best way to remove rust from inside a gas tank. picked up a atc110 for 80 bucks

[55stone`]

hey guys i just picked up a atc110 last night from a guys barn for 80 bucks.. its all complete besides the front fender.. i mean it does need a little work but its not bad way worth 80 bucks.. anyways the tank is super rusty. it has not rusted through anywhere it looks to be just on the inside but its pretty freaking rusty.. did know what you guys have found to work the best to get this out. i will try and get pictures up of it soon. is also missing part of the pull starter assmebly. hopefully i can find one on here cheap.. thanks guys

[dougspcs]

I heard of this little trick I think I will try..one my machines has a moderate amount of rust in it I need to remove.

Remove the tank from the trike and drain it completely, pour 2 cups of aquarium gravel in it, wrap it in 2 garbage bags then roll it in a couple blankets, put it in your dryer and pack the dryer completely so the tank won't tumble, run it on no heat for a hour.

Remove it, dump the gravel, and blow it out with compressed air completely. After which seal the tank with one of the commercially available tank sealant kits.

I'm eager to try it, but if you beat me to it let me know how it works.

[ADOR]

I never used a dryer to do it, but I have always put a few rocks from the driveway in one with a little gas and just shook the hell out of it, repeat if necessary.

[cbx1170]

small shaft power washer into tank and try to hit all of the insides. ck for leaks. Yamaha made a great 2 part rust remover kit. dont know if still avail. 1st part in HOT water fill and seal tank, sit for 12 - 24 hrs, drain flush with water, blow out, rinse with second part, blow out, then carefully set a hair dryer (watch closely) in fill hole for 30 min till dry. fill with gas or coat with oil immed. some car stuff like this out there also.

[El Camexican]

Welcome aboard! Take a look at this site http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/andyspatch/rust.htm There are others that focus more on tanks if you look around, do a bit of homework. I tried a product called Rustolium once and it worked pretty well and got rid of 80% of the rust after one day, BUT when I repeated to process in an attempt to get rid of the remaining rust I left it in for 3 days and when I opened the tank it was a mess. My bad. The problem is that you mix Rustlium and others like All Metal Guard with water to use them, and after a period of time they seperate and you end up with water in you tank making things worse. What ever you do, keep in mind that if you do get your tank clean it will forevermore be suseptable to corroding as the surface properties of the cold rold steel it was made with are gone. Ther are some rust converting products out there that have good reviews as well and if you must, Kreem. Do some reasearch, make some tests and send some photos, a lot of guys are interested in thsi stuff here. Good luck.

[55stone`]

thanks guys idk what im going to do yet but i will definantly take pictures and stuff and thanks for the welcome to the site... my buddy is into old stuff and has like 6 trikes and he said at his work(huge farming supplier of fertizler and stuff) he siad they have some acid stuff meant for removing rust that is like only commercial availabe and he said it works amazing.. idk what it is im hoping to get a name of it and try and find somewhere i can buy it.. other than that, im going to try the shake with steel shot and then after that a couple times im going to try a rust remover from autozone.. if anyone else has some ideas plz share..

[El Camexican]

thanks guys idk what im going to do yet but i will definantly take pictures and stuff and thanks for the welcome to the site... my buddy is into old stuff and has like 6 trikes and he said at his work(huge farming supplier of fertizler and stuff) he siad they have some acid stuff meant for removing rust that is like only commercial availabe and he said it works amazing.. idk what it is im hoping to get a name of it and try and find somewhere i can buy it.. other than that, im going to try the shake with steel shot and then after that a couple times im going to try a rust remover from autozone.. if anyone else has some ideas plz share..

I think what you are talking is the chemical used in the process of "pickling" steel as in "P&O". It strips scale, rust and such from hot rolled steel before it is sent off for cold rolling. I used it once to clean some rusted tubes and it turns them white, absolutly spotless, but there is a catch. This stuff needs to be neturalized afterwards as it is a powerful acid. I don't know the exact process, but I recall the steel mills have a 7 step system in total and at least 4 of them involve cleaning and neturalizing that stuff with water and oil. Glad you brought that this up! I'd forgotten all about it. Please let us know what your buddies stuff is called and what the active ingredent is. I deal with steel mills all the time, so I'm going to get educated on this as well :beer

[tri again]

thanks guys idk what im going to do yet but i will definantly take pictures and stuff and thanks for the welcome to the site... my buddy is into old stuff and has like 6 trikes and he said at his work(huge farming supplier of fertizler and stuff) he siad they have some acid stuff meant for removing rust that is like only commercial availabe and he said it works amazing.. idk what it is im hoping to get a name of it and try and find somewhere i can buy it.. other than that, im going to try the shake with steel shot and then after that a couple times im going to try a rust remover from autozone.. if anyone else has some ideas plz share..

