Gas Tank Cleaner Chemicals

[Vic in E-TN]

I need to clean out a '31 gas tank that I do not want to remove from the car now. I have a gallon of Oxy-Solv in my shop and Rural King has a gallon of Evap-o-Rust waiting for me today and another one tomorrow. Does anyone know what these chemicals are and are they compatible? At $30 per gallon, a tank of these cleaners gets expensive.


Thanks,
Vic

[TerryO]

Good morning Vic,
Rust 911 is what I used. It is a concentrate (1 gallon makes 16 gallons) and is comparable to Evap-o-Rust. I believe I paid around $75 from Amazon.


TOB

[nkaminar]

Brent will tell you that the only way to thoroughly clean them out is to take them apart, but this is expensive. The suggestion by Terry O seems like a good one.

Aircraft Spruce has a good sealer but I think you would have to remove the tank because you have to slosh the sealer around and then drain it out.

See https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catal...ickkey=1173133

[Vic in E-TN]

Terry & nkaminar:
Thanks for very good suggestions. I went to Rural King here in Maryville. Web said none in store but offered shipping. Store in Knoxville, 1 hour away, web said available. Store in Sweetwater same available, same distance. I went to Maryville and the manager called Knoxville & Sweetwater and they said they did not have any in stock. Draw your own conclusions about Rural King.


I will be looking on Amazon later. I never have a problem with Amazon.


Vic

[ronn]

I drop in vinegar- about 3. a gallon and put 5-10 gallons in there. wait 6 weeks and drain. flush with clear water and dry.


Evaporust is supposed to be much faster and it is reusable. but right, 30. a gal is steep
if youre not in a hurry. I have used Evapo on motorcycle gas tanks, but wasnt overly
impressed for the $.

[jw hash]

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just like Ronn, fill the tank to the top with white vinegar. and it set for a week or two. rock the car every once and awhile. drain and flush with water. I had a really bad in here and I ended up using 33 gallons. that was four years ago and it's still on the road.

[rotorwrench]

If your corrosion is minimal, ie surface rust only, you can get away with using tank sealers like Bill Hirsch's stuff. If you go that route, I recommend using the phosphoric acid based tank etch that is part of the process. It won't start rusting instantaneously after the tank is rinsed and dried out with MEK or alcohol. If a person goes this route I also recommend getting more than what they say that you need to do the whole job. A person needs to use an old fuel gauge or fabricate a plug for that and use a good fuel filler cap plug that won't leak stuff all over the place. It sounds easier than it is. It's a long drawn out process that takes attention from the time its ready to seal until the job is done. The baffles in the tank require a lot of material to get everything covered. The baffles are complicated and that's where a lot of seal jobs fail is due to only partial cleaning and partial coverage. The only sure way to get full coverage is fill it to the brim. If a tank has any bad corrosion in it, there is a good possibility that it will have pin holes somewhere after removing all the corrosion. Sealants won't seal pin holes and I can guarantee that.

[ronn]

rotor- I agree with everything you say.
However, the Hirsch white sealant used in planes, has sealed many pinholes for me and ran for years on end. I guess there are variations on size, regarding pinholes.

[nkaminar]

Rotowrench, The sealant from Aircraft Spruce says it seals pin holes. Have you used it and had it fail? And is that why you say that sealants won't seal pin holes?

Ronn and I were typing at the same time.

[rotorwrench]

I've had multiple pin holes of all sizes. The sealer was oozing out when I try to seal them. I like tanks with no holes in them. I only want to do a job once. I cut them on the seam roll and open them up then weld in new metal where ever there is damage beyond servicability. I eventually want to use aircraft type sealers or possible some of the new fuel resistant epoxy materials and then find a way to reassemble with fasteners so that it can be opened up if it ever starts to leak or corrode again. It won't be an easy job. Most folks that split them, weld them back together and then do a final seal for the weld joints.

Aircraft Spruce was mentioned but they carry several types of sealers. I've used Proseal, PRC, and Flamemaster Chemseal products a lot over the years but they are not a thin slosh if a person gets the thinnest grade. The stuff is expensive but it will work to seal lap joints and rivets since that's what it's made to do on wet wing aircraft. The Piper wing tanks are sealed with pro seal and then riveted back together. They will last 20-years or so before they start to seep again. The skins are aluminum so they rarely corrode out like a steel tank. If a person can get it to seal then go for it but this is not a lifetime fix. Pin holes mean there is weakness in the skin that can eventually crack. All corrosion must be removed or the repair will never last no mater how it's repaired and sealed. This is just the way steel tanks are. Corrosion will return under paint and under sealer if it isn't completely removed and treated.

[ronn]

If the sealer was oozing out, your tank was shot.