Fuel Tank Rust

[gdrudd13]

Definitely not fun. But if anyone has rust they need to get rid of, apple cider vinegar works really well. I just let it sit for awhile and it's done a pretty good job. So It's sitting more to see if it can do better. I'll still need to seal it once I'm done, but it'll be nice to have a clean tank. I think I'll just clean this one and not mess with getting a new tank.

[CDNRatMan]

   Couple years back the company that fuels up one of the local gas stations had a new driver and he put Ethanol into the unleaded fuel tanks by mistake.........well after fuel pumps were replaced and fuel filters and then the underground tank had to be cleaned and eventually replaced, I know the PITA it was for me alone....so rust and other stuff is not fun.

[Troll]

http://www.jpcycles.com/yamaha-motorcycle-gas-tank-sealers
Really important that the tank is correctly prepped, or the unleaded corn gas will cause the liner to deteriorate and clog fuel system parts...if you think rust is a problem, wait 'till that happens!

[49Reo]

Lol, ain't that the truth! My cousin owned a body shop at the time, and was a Dent Wizard. A good one. He had made some kind of bracket for holding a gas tank; can't remember what it looked like as it wasn't of much interest to me at the time other than cleaning out my tank. 

[greenbarn]

My cousin would put coarse sand and fine pebbles in a rusty mc gas tank, put it in his paint shaker for 10-15 minutes,

As long as that puppy doesn't come loose in the paint shaker   .... Then you'd be calling the dent wizard!!

[49Reo]

My cousin would put coarse sand and fine pebbles in a rusty mc gas tank, put it in his paint shaker for 10-15 minutes, empty tank (very well, I might add) then run a tank sealer in it. Good as new. We did this several years ago on one of my rebuilds, brand new tank had rust in it. The sealer we used was a 2-part mix. Had to be careful with gas line outlets and threaded areas, like petcock threads, etc. Taped up threads and put a heavy wire in the gas line crossover outlets. (on a Harley tank setup.)

[CDNRatMan]

  I did read about rust removal and tank lining, will see if I can find that article again.

[gdrudd13]

It's just surface rust, but more than I thought there was. I'll get the majority of it out with the vinegar (cheaper). Then the rest I'll get with a stronger rust remover. After that I'll have to seal the tank. The kit I was looking at was the POR-15 stuff. Read really good things about it in numerous places and know a couple people that have used it with very good results.

[chief]

I guess it depends upon the new tank... might have its own set of problems... or rust in the tank.

I assume you have looked into what it will take to clean out and recondition the old tank... assuming the tank hasn't deteriorated significantly.

[gdrudd13]

So basically the only real problem with my 800 when I bought my bike was rust in the fuel tank. It didn't look too bad so it didn't bother me. Well I started working on it, and there is apparently a lot more rust than I though that I can't see. Well, I found this one on evilbay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/00-2000-KAWASAKI-VN800-C-VN-800-DRIFTER-GAS-TANK-/190965970657?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c767576e1&vxp=mtr

and am thinking this might be easier and possibly cheaper than fixing the one I have. I'd have to repaint it, but if I can paint an entire car, a tank shouldn't be an issue. Plus that was a possibility with my current one anyways and I kind of want to paint something. The dent shouldn't be a problem to fix either.

Does this sound reasonable, or does anyone have any cheap tricks that work awesome for getting rid of rust? I'm currently using apple cider vinegar with a bunch of BBs. Works well, but is a PITA, and is hard to get all the rust.

Or does someone have a cheaper 800 tank? (figured I'd ask)