How to "wash out" inside of gas tank

RudeBoyHustle

RudeBoyHustle

New Member
Ok, ok new guy here. I know. I've searched around and didn't really get an answer so I'll ask you guys in here.

I have a tank that I media blasted to a wonderful naked finish. Got all the old paint, grease, dirt and grime off of. There was a little bit of surface rust on the top of the inside of the tank so I shot in there a little as well the outside. I'm getting ready to paint this sucker but there's a lot of "media" material still inside the tank. I've shaken and turned upside down and twisted and dumped but I know there's still a bunch way down in the bottom and in the cracks. It got dark and cold last night so I had to stop drop and sleep for a while. I'm sitting at work now thinking of the best way to get all that "sand" out of there now, so when I get home I'll have a game plan and everything I need.

I'm thinking shop vac/ vacuum, air compressor. The tank is going to sit for a week or so while/ after paint, can I run water thru it to flush out and then dry it out with a fan or compressor or am I looking at hurting myself with surface rust if I do that? Should I be using gas or diesel to swish around? I didn't want to be wasting a couple gallons of gas for no reason.

Thanks
 
If there was surface rust in the visible portion of the tank, you will likely find that it has company in the rest of the tank. You might consider filling the tank (remove the petcock and plug the hole(s) first) with white vinegar overnight to see what you get out of it, rinse afterward with a baking soda solution to neutralize the acid, then fog the inside of the tank or coat lightly with oil some other way.

If you do rinse just with water, make sure to dry it as quickly as possible then fog or oil the inside to prevent rust.
 
I've never removed the petcock, I'm assuming there's going to be some kind of gasket in there? The problem is that the only petcock I have is on my better tank and its on the bike now. I'm guess if there's a gasket in the petcock I should have another on hand as to prevent too much down time waiting for parts. Thanks again
 
The vinegar will eat through the aluminium of the petcock so you don't want to leave the tank full of it with the petcock attached. If it's not on there now no worries.

Your petcock may or may not have a gasket, depends on the model
 
I'd hook a shop vac to the filler hole, then run it over and blow all around with a compressor through the petcock hole.

Then you're gonna wanna put some acid in there to take care of all the rust you couldn't see like rich said.

Vinegar works slowly,
CLR/ works toilet cleaner works faster
And muriatic acid will do the job super quick like

And like rich said you'll ruin a petcock with any of them. Go to the hardware store and get a rubber plug to plug the hole.
 
After trying the "wind tunnel" deal you're going to want to flush that tank about 10 times with some liquid. Gas will work fine, just be careful (obviously). That said, yoire likely to never get all of the sediment out. At least not anytime soon. Make sure you run inline fuel filters between the petcock and carbs and occasionally pull the petcock to clean the prefilter screen
Unfortunatly, you're likely to be dealing with little bits of media for a long while.
 
Thanks for the insight, but am I looking at a gasket in the petcock as well. I'm just wondering if that's ok in there now if there is one. If i take the petcock off, I don't know what kind of shape it's in until I actually take it off. Just want to have one on hand ahead of time, to prevent prolonged down time. Thanks
 
Stick a garden hose in the filler neck, turn the tank upside down, turn on the water and let it run while shaking the tank around. Excess water and sand will exit the filler hole as more water is introduced through the water hose. Do this for 10-15 min., or more as needed............................ 8)
 
GLENNWOOD55CAMEO said:
Stick a garden hose in the filler neck, turn the tank upside down, turn on the water and let it run while shaking the tank around. Excess water and sand will exit the filler hole as more water is introduced through the water hose. Do this for 10-15 min., or more as needed............................ 8)
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I like this idea as well. I guess my major concern was after getting all the crap out, it's going to rust.
 
To make the vinegar stronger, put a 1 lb box of salt. Shake it up in a plastic container before filling the tank. Plug the petcock hole with a rubber cork. You can find a variety of these at the hardware store or home improvement store.
 
eyhonda said:
To make the vinegar stronger, put a 1 lb box of salt. Shake it up in a plastic container before filling the tank. Plug the petcock hole with a rubber cork. You can find a variety of these at the hardware store or home improvement store.
Click to expand...

I'll try this as well. It's been raining terrible here for the last couple days so I haven't been able to get out there yet. Supposed to be sun tomorrow, I hope :-\
 
IIRC there is a sealer you can put in there after you feel everything has come out. Can anyone help out with the name/brand of this sealant like fluid that can be poured in the tank to make sure he doesn't have to deal with residual flakes in the future? Saw it somewhere on here, but cant remember where.
 
reflexsilver said:
IIRC there is a sealer you can put in there after you feel everything has come out. Can anyone help out with the name/brand of this sealant like fluid that can be poured in the tank to make sure he doesn't have to deal with residual flakes in the future? Saw it somewhere on here, but cant remember where.
Click to expand...

Two of the more popular options are POR15's Fuel Tank Repair Kit or Red-Kote from Damon Industries. There are a few others though and they all have their own supporters/detractors.
 
I actually think I'm going to be alright with the rust at this point. My buddy has a buddy that has super small camera on a bendable rod. We shot that thing all inside the tank and everything else looks good, other then right where you open the filler cap (which I already took care of with my media blaster). So at this point its just getting all the media out. I'll finally have some time tonight after work, so I'll see what's up. Thanks for all the input! I'll report back
 
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