After getting through a small case of "while you're in there itis" I nylon wheeled some of the scale on my gas tank. Now I'm left with the rust dust (see outer edges of the tank) left over from the operation.
What is the best stuff to both "wash away" the dust so I can get to the clean metal, then leave on the surface to keep it more less rust free going
forward after reinstall?
Thx

 

CorrosionX HD works well. I usually don’t spray it on directly, but spray it into the plastic cap and apply with a stiff brush; old tooth brush for tight spots; or a scrubby pad. Then wipe off the excess. It will linger on in the metal pores for years. Only drawback is there is a fine line between leaving enough on when wiping it down vs too much catching dust.

Works great on anything you don’t want to paint

 

I've used RustMort mainly over the years.

 

The rust isn't really 'removed'. That would be the equivalent of smearing a malt around the floor with a mop (not picking it up) ...after someone's spilled it. You could consider filling the tank with CO2 and having someone bead blast it with glass beads, in a large cabinet. We used to bead blast tanks all the time.

But if you're just going for 'better than it was' then I'd just wetsand the rust with like 320 or 400# (to de-nib), apply some 2k primer or sealer, then spray with a couple coats of (hardened) silver acrylic enamel. Wetsand because it'll take off the nibs which are part of rust usually (let it dry in the sun for a day). Hardened ...to prevent gasoline spills from affecting the paint. Since it's not really exposed to the elements anymore ...if it's garaged all the time and driven on mostly good days it should last a decent while. You could try every 'miracle' rust-neutralizer in the world but it won't work any better long term. Just prep and spray some silver on it and it'll look a lot better.

Ideally, glass bead to remove all the rust, then apply zinc-based etching primer, then a 2k primer/sealer ...then a catalyzed (hardened) paint (in those stesps). But you have to figure out how far you want to take it and how long you want it to last. There's always a trade-off on labor effort, cost and end quality. I get that. A guy doesn't need to gold-plate everything, right? Best of luck!

_

 

Cool stuff.
thx

 

Wash it of with xylene or acetone to clean off the dust. Then I use phosphoric acid on most metals to eat then seal the rust. Osphos is a cheap way to but it Ive been talking with a coworker and he is doing the inside of his thank with red kote this weekend. Ill let you know if it comes out okay

 

This is the best link I have found for removing rust from a gas tank.

https://www.gastanks.com/GAS-TANKS/products/260/

 

I believe the shop that refurbished my OEM radiator also does tanks. You may want to look for a radiator repair shop near you and give them a call. At the shop I use, they always have a large number of trucks / equipment radiators waiting to be refurbished. The cost for my 73 radiator job was around $ 125.