skr00zloose

that's funny, b/c I use it all the time, never had a problem with it. Even if you did get it on your skin, it's not gonna melt your fingers off, just wash your hands, no more problems. Hell, back in the day when I was playing with hydro's in my cars, I had a 12v deep cycle marine battery blow up and blew acid ALL OVER me. Walked inside, took a shower, no problem. Acids like that don't just immediately eat thru whatever they come in contact with.

If you get a chance, go read the instructions for KREEM tank restoration. Guess what the first step is? Muriatic acid. It even states "a handfull of nuts and bolts can help for serious rust removal". If you puncture a tank with a nut or bolt being shaken around inside while filled with liquid, the metal is NOT usable anyway. If it was that weak to get punctured that easily, you have bigger problems.

paperassgasket

I'm exaggerating a little bit about the HCL. It is in fact pretty common (its stomach acid) and is used safely all the time like for neutralizing pH levels.
However in higher molarities it will still burn the shit out of you, and longer periods of exposure or chronic exposure can cause death (but it takes a lot!) Repeated exposure to vapors can cause blindness. Even if you rinse. You need to neutralize a higher % HCL compound with something like sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). Also if you use too high of a % of HCL and it stays in there for too long (i.e. you don't rinse it all out)... it will eat right through the metal.

That being said, I now realize that you're probably not going be using an aqueous emulsion with a high enough molarity to do any serious damage.
Generally 18 - 20% is used for pickling steel.

also... I don't know if I'd trust Kreem. I have no firsthand experience with it but I've heard some bad things.
Everyone that I know that has used the kreem treatment has said that is sucks and/or they'll never use kreem again. mostly b/c it cracks/doesn't last or came off and clogged their fuel filter/petcock/carbs/whatever.

tl;dr
True about nuts and bolts. although light gravel is a better alternative I am told.

Also true about the HCL but my point is that phosphoric acid is equally as effective and slightly safer.
It's less caustic should it contact skin. Also it doesn't produce vapors at a higher concentration like HCL unless it is heated or atomized.

At any rate. Electrolysis is still probably your most effective/least expensive option.

GaRn

I just did the tank on a '75 CB360 that had a botched Kreem job, which seems quite common...

I tried mineral spirits and acetone, neither touched it. What did work was Methyl Chloride, which is the main ingredient in most chemical paint strippers. It is more harsh than MEK. This, plus 50 wood screws and a bunch of shaking, followed up by a rinse in white vinegar, acetone, then boiling water, did the job.

I then coated it in RedKote, which is what a lot of radiator shops use. That, POR15 tank specific sealer, and KBS rustseal are supposed to be the way to go. I chose RedKote because it is removeable if I ever need to. I know that POR15 is more of a permanent coating.

It was a pain in the ass, but I didn't want to ruin the factory paint job on the CB by having a radiator shop hot tank it.

The key is letting the new coating fully cure.

paperassgasket

yea I agree about not letting someone else touch my bike.
however I hear the real cure to coating a tank isn't just letting it cure. it's coating it EVENLY!
Por15 is def the best tho.


myvtec is too busy to post his results up so I figure that I'll take the liberty.
here's our convo:

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnarlycharlie4u

So what are you considering as far as cleaning the rust out of your tank?
I've got 4 tanks that are all EXTREMELY rusty. I'm about to do an experiment and see which of the options works best.
It won't be very scientific b/c of the differing conditions of each tank. But it'll be a good insight into the practicality of each method.
I'm betting that electrolysis is going to yield the best results for the least amount of time and effort although it will also take the longest.
That's fine with me though. I'd rather hook up a couple wires and sit back and drink a beer than fuxing around with a bunch of chemicals, and shaking, and scrubbing, and proper disposal of said chemicals, etc...
Anywho I'm still interested in seeing what you are considering.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myvtec98

I actually found a shop That done mine and I didn't have to mess with it. It cost me 60 bucks to have it done bit the results couldn't have been any better, it looks like a brand new tank inside and then they even sealed it for me. It cost a little more than doing it myself but it took none of my time or effort and they had it back to me in 4 days

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnarlycharlie4u

Thats excellent. You should post that in ur thread! Do you know what they used to clean/seal it?
Where did you take it?
^^highly encouraging you to post this info as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnarlycharlie4u

dude. i think you just won.
the por15 kits are like $50+shipping. excellent deal.
they're also the best kit that money can buy. it's def what i'm gonna use to seal my tank.

Ghostrider

I recently used the yamaha kit for my 2fiddy.....worked like a frikken champ! Not saying its the best out there, but the caked up rust is completely gone and now have a shiny silver tank.