PROJECT CAFE RACER - GAS TANK RUST

GAS TANK RUST

Over the last couple weeks, I've been working on getting the gas tank prepped for paint.  The inside of the tank had quite a bit of rust when I got it, so I've been trying some different methods to get that flushed out as much as possible prior to coating it.  The first thing I did was use a steel wire brush to scrub off any rust I could via the gas cap hole.  Since I wasn't able to find a brush long enough to reach all the way down the length of the tank, I made due with the one I had.  I took a picture of the gas tank rust remover product that really worked well for me; YAMALUBE.  The bottle on the right is the actual remover, the one on the left is the neutralizer.  I would recommend it highly to anyone trying to revitalize their tank.  There is one suggestion that I would make though.  The directions on the remover bottle say to fill the gas tank half full with warm water first before adding the remover.  Don't.  It works better if you don't dilute it.  I would let it set for about 4 hours, shaking it around every hour.  You will of course have to seal the petcock spout off with some aluminum foil or plastic wrap, or both together to ensure no leaking.  After you have let it set for that long, then you can use warm water to flush out the remaining remover before adding the neutralizer.  Its job is to absorb all the moisture in the tank.  You'll have to let the tank dry for at least three days before use, but it will look pretty immaculate.  

One product I would AVOID is one called EVAPO-RUST, which I bought at PepBoys.  It doesn't work nearly as well.  There was actually more rust in my gas tank after using this crap.  It doesn't come with any neutralizer or toner, which means you're more likely to get flash rust.  When I first picked up the product at the store, I didn't think it was made for gas tanks, but when I read the directions on the back there were instructions for small and large gas tanks, so I figured I'd give it a try.  This was a mistake.  Just go straight to the product above and save yourself a lot of work.

The whole goal for me cleaning out the rust in the tank is to prepare the inside to be coated with this other product, RED-KOTE.  This will give the inside of the tank a whole new finish and patch up any unseen pin holes.  By Tuesday of this week, I should have some pictures of the inside of the newly coated tank.  Once this is done, I will take it over to be painted and get this project wrapped up!