Honda-SOHC

Other Stuff => Misc / Open => Topic started by: SteveW on March 28, 2023, 06:58:44 PM

Title: Anyone had any luck lining a fuel tank?
Post by: SteveW on March 28, 2023, 06:58:44 PM
I’ve only ever heard bad things about lining a rusty tank but I have one that is pretty bad inside.

Someone has already had a go at my tank, it’s gone like crisps inside. I’ve got every last bit of it out but it needs something to protect it.



Title: Re: Anyone had any luck lining a fuel tank?
Post by: McCabe-Thiele (Ted) on March 28, 2023, 07:14:15 PM
I tried it on my XJ900 - it worked for a couple of weeks then leaked like a sieve again.
For me it not only was a waste of money but then I had bits in my carbs.

I would never use it again.
Title: Re: Anyone had any luck lining a fuel tank?
Post by: SteveW on March 28, 2023, 07:17:51 PM
My tank doesn’t have any leaks, it’s just very rusty inside.

Also it’s not for my Hondas, it’s my RD350LC (sorry I know this is a Honda site).

The tanks are so rare so I really have to try something or get one of the Indian copies that aren’t a very good fit apparently.
Title: Re: Anyone had any luck lining a fuel tank?
Post by: Laverdaroo on March 28, 2023, 07:43:00 PM
Plug the bottom, go to B&Q and get a gallon of Brick Acid bought. Bung it in and leave for an hour or so or until it stops fizzing, you can bob some small bolts in there as well if tyou want to scour it a bit and agitate it a bit to 'jer, jer, jiggle' the rust off. Be careful to not rattle the granny out of it or you might dent it from the inside out which can happen.
Folk put chains, big bolts, ball bearings etc in sometimes but they're too heavy and the risk of denting is greater..
It'll fizz a bit but not much. I generally use half hot water and half brick acid but realistically the more brick acid you use the better it is. When youre happy, drain back into the tub it came from and reuse it at a later date when all the shite's settled to the bottom.

You can rinse it with distilled water and then straight away after youve got as much water out as possible, put a couple of litres of diesel in there and swill it about to cover all the inside to seal the metal and it wont rust. I dont tend to dry it as it will flash rust but the diesel works a treat to seal it up and then leave it full of fuel, it shouldnt go again after that.

Citric acid works well also but takes a lot longer.......

If it leaks, you could use a liner, I had a great result on the 400/4 as it was really bad but afetr a few treatments and a liner poured in Ive had no grief at all.

Its one of many methods that people use and others may have had better results doing reverse electrolosis or the like but its messy and in the end the brick acid is about a tenner for a gallon so works out dead cheap and is relativly pain free.

Do it outside as the Hydrogen gas that it gives off will ironically rust things in the woorkshop so make sure you have a draft through to shift it.
Title: Re: Anyone had any luck lining a fuel tank?
Post by: SteveW on March 28, 2023, 09:13:20 PM
Thanks for the info, I’ll try the brick cleaner and diesel first.
Title: Re: Anyone had any luck lining a fuel tank?
Post by: McCabe-Thiele (Ted) on March 28, 2023, 09:13:43 PM
I used glass flower arrangers beads in my 400 tank as a sort gravel to get the worst out by shaking it all around.
Then I used 'Evaporust' for the final clean - expensive stuff to use but it came in handy for other parts on my 400 that had surface rust on them.
I left mine for a few days pretty much full of Evaporust and it ended up spotless.

Being risk averse I did not want to go down the Acid route though it is cheaper. Evaporust is quite clever as it works by breaking the bond between the steel & iron oxide so no loss of good metal but it is a slow process.

Hardest part was getting the glass beads all out before the Evaporust stage.

Only issue I have ever had with Evaporust is if you use it on things like a Gudgeon pin type metal as it attacks the finish turning it black.
Title: Re: Anyone had any luck lining a fuel tank?
Post by: Sesman on March 28, 2023, 10:19:21 PM
Fish tank grave is good.Nice sharp edges.
Title: Re: Anyone had any luck lining a fuel tank?
Post by: McCabe-Thiele (Ted) on March 29, 2023, 07:50:12 AM
Fish tank grave is good.Nice sharp edges.

