Long time utilizer, first time poster. I'm going to try de-rusting my tank via electrolysis this weekend using my bench power supply. Would anyone be interested in a write up with pictures? My poor 95's cap seal went bad and let in a bunch of water (1/4 tank full). I didn't realize the amount of water in it for a long time until recently. This will be the first tank I've done, but the process sounds pretty straight forward. I don't really feal like messing with acids or even evapo-rust.
I'd be interested :cheers:
Copy. Will do.
The electrolysis method is more line of sight than the muriatic acid method. Which mean the worst of the GS tank's locations for rust - the crap pockets will be un-de-rusted.
Not to mention more dangerous. Spark possibility, gas fumes = kaboom.
Cool.
Buddha.
I would be interested. I have an '84 XL600R tank that needs to be de-rusted. I was planning on doing the white vinegar + nuts/bolts+ shake it 'till you make it strategy. That's worked for me in the past, although its a big mess and a lot of work. If the electrolysis ends up working well for you I would be curious to try it.
I found this interesting because my dad's Bonneville (just like mine!) has rust in an impossible to clean spot: the tank venting is via the rollover valve, which is connected through a steel tube welded inside the tank, the inside of which is rusted/clogged. Sure would be nice to figure out how to de-rust that, since we can't even access it or evaluate it.
If rust is where crap collects - like our crap pockets and not line of sight - IMHO muriatic acid is the best. Well, simple really - it collects where water collects. A nuts and bolts method wont work on crap pockets like the GS, vinegar will, but it will take ages and gallons of it. IMHO, muriatic acid is the equivalent of a big ass hammer. If you wanna hit it 4700 times with a tiny ass hammer you may do more damage, mis hits, hitting your thumb, your eyeball like homer simpson.
Sometimes you need to break out the biggest, baddest, hardest, heaviest most bad ass (yes yes I said baddest already but this is married to ass) tool in the arsenal and decimate it in 1 effing hit.
BTW you guys wanna see me do a video on coating a savage 650 tank with the muriatic acid method ??? If you 2 - (naa I'll need showbiz I dream of jeannie to also ask) - Then I might do. Savage is a hard tank to coat but not a hard tank to acid treat. Which is really the crux of this exercise.
Cool.
Buddha.
LOL Buddha... do it!!!
I'll try to get it sunday if its a dry and warm day. Ideally its going to need off and on attention for much of the day, though the actual work is just an hour or so in the begining. After which you have to keep rotating it every few mins at first then longer and loner between rotates. Meaning I cant start after work one day and go off to sleep a few hrs later.
BTW the worst tank you may even do electrolysis on probably is the savage tank. Its actually any tank that has the meter in the middle of the tank.
Cool.
Buddha.
I started on it and after an hour, hit a snag - the gas cap seems to be stuck. Then another issue came up, its looking imminently like its gonna rain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gf4fnlk3CY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thwyeZNXTBc
The videos will be added as I do the next steps. In fact my youtube channel (cooking and some drink making mostly as well as blood sugar and food) is -
https://www.youtube.com/user/seshadrisrinath/videos
PS: Why am I not doing POR15 in this tank ? Kreem can be fixed easier if it starts to separate. Also POR15 is my preferred coating if the tank will be powdercoated at some point in the future. This tank will not be. Kreem also if removal is needed, you can set the tank to where you can fish it through the filler cap hole and heat the tank to 400 for an hour or 2. It will melt, puddle up and you can after it cools, fish it out in pieces.
PPS: The cap is off, took a good 2hr soak in wd40, and the insides of the tank are worse than I remembered ~6 months ago - yea rust never sleeps. But it also is raining. Likely return to it tomorrow.
PPPS: Tomorrow is cooler by 10 degrees, cloudy as well, but supposed to not rain and gets sunny past 2 pm. Not ideal. Lets see. I'd rather not wait to next weekend.
Cool.
Buddha.
Who the Efff ordered winter. Its not getting out of the 50's and not sunny either to 2pm today, where its still only 60.
No, cant coat unless it breaks 70 and is sunny. Cos I cant get it in the house. Basically pick a hot hot hot day. Start at day break, get the coating in it about 10 am and turn turn turn all day till dark, and you'd be OK leaving it in a hot car overnight even if it drops to 60 over night. LOL, its 53F now near 11 am.
PS: The coating step is what needs the heat. So not a factor in acid vs electrolysis.
Cool.
Buddha.
Alright, happy memorial day weekend.
This thing crashed and burned. Sorta. The red flakes coming out were red-kote. Thanks effing god I had the experience to figure that crap out right at the first acid drop. Rust cant stand up to a pint of muriatic acid for 5 mins in a 3gal tank. Besides the beautifullt etched clean metal at the filler cap was a gread indication the whole tank oughta look like that, and nope looks rusty.
The crap like red kote, black kote, blue kote whatever kote = bad bad bad idea.
For many many reasons.
1. Black, red and blue look like rust when in the depths of a tank.
2. They're supposed to be dropped in a rusty tank IIRC. Well, that rust still is there and will rust and pulls the liner out in chunks and well, it will rust through.
I like Kreem - its almost white-translucent when applied correctly and you can see the rust through and it tends to come off like paper if the entire substrate is rusted when you dry agitate it with nuts and bolts and you can fish it out cos the rust stuck to it is mostly magnetic. Also it will come off with 400F heat, but so will all the paint on the outside.
I like POR-15 - but it only is as good as getting the substrate rust free and applied in just the right thickness. Its silver in color, but translucent - hell no.
Anyway I rinsed with hot water a few times, baking soda. Then boiling water and the tank is drying now. Is going on the bike with a humongous filter.
Savage tanks are a dime a dozen, I may have 3 or more, sadly none of em is black. In fact I have 3 whole body sets - all the metal parts. All the swapping etc is a breeze, except that rear fender. So I guess I am dealing with this failing coating with a filter through riding season - its my son's bike, and he's a learner. So if he crashes it and dings up the tank, well its the lowest value tank I have. I'll have him learn well and swap to one of the others over winter.
Cool.
Buddha.