1. Husqvarna Motorcycles Made In Sweden - About 1988 and older

Steel Tank interior rust

Discussion in 'Vintage/Left Kickers' started by mike328, Jan 2, 2011.

  1. mike328 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    colorado
    I picked up a decent steel tank that I am NOT planning to repaint & it has some rust inside..
    Been reading alot about rust removal.. ie; rocks, chains, bolts inside..
    was wondering if anyone tried this stuff:

    http://www.theruststore.com/Evapo-Rust-Gallon-P1C1.aspx

    http://www.rusteco.com/

    or any other suggestions!
    I have a mild ceramic abrasive that I could use inside and set it up on a rotesserie (sp?) type set up..

    the rust is not deep..basically rough to the touch, orange rust..
    When I put a rag inside & a tool to rub the bottom of the tank..the orange rust rubs off..so its loose..
  2. Gord Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    New England
    I haven't tried either of those but I am working on a tank now that I removed over 1 pound of rust by putting a hundred drywall screws in and shaking the tank. I say a hundred because it's important to make sure you get them all out. I have done this with other tanks that were shaped differently and had a heck of a time getting a couple out. Counting makes you feel better. Even on this tank, the first time I did it, I only had 99 come out, and could not hear the last one still in there. The second and third time I got them all.
    I got this stuff for Christmas and will be trying it in a week or so. Will let you know how it works.
    http://www.metalrescue.com/home.aspx
  3. oldhuskychuck Husqvarna
    A Class

    Location:
    Denver Co
    Rustico kicks ass, but is pricey.
    works very well, and wont hurt paint, your hands, pants ect..and can be poured down a drain without hurting the water table.
  4. mike328 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    colorado
    "Rev" Thanks.... I'm always skeptical....thinking it might be 'snake oil' or 'Granny's rumatoid' medicine...LOL

    I'm not sure what I'll do for sure, but as cold as it is..working inside and pouring it down the sink sounds good.

    The media I could tumble is ceramic & cylindrical...its used for polishing stuff.. NOT agressive.. its 1/4 (thick) x 5/8 (wide)..
    that may get 'stuck'..

    Gord...please let us know how that "metalrescue" works.. IT looks alot like the stuff I posted the links on here.
  5. Husq.fleet Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Pendleton Oregon
    I used aluminum wheel acid and a bunch of 5/16 nuts in my TL125 tank. Sat down and gave it a good shake once in awile. I like the rotisserie idea!
  6. Fat Tire Flyer Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Canada
    A product that was recommended to me by guys at Vinduro was Evapo-rust.. In the above link they explain how to remove the rust from a motorcycle gas
    tank in one of two ways.. Either fill gas tank (2.5 Gallon = $45.00 + ship) or pour 1 gallon & rotate gas tank (1 Gallon = $21.00 + ship) till the rust is gone..
    Also available at Harbor Freight.. Hope this info helps.. Cheers.. :)
  7. oldhuskychuck Husqvarna
    A Class

    Location:
    Denver Co
    heres what iv done as well, only on real rusty tanks.
    muratic acid, delluted 50/50 with cold water add the acid to the water, not the water to the acid, mix in a plastic bucket, mask off the outside of the tank.
    remove the pet cock, and plug with a rubber cork, block of transfer lines if it has them as well.
    pour the mix into the tank, let set for 10 hours, with an old gas cap, or cover the hole with a plastic bag and rubber band
    while this is setting, buy a gallon can of WD 40..real important.
    at the end of the 10 hour time, take the tank to the car wash, dump out the nasty, and power wash the tank out with soap...and then rinse well, after thats done, pour a bout a coffee cans worth of WD 40 in the tank. slosh it around till it coats the whole tank.
    you can mix WD with your fuel, it will smell funny for a while when you run the bike, but it will stop the rust from growing back, bolts, rocks ect, really arent needed, the acid will etch the surface more them the bolts ect ever will.
    i use deluted acid in my bus, for stripping metal, belive me...it works better then you think...and be careful, rubber gloves, and safety glasses are a must,
    iv done a few heavy rusted bikes..worked great, still ride a couple of them...
    careful, if the tank is crusty rusty, it may eat all the way through, it will kill what ever rust is present.
    if you dont use WD40 asap, it will surface rust very fast, as youv etched the surface.
  8. WestCoast Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    N. California
    Evaporust ... I've had amazing results... non-toxic, easy to use.
  9. maddog82 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Fayetteville,GA
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    08 TE450
  10. mike328 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    colorado
    wow....great information I'm interested in any 'reports'/results
    thank you everyone..
    photos if ya can....
  11. retro rocket Husqvarna
    AA Class

