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Gas tank rust and pin hole fix?..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:24 am
by BRONX INTRUDER
So I was using a sander to prep for repainting and a bubble formed on underside of tank. Wiped bubble away and a pin sized hole is there. Vibes musta made way for leak in a weak spot due to rust inside.

Anyways.. What have you used to seal inside of tank and i've seen youtube videos of soldering the hole.. Anyone else done it?

I'd post a pic but back in the day it was imageshack that I used.. Dunno what to use these days. Lol.

Image

Re: Gas tank rust and pin hole fix?..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:08 am
by navigator
From what I understand , folks have had good luck with POR-15 fuel tank sealer.
Depending on the size of the hole...usually a pinhole will turn into many pin holes. :sad:

Re: Gas tank rust and pin hole fix?..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:21 am
by Designer
navigator wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:08 am
From what I understand , folks have had good luck with POR-15 fuel tank sealer.
Depending on the size of the hole...usually a pinhole will turn into many pin holes. :sad:
To be sure, Navigator. :ShitGrinandThumb: If there is one pin hole,...there are others. Hidden right now perhaps,...but there to appear later.

Later,...AFTER you have spent Good Time and Money painting the tank. POR-15 will seal the tank, but not prevent the progression of the existing rust between it and the Weather outside. Even if you address the rust around the Pin Hole you now see.

Don't ask me how I know this. :uhh:

Re: Gas tank rust and pin hole fix?..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 11:36 am
by navigator
Many companies also make a rust converter which when used inside will chemically convert the rust to a hard black primer type coating.
That in addition to the POR-15 may slow down the inevitable.

But as Neil Young aptly states: Rust Never Sleeps.

Re: Gas tank rust and pin hole fix?..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 2:31 pm
by hillsy
BRONX INTRUDER wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:24 am

Anyways.. What have you used to seal inside of tank and i've seen youtube videos of soldering the hole.. Anyone else done it?
There are a few liner kits out there - lots of people rate POR15 but there's no love for the KREEM kits.

But the key to being succesful long term with sealer is removing ALL the rust before any sealing.

I've soldered some pin holes in the past but it was only for fast jobs. Wire wheeled off the surface to expose bare metal then used a big iron and a lot of flux. Helps to keep the area where you're working horizontal :ShitGrin:

Re: Gas tank rust and pin hole fix?..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 3:26 pm
by sgtcall
You have to use Post Images now.

https://postimages.org/

Re: Gas tank rust and pin hole fix?..

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 3:28 pm
by sgtcall
Hopefully its not a 98 VS1400 with a hole?

Re: Gas tank rust and pin hole fix?..

Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:06 am
by BRONX INTRUDER
sgtcall wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 3:26 pm
You have to use Post Images now.

https://postimages.org/
Thanks brother; pic added.
No.. Lol.. She's fine. It's my Red one which I believe is a 97.

Re: Gas tank rust and pin hole fix?..

Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:10 am
by BRONX INTRUDER
navigator wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 11:36 am
Many companies also make a rust converter which when used inside will chemically convert the rust to a hard black primer type coating.
That in addition to the POR-15 may slow down the inevitable.

But as Neil Young aptly states: Rust Never Sleeps.
I wonder if the converters are fluid enough to swish around inside and get out remainder before doing a por15 seal..

Re: Gas tank rust and pin hole fix?..

Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:13 am
by BRONX INTRUDER
hillsy wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 2:31 pm
BRONX INTRUDER wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:24 am

Anyways.. What have you used to seal inside of tank and i've seen youtube videos of soldering the hole.. Anyone else done it?
There are a few liner kits out there - lots of people rate POR15 but there's no love for the KREEM kits.

But the key to being succesful long term with sealer is removing ALL the rust before any sealing.

I've soldered some pin holes in the past but it was only for fast jobs. Wire wheeled off the surface to expose bare metal then used a big iron and a lot of flux. Helps to keep the area where you're working horizontal :ShitGrin:
Thanks for the soldering tips. Lol.
How about removing all the rust?. Dog choker chain on a rope and let it slide and rattle around as I violently shake the tank? Lol

Re: Gas tank rust and pin hole fix?..

Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:43 am
by Designer
BRONX INTRUDER wrote:
Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:13 am
How about removing all the rust?. Dog choker chain on a rope and let it slide and rattle around as I violently shake the tank? Lol
I used this method to knock off the major portion of the Inside Tank Rust. However, this will not get out the rust that is in the teeny-tiny ( pinhole sized and smaller) recesses. To be that thorough, you'd need to Sand/Wire brush the metal.

I used a 24 inch long Sash Chain ( used for replacing Sash Cords on old Double-hung Windows ) Because it has squared-off links, not round-wire,... that have sharp wedges everywhere.

And I put the Tank in a Fluffy Quit and stuck it in my Clothes Dryer ( on Air only) for an hour or two to fully scrape the inside Tank Walls.

Worked like a charm. :wink:

Re: Gas tank rust and pin hole fix?..

Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 12:23 pm
by navigator
BRONX INTRUDER wrote:
Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:10 am
navigator wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 11:36 am
Many companies also make a rust converter which when used inside will chemically convert the rust to a hard black primer type coating.
That in addition to the POR-15 may slow down the inevitable.

