Rust in a fuel tank

[gage]

Hello All,
Any ideas on the best way to treat a Honda CR125M Elsinore with a moderate case of rust in the tank. The exterior of the tank is in vgc but there is a bit on the inside. Any tips greatly appreciated.
Regards, Ron

[Quicksilver]

Yeah I have a tip for ya.

Just DONT DO as I did....  Not unless ya want to hang from a gum tree.

[jimson]

Fill the tank with the brown shit they feed cows and horses mix it with water it starts with M but I can't remember what its called.

[Lozza]

Molasses
Was a very good description on the old forum and someone tried it and worked a treat IIRC.
There are commercial treatments 'Creem' being one, you'll find that at the bike shop and molasses at the horse shop.

[090]

Does the molasses coat the tank or just neutralize the rust? With the creem the last stage is a coating which seals the tank from rusting again. I had a leak in a Z50 tank from rust and it also sealed it.

[fatboyracing]

Hi Guys,
you can buy a tank liner that you just pour in swirl around and it leaves a thin lining all through the tank
It has 3 stages first a week acid wash to remove anything loose,secondly a etching product to help the liner stick and thirdly the liner product. I have inquired about this product for my XL tank as the outside is good but the inside has a small amount of surface rust. the whole kit costs less then $100.00 If you need more info I can find the name for you.

Cheers
Fatboy

[caps 999]

ive got a tank that only got light rust im wondering i heard of a trick people used to do imvolving a coulple nuts and bolts and possible some fuel not 100% sure but i heard it used to work 

[gage]

Thanks for all the advice. I'll try the Mollasses trick and see if that works. I vaguely remember my grandfather using mollasses to treat surface rust on his hand saws.
Post up the results when I have a go. Also be interested to Know the name of that product, Fatboy.
 Cheers Ron

[gorby]

just remembered ,do not leave cap on,this stuff builds pressure.

[cyclegod]

Hey Gorby, heres what you want
http://www.blulightning.com/

[YZ250H]

From memory of the last forum the blue lightning was the go especially on plastic tanks.  I think POR15 also have a pretty good product for steel tanks (although I haven't tried it).

Wes was the one that started the thread on Molasses last forum.  He might be around somewhere to offer further advice.

Cheers

[mx250]

There is an Australian three part prep kit for rusted tanks called Red,White and Blue (after the three colours of the three solutions for the three stages - same as Kreem, a US product. MCA use to sell it in Sydney.

Look and ask around I think you'll get it most bike shops.

From memory it's about $60 and will do two average tanks.

[czvmx]

I used Molasses in my Honda sl350 tank that had a fair bit of rust in it i mixed about 10 to 1 ratio, left it for about 3 weeks checking it regulary, after that i flushed the tank out with water, then  flushed with fuel , it came out new , if the tank looks sound dont cream it,  just put fresh fuel and a touch of 2 stroke mine is still like new that was over a year ago.
Molasses is the best way and the cheapest around $10 from a grain store, hope that help ya

[oldmotoxer]

Hi gage, yep a VMX mate of mine from Townsville put me onto this product and it works great. Its a 3M product called EC-776 which is an erathane fuel resistant coating. Clean the rust out as best as you can then poor this stuff in, swirl around, poor excess out and allow to dry. You may need to thin it down with Methol Ethol Ketane as this stuff is thick as honey. It doesn't flow real well straight out of the can without thinning, so if you use it straigh it may take a long time to dry. I used it in my plastic tank to sealed the inside of the tank so it would allow me to paint the outside without the fuel vapour leaching through and destroying the pait but I know others have used it in metal tanks to seal rust off. In any case make sure your supplier provides you with an MSDS for this product.

[LWC82PE]

I always use hydrochloric acid. it works well, just have to be carefull using it. my 185 tank sat empty for a couple years and had some rust in it so i cleaned it out with the acid. you just have to be carefull with some Jap tanks as they can be quite thin and are not as thick as the british tanks. after washing it out with water i then use metho to get the remaining water out and then use paint thinners to dry it out after. we always use acid as its quick for us, we dont usually recommend it to customers and instead give them a bottle of red rust remover that comes in the tank sealer kits we use but we dont use the bottle of rust remover that comes in the kit because it works too slow for us so we use hydrochloric acid. the bottle of red rust remover is ok for someone who is only working in their own time and it doesnt matter how many hours it takes to slosh the stuff around and clean the tank out, we dont have the time for that so gotta use acid cos its quick.

we use 3 tank liners

Kreem
Por 15
Red white and blue (australian made)

red white and blue is distributed by Ficeda Accessories and is very good. its safe and user friendly and wont wreck your newly painted tank if you get it on the paint but Kreem will. the red white and blue can seal up quite large pin holes.