The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop One more question about cleaning gas tank

First off the one I have is NOT rusty which may change the approach to cleaning.
Today I took the float out and what I see inside is probably "wax" left from the gas evaporating. It did have a little stale gas in it but not much.

I used a long screw driver to see what would happen and it will "scrap" off and underneath is nice shiny metal.
I poured a little purple power in the tank and it seems to soften it. Since I can't get to it I need something to DISOLVE IT.

What do I do...pour some new gas in to see if it'll "re-constitute"? ... or something you guys have tried and works good.
Thanks.

Grab a shovel and find a pile of clean gravel somewhere. Funnel a couple of shovelfuls of gravel into the tank, followed by a STRONG mixture of laundry detergent and water, then seal up the openings and strap the tank down in the back of a pickup truck. Now, take a long, leisurely drive on a twisty back road. When you get back, the tank will be scrubbed clean and all you'll have to do is get the soapy water and gravel out of it.
Jerry

...jerry, thanks, I thought about strapping it to a tractor tire but I sold the old 8N sometime ago!

I'm just being cautious. I use to work with a LOT of dangerous stuff when in printing and plating ect.

I wasn't that keen on flushing out gravel as Jerry suggested so I used several chunks of chain when I did mine. Worked quite well.

Alvin, I think you want to scrape off the tin plating so if
you've just got stale gas residue pouring a gallon of Gunk
carburetor cleaner in it and sloshing it around then letting
it sit for a few hours might do the trick. Every serious
gear head has a gallon of Gunk Carburetor cleaner sitting
in the corner, don't they??? Heck, I've got three.

I've been soaking my pistons in it over night and it does
a pretty good job at removing most of the oil stains. Of
course
the really baked on stuff above the top ring and on the
dome still needs a little more care. That's where the
Soda blaster comes into play.

dg

OK guys, thanks for the input. I think a combination of all of the above may be in order. I just can't get to it so its got to be a good solution to "melt" that crude. The tank is in great shape and even if I could find a radiator shop to boil it out I'm not sure they wouldn't do more harm than good.
So CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN it is. I'll plug off the holes so I can turn it every which way but loose!

I have gravel, I have chain, I have purple power, I have a gallon of cleaner and a pickup truck....looks like I'm all set!

The hole for the sender is the flattest "drain"opening you have. It will also accommodate a shop vac hose to remove any "gravel" residue that might remain.

Chance of sucking gas fumes through a vacuum cleaner with a electric motor, sounds kind of dangerous to me.

Maybe before washing and rinsing the tank....

Back when I restored my Model A, I cleaned the tar out of the gas tank with a gallon of lacquer thinner. It dissolved it in no time. That might be worth a try.

Good point on the shop vac and fumes. I had assumed(ouch) soap and water was part of the "cleaning" process. If you go to the effort of removing the tank and have cleaned the inside with some sort of abrasive(sand, gravel, or what ever) I would have thought flushing and washing would be part of the clean up. Still, better to be safe at all times.

Carb cleaner if it isn't rusty.

I used MEK to clean my tank and it worked great! YMMV.
Best regards,
Les

I have cleaned rusty dirty tanks with washing soda and a battery charger. There are you tube videos on how to do this. I have had great results saving a few tanks that were heading for the junk.

Elton, there is a tech tip here on the bolt about that. I may not spell it right but its called electrolysis.....