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Joined: Jan 01, 2012 Posts: 16 Location: Camdenton, MO
Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 10:18 am Post subject: Cleaning a rusty tank
Guys, I posted this in the Honda forum, but it would be better here.
Guys,
To clean the inside rust out of an old gas tank, here's a trick I do; I rented a basic cement mixer from my local rental yard ($15 for the day). I removed the tank from the bike, poured in a handfull of clean gravel, wrapped the tank in some old pillows and blankets, and packed it into the drum of the mixer. Also add a handful of sheetrock screws.
The rocks MUST be sharp edged gravel, NOT rounded river rocks!! You're counting on the pointy edges to shot-pean the rusty surfaces, not just tap on them with smooth rocks!
Turn it on. You can hear the rocks rolling around inside. Run it for about 30 minutes in one position.
Turn off the mixer. Reposition the tank. Cram it securely back in the mixer. Run it for another 30 minutes. Keep changing the tank's position all day, giving 30 minutes per position. Get your $15 worth out of that rental!!
At the end of the day, dump out all the rust, and wash the be'jesus out of the tank with soapy water....then clean water, and lastly gasoline....and then gasoline again. Keep it up until nothing but sparkling clean gasoline pours out.
As they used to say on TV, "Try it, you'll like it!!" Oh, BTW, here's a hint; try to keep the mixer drum as horizontal as possible, which will increase the rock tumbling. A vertical drum simply rotates in place, and the rocks don't move much.
Joined: Oct 02, 2006 Posts: 2051 Location: New Britian, CT
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 10:57 am Post subject:
I have heard about this trick and its several variants for years now. Yes it does work. However there are much easier and effective options out there for rust removal. One is called rust beeter. There are several others that work just as well as that one.
Joined: Nov 16, 2010 Posts: 126 Location: Brownsburg, indiana
Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 8:13 am Post subject:
def works, but thats too much work. Metal Rescue is the way to go. environmentally safe, you can re-use it till it turns black. I did 6 tanks with one 5 gallon tub. $100.00 per tub but that comes out to $17.00 per tank. And its much less work. _________________ 69 Honda Dream 305
74 CB750k
78 CB750 cafe
91 Honda ST1100
06 Honda CRF250R
Joined: Feb 15, 2007 Posts: 1357 Location: LaPorte, Indiana, USA
Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 9:27 am Post subject:
For $10 you can buy a gallon of Milk Stone Remover (MSR) at Tractor Supply or Farm and Fleet.
Mixed with an equal volume of water, it does the job in a couple of hours, and can be re-used.
Quicker than vinegar, way less of a mess and more effective on convoluted surfaces than electrolytic (which is strictly "line of sight", not so good around "corners"), and relatively safe (lots safer then muriatic acid or drain cleaner).
I keep a 40-gallon cooler of the stuff in the shop and process nearly every steel part through it.
Just my two cents worth............ _________________ Bill Lane - CB200-CM200-CB450-C70M-CL350
"When your only tool is a hammer,
everything starts to look like a nail."
Joined: Feb 15, 2007 Posts: 1357 Location: LaPorte, Indiana, USA
Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 3:27 pm Post subject:
I guess the price on MSR has gone up a bit, sorry.
But still great at $12.99 per gallon.
As this is dairy country, I was familiar with the product long ago. We learned it not only removed calcium deposits from stainless milking equipment, but it's also rust's worse nightmare.
Won't touch chrome, but gets ALL the rust for sure.
If you spill some on you, you have plenty of time to get to a faucet and rinse yourself off. Even at 50% dilution you can stick your hand in it and not get burned. It will affect paint if you let it sit for a long time, but if you clean it up in a reasonable time frame, it's fine. It will also go after your concrete floors too, like any acid will.
I guess I use it in a stronger dilution than mentioned above, but that way it works faster.
To get rid of it, just pour in some baking soda till it stops bubbling (a little at a time), then down the drain, no environmental problems.
I couldn't run my shop without it. _________________ Bill Lane - CB200-CM200-CB450-C70M-CL350
"When your only tool is a hammer,
everything starts to look like a nail."
Joined: Aug 28, 2009 Posts: 272 Location: Central IL
Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 3:39 pm Post subject:
Bill,
What does MSR do to aluminum parts? Does it act as a brightener? Will it do any harm / any good on cleaning something like nasty engine parts, or is it best used on rusty steel parts only?
Joined: Feb 15, 2007 Posts: 1357 Location: LaPorte, Indiana, USA
Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 4:53 pm Post subject:
fxray wrote:
Bill,
What does MSR do to aluminum parts? Does it act as a brightener? Will it do any harm / any good on cleaning something like nasty engine parts, or is it best used on rusty steel parts only?
Use MSR only to remove rust on ferrous metals.
Never use any type of acid or caustic on aluminum, it will destroy it.
In point of fact, even undiluted Simple Green will mess up aluminum........
Edit:::::
I'd also say that no one should just take my word on this stuff - prove it to yourselves.
I rarely take anyone's word out of hand, I generally have to prove it to myself - and I'd encourage that attitude for all of us.
I may have been doing this stuff for a long time, but that doesn't mean folks should just slavishly follow me.
Prove it yourself.......... _________________ Bill Lane - CB200-CM200-CB450-C70M-CL350
"When your only tool is a hammer,
everything starts to look like a nail."
Joined: Nov 16, 2010 Posts: 126 Location: Brownsburg, indiana
Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 2:38 pm Post subject:
so is MSR the same as wood bleach, because i use wood bleach mixed with water to clean my chrome. 12 ounces to 15 gallons of water, i re use it as well. soak it for 48 hours. _________________ 69 Honda Dream 305
74 CB750k
78 CB750 cafe
91 Honda ST1100
06 Honda CRF250R
Joined: Oct 26, 2007 Posts: 1143 Location: Greensburg Pa
Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 3:10 pm Post subject:
Tango911 wrote:
so is MSR the same as wood bleach, because i use wood bleach mixed with water to clean my chrome. 12 ounces to 15 gallons of water, i re use it as well. soak it for 48 hours.
Tango. Where do you get your wood bleach (oxalic acid) I've used it for years, but I no longer can find it locally. I still have some left, but I'm running low. Thanks
.......Paul _________________ �77 CB550f
�77 CB750a
�78 GL1000
�80 CB650c
�75 GL1000-finally finished
�79 KZ200
68 CB450K1-taking up all my time
Joined: Jul 11, 2011 Posts: 13 Location: Beaverton, OR
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 4:21 pm Post subject:
I'll throw my 2 cents on this one. CLR and some old nuts and/or washers on a loop of baling wire. Throw all of it into the tank in question and shake like crazy until you almost pass out from exhaustion. Repeat as necessary, changing the CLR each time. Cheap and also cleans up the old hardware.
PS - The loop of wire is easy to retrieve. Not so easy to try to dump out all the hardware if its floating around in there. A pice of chain would probably work too.
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