Puzzling Fuel Issue - Solved

read post # 4

I purchased some oxalic acid and treated my tank three times, with the last time probably an overkill. This stuff works.

From what I could see before and after, I didn't really have any heavy rust to begin with, and the solution stripped off what was there. I let the tank dry out (after numerous rinsings of clean, hot water), and a very light, even coat of rust came back on its interior. I left the tank off and am keeping it indoors where it will be in a really dry atmosphere. I'm pretty sure that light surface rust won't be any real issue if I rinse out the tank with something (kerosene, acetone,...) prior to putting gas in it and running my bike next season.

I did come across this stuff called Rusteco afterwards. Perhaps someone else has tried it and posted about it already.

www.rusteco.com/index.htm

I tried vinegar on my old honda tank.work good for cleaning tank of rust but,after you dump it out it immediately starts to surface rust.ended up bathing tank in wd until I got gas back in it.still had issues with very small surface rust coming ofd and clogging filters.just picked my kaw tank up yesterday from a radiator shop.they muratic acid then pressure wash then coat with this red stuff.guarateed ?

hmm, if the original paint wasn't so good I'd take it to a shop. I tried the muratic acid/naval jelly process (I think I found it here somewhere...) with mixed results...
Can you get oxalic acid locally at, say, A
ce Hardware or Home Depot?

apbling wrote:

hmm, if the original paint wasn't so good I'd take it to a shop. I tried the muratic acid/naval jelly process (I think I found it here somewhere...) with mixed results...
Can you get oxalic acid locally at, say, A
ce Hardware or Home Depot?

Gregg will ship it out pronto and u will have it in a couple of days, as soon as i put the check in the mail I email him and he sent it right out

Just emailed Gregg to get some of this oxalic acid. Did you guys have to do anything to avoid the flash rust (like bathe in WD40) aftewards? Or just do the oxalic acid, flush, dry and be happy?

i rinse with kerosene, or any solvent type product, others may use other stuff but thats what i used, but i hadnt painted my tank at the time

MFolks wrote:

Oxalic Acid Rust Removal On Gas Tanks(Found On the internet at www.wgcarbs.com )

Just ordered a few pounds of it this morning, it "should" remove the rust in my Kaw.......

Great info!

I ordered a lifetime supply of four pounds. When I asked Greg how much including shipping he told me he would send the bill with the stuff and I could pay it then! When was the last time that happened? And this after I woke him up at 5AM because I forgot about the three hour time difference between here and California! Good guy.

So, just did the oxalic acid deal. It took 98% of the rust out and didn't harm the paint. It did leave what looked like a coating in some spots. I did notice a tiny bit of flash rust, but nothing too bad.

I'd say overall it's not the best thing since sliced bread, but I would use it again without hesitation. Much better than muriatic. Last time I used that I spent 3 days buffing the haze out of my paint....

.

did the same thing... used PB blaster instead of WD40. The only other thing I use WD40 is on a squeeky door hinge...and it's kind of expensive. The muratic acid wasn't as dilute as it should have been, plus it was my first go around... and I have a tendency to rush stuff!