Especially the nice smaller grade gravel if you have any left from the 1970's - the flower arrangers glass beads are very sharp not round but sort of diamond shaped. It was free & in stock as the Missus used to make floral arrangements for a local hotel.
Title: Re: Anyone had any luck lining a fuel tank?
Post by: Sesman on March 29, 2023, 07:52:41 AM
Thanks for the info, I’ll try the brick cleaner and diesel first.

Don’t forget the rinse with deionised water or you will get flash rust.
Title: Re: Anyone had any luck lining a fuel tank?
Post by: Oddjob on March 29, 2023, 03:43:31 PM
Alan Millyard recommends using Molasses. mixed 9 to 1.
Title: Re: Anyone had any luck lining a fuel tank?
Post by: Moorey on March 29, 2023, 09:31:12 PM
I did the CB400 superfour over 12months ago with the POR15 kit to stop a leak under the paint from a previous repair someone had done and it has been very successful saving having to have a full repaint.
Title: Re: Anyone had any luck lining a fuel tank?
Post by: ST1100 on March 30, 2023, 06:00:56 PM
Had a CX500 tank in pretty bad shape, cleaned (gravel & shake, then high pressure/steam wash, fully dried out with heat-gun on low, rinsed with brake cleaner, vented that for a week) and used the Por 15 stuff on it like three years ago, still holds up nicely...
Title: Re: Anyone had any luck lining a fuel tank?
Post by: Matt_Harrington on March 31, 2023, 09:34:17 AM
I'm with Ted, Evaporust worked really well for me. The problem with the brick acid is that is does work but the fumes will corrode any steel nearby (It's Hydrochlotric acid, don't ya know!)
If, however, the tank is really rusty, then that maybe the best to start off with and as Roo says, outside! As for Petseal and the like, I think the products are now ethanol safe but not sure.
Title: Re: Anyone had any luck lining a fuel tank?
Post by: Laverdaroo on March 31, 2023, 06:51:24 PM
They say they are as that’s the main question fired at them in their website, the tanks I’ve used it on are all still spot on. It’s the cost of the evaporator that did it for me as I couldn’t spend that much.
The last kit I used had tank eching gubbins in it, a metal prep and summut else I can’t remember, and the tin of liner. Quite good I thought…


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Title: Re: Anyone had any luck lining a fuel tank?
Post by: SteveW on March 31, 2023, 10:17:55 PM
I was toying with the idea of using white vinegar, some good results on YouTube.
Title: Re: Anyone had any luck lining a fuel tank?
Post by: Laverdaroo on March 31, 2023, 10:40:08 PM
It’s a cheap option, I just happened to have some brick acid in stock offa job so it was spot on for me. Any good acid will do it just depends on the concentration as to the effect one would expect, citric is used a bit on the net too.


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Title: Re: Anyone had any luck lining a fuel tank?
Post by: McCabe-Thiele (Ted) on March 31, 2023, 10:46:42 PM
White Vinegar did nothing on my tank when I tried - it's okay for cleaning Brass stuff.
Title: Re: Anyone had any luck lining a fuel tank?
Post by: Matt_Harrington on April 01, 2023, 10:28:09 AM
Oxalic acid is cheap and fairly effective (bought in salt form) and won't take your skin off. I had a chum who had a rusty chain (old) that he wanted to derust and it worked well on doing the job. Evaporust is expensive - £40ish for 5 litres but you can keep reusing it. Dry Acid Salt is another option - £10ish a kilo and that should make up 30+ litres. I use that in my plating setup for derusting/pickling.
Title: Re: Anyone had any luck lining a fuel tank?
Post by: Toko_Jo on April 01, 2023, 04:48:00 PM
Pretty sure a lot of lining kits use a phosphoric acid treatment prior to lining ...around 30% concentration.
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