside go to the paint shop and return with a layer of rust on the inside. I suppose when they get done the paint, walk out of the booth and crank the heat to the 150/160F range it does have some effect.

Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 3:11 pm

thanks for the tip on TSC.....never thought of checking there........ Idea

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 5:23 am

BBrandt11 wrote:

. Anything other than WD40, if you leave corrosion prevention for any length of time to WD40 you will be disappointed. There are lots of spray can products that will do the job as they are supposed to, WD40 isn't one of them.

the WD40 isnt for rust prevention, its for water displacement. after washing out the tank with water, this was the best way i could think of along with the Heet [which is mostly isopropryl alchohol] and the paint thinner to take out as much water as possible. you are right that there are much better ways to prevent the return of the rust.

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 1:32 pm

BBrandt11 wrote:

. Anything other than WD40, if you leave corrosion prevention for any length of time to WD40 you will be disappointed. There are lots of spray can products that will do the job as they are supposed to, WD40 isn't one of them.

i think bbrandt is no longer the spokesmodel for WD40...... Razz

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 2:23 pm

rtabish wrote:

i used just plain old vinager in my tanks. filled them up with straight white vinager and left over night. the nice thing about this is vinager is much more environmentally friendly. i actually just stuck in the garden hose and flushed it all out the next day in my back yard. didnt even kill the grass.

Vinegar is usefull for a number of things.. I keep a bottle around the garadge for a umber of things...

Here's another vinegar tip...

For those that wear glasses, and work alot with power tools, You land up with lots of little metal dots on the lenses. Leave your glasses over night in a bowl of vinigar (undiluted). Next morning wipe them off and the lenses are like new. The first time i did this, I kept on having to check that my glasses were on as the lenses were so clean you dont feel like your wearing them...

You can use the same to remove grinder shot marks on many items...

And another..

Adding a capful of vinegar to a litre of water (~1:50) to wash of high gloss items ( Paint, Plastics & Glass) brings out a sweeky clean shine..

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 3:40 pm

gremlinsa wrote:

Here's another vinegar tip...

For those that wear glasses, and work alot with power tools, You land up with lots of little metal dots on the lenses. Leave your glasses over night in a bowl of vinigar (undiluted). Next morning wipe them off and the lenses are like new. The first time i did this, I kept on having to check that my glasses were on as the lenses were so clean you dont feel like your wearing them...

Neat idea ... is this for plastic lenses, glass lenses or both? Vinegar is acetic acid, so I can imagine that it has some interesting properties around the workshop.

,,, Gregg

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 3:44 pm

firemun59 wrote:

i think bbrandt is no longer the spokesmodel for WD40...... Razz

Hey, don't get me wrong on this!
WD40 is great stuff, it removes sticker goo and makes small engines start easier, just doesn't do much in the way of corrosion prevention, penetrant or lubrication! Razz

Everyone should have a can of it around! As well as some other product that will do the things.

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 3:57 pm

BBrandt11 wrote:

firemun59 wrote:

i think bbrandt is no longer the spokesmodel for WD40...... Razz

Hey, don't get me wrong on this!
WD40 is great stuff, it removes sticker goo and makes small engines start easier, just doesn't do much in the way of corrosion prevention, penetrant or lubrication! Razz

Everyone should have a can of it around! As well as some other product that will do the things.

It takes black heel marks off the kitchen floor too, but then so does Raid bug spray Laughing

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 7:44 pm

genesound wrote:

It takes black heel marks off the kitchen floor too, but then so does Raid bug spray Laughing

Does it work for heel marks from 6" stilleto's?
Doesn't matter, they should be kept in the air anyway! Twisted Evil

Raid???? Hmmmm, I'm not sure whether the smell of it is any worse than the WD!

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 8:25 pm

BBrandt11 wrote:

Does it work for heel marks from 6" stilleto's?

I'm not having it sprayed on my back to find out! Razz

Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 8:42 pm

genesound wrote:

BBrandt11 wrote:

Does it work for heel marks from 6" stilleto's?

I'm not having it sprayed on my back to find out! Razz

Raid or WD? Razz

One of those memorable movie lines, Burt Reynolds in Striptease "I like th way it squishes between my toes" or something like that.
So how many of you remember that there was someone other than Demi in the movie?