    +1 For Oldhuskychuck - Muriatic Acid (Hydrochloric acid) I have used this to great effect - if you do it right the inside of your tank will look pretty much as new.

    I bought 1 Gallon from my local hardware store (Home Depot does not seem to carry it anymore)

    Also known as concrete etcher...
  12. dartyppyt Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Illinois
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    17 TE 150, 82CR 500
    Other Motorcycles:
    82 125,250,430&500 79 390 83 250
  13. Gord Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    New England
    I'm sure you have and it has probably worked great. I have used eastwood's products with good results too. .... But did you read the (1) review of the product?
  14. Gord Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    New England
    Since some of us have allready purchased other de-rusting solutions, would you say this is a good idea to do regardless of how we get the rust out?
  15. oldhuskychuck Husqvarna
    A Class

    Location:
    Denver Co
    i have had good luck with WD 40 stopping the rust from growing back,
    if the tank will be sitting a while, id put straight WD40 in the tank, and slosh it now and then.
    i know Ethenol seems to turn into rust, not sure why, but i stopped leaving fuel in my bikes with steel or glass tanks.
  16. mike328 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    colorado
    I screwed up by leaving gas in my fiberglass bultaco tank... it never dawned on me about the ethanol, but the ethanol ate the tank..of course it was over time. Now I buy gas that is ethanol free AND try to remember to drain my fiberglass tank.

    for my steel Husky tank, I put 2 cycle oil in the tank and with a little gas..slosh that around to coat the inside.
  17. Gord Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    New England
    I did my 73 WR250 steel tank with Metal Rescue this weekend. The tank was not going to be used because it was so badly rusted, but I got a gallon of Metal Rescue for Christmas, and am over budget on the bike so in went the gallon. I rotated the tank every 4 hours and will say I'm surprised at how well the sides and bottom came out. The only part that still has some rust is the tunnel. The can says the stuff can be reused until it is jet black. And when I poured it out, it was jet black. But I will say, this was the worst tank I've ever seen as far as rust goes. So I would definately recommend the stuff.
  18. mike328 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    colorado
    Gord....I saw your before photos.....any "after"...
  19. Gord Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    New England
    I don't have a good enough camera to get in there for a photo. The part you can see is the tunnel and that still has a little rust on it. One thing I would recommend is buying two gallons. Even by rotating the tank, it's hard to get everywhere with only a gallon of material.
  20. mike328 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    colorado
    Ok used the evaporust. I brought the tank inside the house filled it up with the solution and left the solution in the tank for about 2 days.. I placed a fish aquarium heater in the solution, also wrapped the tank with a heating pad. I read on the container that its suppose to work better when warm... I needed to raise the evaporust temp, and doing it by raising the ambient temp would have been very difficult.
    Had the gas tank sitting is a plastic tub in case any leaks from the petcock/crossover tube.
    Emptied the tank out, rinsed with water from my garden hose then flushed the tank with isopropal alcohol. After I looked inside and all the rust was gone..amazing stuff... I put some 2 cycle oil in the tank to prevent flash rusting.
    I will TRY and take a photo, but dodn't hold your breath.
    I am going to do the same to another tank ..I can honestly say this stuff works.