Ok, the search key will give anyone waay more info than anyone wants to hear but generally....starting simple...
Rust will stop if there is no oxygen. so keep the tank full.
If the rust is flaking, which it will, rocks, rattle, HEET (evaporative stuff that binds with moisture) clean it physically, drydrydry it
and blow it out with long nozzle air schnozzle in every corner and crevase and refill with gas.
End of Simple, functional story.

Muriatic acid will react and 'eliminate' the rust and supposedly will NOT eat healthy steel, tanks come out shiney clean but will rust INstantly, with a 'flash' rust.
It is an acid commonly used in the swimming pool arena but the fumes WILL KILL people and pets and needs to be neutralized. with baking soda and rinsed with water for 1/2 hr and again, will smoke and fume and kill or cause PERMANENT lung damage..so who cares what it looks like inside.
If the rust is in there and not getting worse and not
flaking off and plugging the carb, that's all we really care about.

Then there are the secondary options of sealers, coatings and rust reformers.
Phosphoric acid seems to react with the rust instead of 'coating' a questionable surface.
TOTally psychotic decision making process on what to use.
40-50 bucks?
Parts trike with a good tank for 100$?
Plastic tank which will never rust? 100-180$.

I'm kinda talking to myself right now. Have 13 tanks in the sun ready to be dried more and either sprayed with oil
or whoknowswhat!!
I can't decide.
A couple will go on trikes and get filled with gas or propane or Co2 or nitrogen gas.

But I'm procrastinating and just don't feel like smelling like dead gasoline for the next 2 days.

Good luck to all of us.

[DSHOT59]

Remove the petcock and plug the hole then fill it with white vinegar 2 bucks a gallon in any Shop rite, Let it sit for a couple of days just rotate every once in a while to get the whole inside works great . How long it takes depends on how bad it is but it will work and pretty cheap too.

[dougspcs]

Remove the petcock and plug the hole then fill it with white vinegar 2 bucks a gallon in any Shop rite, Let it sit for a couple of days just rotate every once in a while to get the whole inside works great . How long it takes depends on how bad it is but it will work and pretty cheap too.

Coke works well for this method also..

[aldochina]

i use a couple handfulls of 1/4 " nuts with some gas to get the heavy scale off, and evaporust works great.

[zeeker1]

I also used the white vinegar method. Took the petcock off and cut out a circle of rubber to stick in the hole and screwed it back on. Set the tank on a drywall bucket and filled it to the brim with vinegar. Three days later I strained the solution through a coffee filter into another container. Flushed the sh## out of it with a garden hose and filled it up again. Three days later, more flushing. LOOKED GREAT! Then I put about a quart of water and a couple of handfuls of baking soda in it and shake, shake, shake. More rinse then the hairdryer. WARNING; My tank sat on that bucket for a week on never leaked a drop BUT when I put it back on the trike and filled it with gasoline a couple of weeks later I noticed a trickle coming out of a bottom seam. AHHHH. On the bench now sits a POR15 motorcycle tank kit. ($40.00)

[55stone`]

wow this got alot of reaction lol.. i havent got to the tank yet so i have no update but i like all the ideas.. i will have to pick one and let you guys know how it goes..

[up-tyte]

We did the muratic acid method. Mixed it 50/50 with hot water and then just kept shaking the tank every 10 or 15 minutes and setting it on a different side so every surface got a soaking. After a couple hours dump it back into a plastic container similar to the original. Pour it through a screen to get all the rust chunks out. Then neutralize with hot water and baking soda. You then will need to seal the tank right away or it will flash rust. The acid will also find any thin areas in the tank, you will have to repair the hole or the sealer may plug it. We reuse the mix for a couple of tanks before safely neutralizing. So far we have done about a dozen tanks with great results, just remember it is toxic so take precautions. We also had a tank that had Cream sealer in it and it cleaned it right out. Good luck and be careful.