Fuel tank rust removal / sealer

The rust removal question gets beaten around here periodically but I have a variation on the theme. I'm wondering if any of you guys have some experience that may be useful.

I'm restoring a Coleman lantern. Great exterior, but the inside of the font (tank) is lightly rusted. The guys in the Coleman group typically put a bunch of nuts or BB's in, shake till you can't stand it any more, and then blow it out with compressed air. Gets rid of the rust but the metal's just waiting to rust again.

I'm looking for an easier way to remove the rust and then a more permanent fix to prevent its return.

If I used auto body metal prep (phosphoric acid) would that kill the rust so that it wouldn't come back, or does it just etch the metal so that paint adheres better?

The tank is pressure tight, but I was wondering if one of the gasoline tank sealers might be a good coating to line the font / tank with so that the air can't get to the metal and make it rust again.

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Reply to
RWL
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Reply to
Grant Erwin

I've used the Kreem brand and am happy with it on motorcycle tanks. The phosphoric removes the rust, and I'm sure etches the metal, but the metal would rust again without the coating. This probably doesn't apply to your situation, but sometimes the tank is coated with varnish (petrified gasoline) that looks a bit like rust but but can be washed out with acetone.

Gary Brady Austin, TX

Reply to
Gary Brady

Hmm. I've got some acetone in the shop. I wonder........ Thanks to both you and Grant on the suggestion of stopping at a motorcycle shop.

RWL

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Reply to
RWL

I don't recall what's in Coleman fuel, but alcohol and most gas tank sealers are a very bad combination.

Reply to
carl mciver

It's naphtha if I remember correctly. Don't know if there are additives. Karl

Reply to
Karl Vorwerk

Coleman Fuel is a petroleum hydrocarbon naphtha. It was a substitute for early "white gas" (gasoline with no tetraethyl lead or other additives). It is completely alcohol-free.

- Michael

Reply to
DeepDiver

============================================== Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked! "The original frugal ponder" ~~~~ } ~~~~~~ } ~~~~~~~ }

Reply to
~Roy

I'd still find the rusty spots in the lantern fount and weld or braze them up structurally before applying Kreem tank coating to stop the rust - motorcycle tanks run at atmospheric or a slight vacuum, but you pump that fount up to 10 to 20 PSI or so.

Having a pinhole in the fount suddenly pop it's sealing film of Kreem and spraying out a mist of white gasoline with a burning mantle just above it doesn't sound like the safest thing in the world to be /anywhere/ near...

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

It holds pressure fine. There are no pin holes. It's only light surface rust, but once it's started, even if you clean it off, it will be back. I thought I'd give it a more permanent fix with the Kreem.

RWL

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Reply to
RWL

Coleman is very pure white gas. We burn white gas now (no lead) but we have tons of junk stuff to boost the low octane gas to a higher octane. Once real gas with real Octane, but now junker gas with boosters.

The world wide Model airplane distance flight was done with this very clean burning fuel.

Martin

Martin Martin Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH, NRA Life NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

carl mciver wrote:

Reply to
Martin H. Eastburn

Reply to
dcaster

Reply to
william_b_noble

replying to ~Roy, bloomernooney wrote: It is going to seal up your check valve also right? Ye no maybe haven'thought it through? Not referring to you but there is a lot of ignorance out there. Heard some ppl. Out there insisting that citric acid solution is inferior to a product called evapo rust; these same ppl pronounce that evapo rust works by chelation, and presumably citric acid is the inferior derivative to their beloved evapo rust lol! Cheers

Reply to
bloomernooney

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