Prepping gas tank for POR

[jaybird]

How much of the rust do I need to get off, ALL of it? I have Metal Ready, and it all came with sheets and sheets of information & instructions that dahubby must have taken to work today to read over on his lunch hour.

I wanted to sand this down and have it ready to etch when he gets home. Let it sit overnight and dry thoroughly and paint it & the heater tomorrow.

 

[John Bryan]

Jaybird, I used POR on my TR6 frame and floorboards. My frame had no rust on it anywhere, but the floorboards did have some poorly repaired old rust areas--from the inside side, so I presume it was wet carpets at some point in its life! It turned out great!

I believe you need to get as much surface rust off as possible. If you get one of those metal brush type attachments for a drill, it works pretty good. POR was a lot of work, but it looks really cool and is really tough stuff.

John

 

[jaybird]

Thanks, I've got everything set up out in the garage & I'm ready to go. I have the wire brush attachments for the die grinder and the bench grinder, that's what I'm using. But I wasn't sure how clean I have to get this for the Metal Ready to adhere properly. I'm hoping this goes well, because I'm POR'ing the front suspension etc. Possibly POR'ing the heater today too, instead of rattlecan, since it's out of the car and needs paint anyway.

 

[Bruce Bowker]

The more rust you get off the better it will be.

Bruce

 

[Stewart]

If you haven't started yet go to home depo or a hardware store and pick up some muriatic acid. It will be cheapest in the pool section of home depo about $6 dollars a gallon. The acid will eat the rust and leave the surface looking like new. Then hit it with the metal ready. Wear gloves and good ventilation is a must. Water will neutralize the acid.

 

[LLAngus]

I agree. We use to buy Rust Mort until I found out I could by a gallon of muratic acid. And you do have to have "GOOD" ventilation. On another forum (Pub maybe) someone used toilet bowl cleaner?????

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif

 

[jsneddon]

[ QUOTE ]
I agree. We use to buy Rust Mort until I found out I could by a gallon of muratic acid. And you do have to have "GOOD" ventilation. On another forum (Pub maybe) someone used toilet bowl cleaner?????

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Muratic is OK. In my previous life cleaning nasty photo machines I used gallons and gallons of toilet bowl cleaner - did wonders for the gunky chemical residue left on stainless steel racks and tanks but did nothing for the rust. Break out the angle grinder with the 3M pads.

 

[DrEntropy]

Muriatic acid, or all the others RustMort, Ospho, POR are best done OUTDOORS. The caustic vapours created WILL attack ANY unprotected metal surface they encounter. Heating ducts, washer/dryer innards, tools... everything. Old clothes and rubber gloves are a must. Eye protection, too. Double layered latex exam gloves are cheap and effective. Neutralise with a bath of baking soda dissolved in water. Rinse, rinse and then rinse the part(s) again before drying and applying a barrier coating of choice. This is "industrial grade" Nasty Stuff jaybird. Treat it with due respect please.

 

[DrEntropy]

[ QUOTE ]
Muratic is OK. In my previous life cleaning nasty photo machines I used gallons and gallons of toilet bowl cleaner - did wonders for the gunky chemical residue left on stainless steel racks and tanks but did nothing for the rust. Break out the angle grinder with the 3M pads.

[/ QUOTE ]

Muriatic acid will eat the oxide too, just takes time/patience. The natural bristle 1" el-cheapo paint brushes are good for localising the acid to the rusty spots.

EDIT: It will NOT strip paint/chemicals that ~cover~ the rust... remove that before using any acid. You need to see only bare metal and rust.



So, Jim... Does th' name NARITSU ring any bells?!?! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif

 

[jsneddon]

[ QUOTE ]

So, Jim... Does th' name NARITSU ring any bells?!?! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Very good Dr. E.... I was a service rep for Noritsu for 10 years, quit and went back to school for computer geek stuff. While I was in school I did "frame off" restorations of Noritsii for a couple of shysters.

Have you been spying on me ???

 

[DrEntropy]

MUUUHAAHAA!!!!

"Ve haff our VAYS off findingk informashun!"

 

[tony barnhill]

By the time all that's been done, I've had my tank dipped & spray painted with primer & black out of a rattle can! & it'll last as long as one with POR!

 

[DrEntropy]

Truth to Tell, Tony, you're pro'lly right.

 

[jaybird]

I know what muriatic acid is.

I have muriatic acid. Hydrocloric acid. ~wiggles eyebrows~

I get to use it AND power tools? Hot d*mned! Maybe I'll work on the tank some more tomorrow just to get to play in the acid. Ever see what that stuff does to acrylic fingernails...

 

[jsneddon]

just don't get it on your driveway unless you have enough to do the whole thing... the clean spot will make the rest of it look like crap...

 

[jaybird]

I know this. I had this hair-brained idea about cleaning the entire driveway with that stuff and a scrub brush years ago. I got over that quickly. Took a couple years for that 'clean spot' to dirty up like the rest!

 

[Stewart]

Actually the last thing you would want to do is use it to clean the driveway. It will remove the top smooth portion of the concrete and leave it quite porous. However, if you want to epoxy coat your garage floor which I would highly recommend doing (looks fantastic and you can just mop up oil spills and general cleaning is much easier) use the acid. It takes about 1 1/2 gallons for a 2 car garage. Do a good degreasing first though.

 

[dklawson]

I have used muriatic acid to remove rust and it will indeed work but the fumes are a bit much. Ventilate well not just for your health but to keep down the amount of hydrogen in your local work area.

OK, I like POR but it's time for my usual warning and caveats. They probably come too late for this thread. POR is good stuff but it is NOT good on smooth, sound metal. It needs a surface with teeth to anchor itself well. Acid etching goes a long way toward this, but sandblasting BEFORE using the metal ready works better. The important thing is DO NOT rush the acid etch part of the preparation. Keep the surfaces wet as LONG AS POSSIBLE with the Metal Ready to develop deep etching and a rich, dark grey color.

BTW, water will not neutralize the acid it only dilutes it. You do not need to, or want to, neutralize the Metal Ready. You do want to wash it off thoroughly then wipe the panel dry quickly with a cloth. You WILL get flash rust on the surface. This is NOT a problem for POR. Just make sure you wipe the panel dry so you don't get a heavy curtain of rust.

I cannot stress enough that POR is not a fast process. Preparation is the key to painting success and with POR this applies even more. Don't rush it. I like POR but it's not a product for those in a hurry and it's not for smooth, sound metal.

Good luck with your tank. BTW, if you find you have any through pin-holes that need patching, their tank liner kit is the BOM. I like their tank liner kit more than the KREEM product I used previously.

 

[jaybird]

Tank's already been lined. I was going to 'etch' it tomorrow with the Metal Ready, but now I'm wondering if I shouldn't have Chuck take it to Ameren (where he used to work) and have the machine shop guys sandblast it for us first?

 

[Stewart]

It would make life a lot easier. Just hit it with the metal ready and paint. Make sure to wear gloves as the por WILL NOT come off your skin if it drys. I wore gloves when I did the trunk but somehow ended up with a few unseen splatters on my face which sucked. Took a few days to get them off.

I had mine blasted and powdercoated semigloss black. Should out last the car now. If you get it powdercoated remove the sender otherwise you end up with this.