But as Neil Young aptly states: Rust Never Sleeps.
I wonder if the converters are fluid enough to swish around inside and get out remainder before doing a por15 seal..
I believe they are.

Re: Gas tank rust and pin hole fix?..

Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 12:53 pm
by BRONX INTRUDER
Designer wrote:
Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:43 am
BRONX INTRUDER wrote:
Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:13 am
How about removing all the rust?. Dog choker chain on a rope and let it slide and rattle around as I violently shake the tank? Lol
I used this method to knock off the major portion of the Inside Tank Rust. However, this will not get out the rust that is in the teeny-tiny ( pinhole sized and smaller) recesses. To be that thorough, you'd need to Sand/Wire brush the metal.

I used a 24 inch long Sash Chain ( used for replacing Sash Cords on old Double-hung Windows ) Because it has squared-off links, not round-wire,... that have sharp wedges everywhere.

And I put the Tank in a Fluffy Quit and stuck it in my Clothes Dryer ( on Air only) for an hour or two to fully scrape the inside Tank Walls.

Worked like a charm. :wink:
Lmao! Awesome sauce! Haha..
Where do I find that; Lowes?

Re: Gas tank rust and pin hole fix?..

Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 12:54 pm
by BRONX INTRUDER
navigator wrote:
Tue Aug 31, 2021 12:23 pm
BRONX INTRUDER wrote:
Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:10 am
navigator wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 11:36 am
Many companies also make a rust converter which when used inside will chemically convert the rust to a hard black primer type coating.
That in addition to the POR-15 may slow down the inevitable.

But as Neil Young aptly states: Rust Never Sleeps.
I wonder if the converters are fluid enough to swish around inside and get out remainder before doing a por15 seal..
I believe they are.
Kool beans.. I'll look into it.

Re: Gas tank rust and pin hole fix?..

Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 2:23 pm
by Herb
BRONX INTRUDER wrote:
Tue Aug 31, 2021 12:54 pm
navigator wrote:
Tue Aug 31, 2021 12:23 pm
BRONX INTRUDER wrote:
Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:10 am
navigator wrote:
Mon Aug 30, 2021 11:36 am
Many companies also make a rust converter which when used inside will chemically convert the rust to a hard black primer type coating.
That in addition to the POR-15 may slow down the inevitable.

But as Neil Young aptly states: Rust Never Sleeps.
I wonder if the converters are fluid enough to swish around inside and get out remainder before doing a por15 seal..
I believe they are.
Kool beans.. I'll look into it.
Word of caution. If you are going to use the rust converter you need to fix the pinholes first or the heat of soldering will destroy the rust converter.

Re: Gas tank rust and pin hole fix?..

Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 6:09 pm
by hillsy
Most tanks are pretty hard to get totally rust free / clean due to the fact they have limited access points (IE: a filler and fuel tap / gauge hole).

I've used electrolysis on some tanks and it works OK but you need to get the electrode right inside the tank where the rust is for it to work properly.

Depending on how far you want to go you can cut out the tunnel - then repair the rust and weld it back in. Sounds pretty crazy but if you are dealing with a tank that you can't replace it sometimes ends up being the best option. I did that with a ZX11 tank once. Lot of work but it was only my time as it wasn't for a customer.

Re: Gas tank rust and pin hole fix?..

Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 6:25 pm
by Designer
BRONX INTRUDER wrote:
Tue Aug 31, 2021 12:53 pm
Designer wrote:
Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:43 am
BRONX INTRUDER wrote:
Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:13 am
How about removing all the rust?. Dog choker chain on a rope and let it slide and rattle around as I violently shake the tank? Lol
I used this method to knock off the major portion of the Inside Tank Rust. However, this will not get out the rust that is in the teeny-tiny ( pinhole sized and smaller) recesses. To be that thorough, you'd need to Sand/Wire brush the metal. I used a 24 inch long Sash Chain ( used for replacing Sash Cords on old Double-hung Windows ) Because it has squared-off links, not round-wire,... that have sharp wedges everywhere. And I put the Tank in a Fluffy Quit and stuck it in my Clothes Dryer ( on Air only) for an hour or two to fully scrape the inside Tank Walls.
Worked like a charm. :wink:
Lmao! Awesome sauce! Haha..
Where do I find that; Lowes?
Perhaps it might be there. It is an item that is used to replace the Sash Balance Weight Cords in the Older Homes (built before about 1950).

Since you live in an area that has Housing Stock of that vintage, you might find it at your local ACE hardware store instead.

After you use the Dryer to turn it over and over, to get the fine Rust Dust out I suggest you use a Vacuum Cleaner and put it in the Gas Filler Hole and shake tank a bit. then put the Vacuum Cleaner on Blow and push the dust out the Fuel Outlet Hole. Do this several times.

And then use the Product Navigator mentioned that "changes" rust to take care of the tiny amount of rust in The Seams and any Roughened Surfaces the Chain couldn't get to scrape over deep enough.

Re: Gas tank rust and pin hole fix?..

Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 7:15 pm
by hillsy
Putting abrasives in the tank and agitating is fine for most parts but it won't remove rust from the seam areas - you need a chemical or electrolysis to get in there.

All good suggestions though.

Re: Gas tank rust and pin hole fix?..

Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2021 7:59 am
by BRONX INTRUDER
Thanks for all the tips and info brothers. :cheers: