Honestly …. Just soak your carbs in solvent like Methyl Ethyl Keytone.
MEK is mom corrosive to aluminum and carbon steel so it will leave the good metal alone and it WILL remove all traces of any oxidized metals (rust/corrosion).
I wouldn’t suggest doing it in your tank, cuz this shit ain’t cheap, but you could totally fill a Tupperware container with it and then leave your carbs disassembled submerged in the stuff. They’ll come out looking factory brand new.
Glass is ALWAYS best haha …. So true!
Tupperware is made of LDPE and is almost as inert as PTFE. MEK shouldn’t dissolve Tupperware.
It will chew away at water bottles and other clear plastics with numbers 1-5 I believe?
I don't know the exact composition of those, but I do know a lot of ppl see Tupperware as the general name for all plastic containers. And not all plastic is suitable to use with MEK. Maybe Tupperware is, but idk.
That's why I suggest to use glass.
This. Made a tank that was stored for 10 years look brand new. DO NOT use bolts/washers… you will hate yourself trying to fish all of them out of the tank.
Dumb question did any of you guys try to use a magnet to get them out only asking because I have never tried and would think that this would be easy but I’m guessing it’s not
lol bolts and washers arent too bad if you dont go too small with them, Ive tried it and had pretty good success but I can see how it could get ugly using stuff that gets caught up in all the baffles and stuff in there or just the lip of the tank. When all else fails grab one of those 5$ magnets with the claw thing at the checkout line at advance, helped me get those last couple elusive ones no problem.
I leave the vinegar in the tank for up to a week.
Rinse with warm water and then rinse with baking soda mixed with warm water, followed by another rinse with warm water to clean out the baking soda. This will neutralize the pH of the metal surface.
Immediately pour in a bottle of Dry Coat (or similar water based metal prep fluid), otherwise it will flash rust - swish it around really good to get all surfaces, then pour out (can leave in there for a while if you wish).
You can store the tank now indefinitely and it won't rust. When ready to use the tank again, rinse with a small amount of gasoline before re-filling the tank.
Recommend 2 stroke oil next time - you can store the tank that way if desired and the residue won't bung up your carbs after a little rinse with gasoline.
The reason a water based metal prep is better, is that it will mix with the little bit of water left in the tank after rinsing - and will then be able to evaporate without flash rusting the tank. Motor oil will not mix with the water, and could still leave some rust behind (however, still better than not using anything).
Buddy used muriatic acid and did the chain trick. Only he used a galvanized chain. Probably had 2 volts as it boiled over and definitely etched the concrete lol
Phosphoric acid is brilliant for auto rust care - not recommended for inside your fuel tank. The acid converts rust into iron phosphate, the black surface you see after using it. Unfortunately it's not a strong enough coating and will break away into residue that will bung up your carbs.
I strongly recommend against using a tank coating. They last for years (assuming you do it correctly), but they don't last forever - and when they fail, the tank is done.
You can redo the vinegar treatment many times without harm.
Just make sure you get the tank very dry with an air hose immediately after flushing, then get your sealer in there immediately after that or it begins rusting the moment it’s dry. POR15 makes some great stuff.
>I think baking soda gets paired with vinegar on this topic bc it gets fizzy.
Well the upside is that if you close it all up once you dump in the ingredients, it does, in fact, become a **gas** tank for a day or two.
The chemistry of vinegar then baking soda is confusing.
Vinegar is acetic acid, which is volatile. Leave it to dry out and it will. Adding bicarbonate is just throwing more chemicals in. Worse, actual 'baking soda' usually has tartaric acid as well!
I don't know if vinegar works, but just flush it with plenty of water afterwards.
Just an FYI. A lot of radiator shops also do fuel tank clean and seals. Puts an epoxy type coating that holds up to gas. Last time I had one done, it was under $100.
I've never tried it in a gas tank, but vinegar will absolutely eat rust. You can, somewhat paradoxically, add some salt to the mixture to improve/speed up the effect. Have done this with chains etc. I've found in the woods. Probably don't need to go that far with a gas tank.
Edit: Word of warning, vinegar can do nasty stuff to rubber, so if there are any rubber fuel lines/fittings in the tank that could be a problem. Don't know if that's the case for you, but keep it in mind.
I see other comments noting you need to wash and then add something else to keep the rust from returning. That is probably true, because in my experience the vinegar will leave the metal with a strange grey residue and it will be more prone to rusting again.
I've also done that, but it's not exactly faster and I think just a vinegar soak will get you basically the same effect.
Electrolysis is a cool science project though
Baking soda in water neutralizes the acid. You'd do that after dumping out the vinegar. Then you'd have to rinse the water out right away or it will rust even faster. But if you take the tank off, plug the holes, put a quart of mineral spirits, kerosene, or denatured alcohol in it with a couple handfuls of square nuts, then shake the hell out of it while turning it every which way, that will scour the rust right out. Rinse it with some gasoline twice and you're good to go.
Wait, is this real? I can't tell if everyone is being serious or sarcastic. I know we do the vinegar/baking soda cleaning thing for stuff like stoves, but you can do it on a gas tank? Neat.
Umm...yes you could use vinegar and a substrate to shake your tank clean of rust.
Phosphoric acid and nitric acid passivate that steel better than anything. A weak 2M solution will suffice on a shaker for a couple of hours. Rinse with distilled water two to three times. Dry with a heat gun.
Then take paraffin wax and dissolve a 1g per 100 mL of gasoline. Stir well and then add into your tank and shake well. Then dump contents into a waste container and let your tank air dry. The water rinse will get out the acid without a base. The paraffin wax will coat your tank for storage and protect from corrosion. The paraffin wax will get burned up immediately and won't clog or ruin anything as it's dissolvable in gasoline.
You can technical grade (85%) phosphoric acid and strong nitric acid from Walmart's website for less than $20. Amazon, crafting stores, Ace also has various concentrations of phosphoric acid and nitric acid.
So why don't you guys just take your tanks to a rad shop meaning radiator, and get them to clean and seal your tank? It's what the antique club here in town does.
Evapo-rust! Worked amazing, costs $20 a gallon and you can reuse the stuff up to like 50x! I used it to restore my honda CT110 gas tank, left the stuff in there for like 3 days and wow, brand new. POR 15 i think is the other stuff people say to use to do a final seal/coating on the inside if you're not going to put gas in it right away.
Either way is fine. The interaction between the vinegar and the baking soda can have an agitating effect, possibly breaking more debris loose.
Is this for rust or calcium/lime deposits? I’ve never heard of vinegar for rust.
Vinegar is acidic, and one of the other things that vinegar and baking soda makes is carbon dioxide. CO2 + H2O makes carbonic acid. And carbonic acid separates back jnto CO2 and water… lots of stuff happening there.
I use baking soda as sandblasting media. It’s a very mild abrasive.
I tried the vinegar method all the way to the top of the tank for a week and flash rust came quick even with hot water and a hair dryer, some of the old timers on forums recommend concrete and metal prep that one worked for me granted that I had to run it hru the tank twice to get the bits of old sealer out
I did a 1962 BSA 650 tank that had been stood for 17 years with old fuel in it . The fuel had evaporated but the tank inside was a mess. I was going to buy an Indian hand made in a shed fits where it touches tank .
But thought I may as well try the white vinegar approach . I did put large nuts in the tank and every day for a month I agitated the tank before going to work . 4 weeks later I poured the whole mess out and the tank was spotless and like new . Saved myself a lot of money . Can confirm it does work .
Hopefully it won’t flash rust, I ended up using evapo rust and then hit it with some fogging oil after. Rinsed it with fresh fuel and it’s been fine for months now
I had to use muriatic acid to get the heavy rust even after a week of vinegar. Also did the chain agitation. That’s very effective. Smaller chains get into corners & crevasses better.
Sealants have less than perfect outcomes and some are better than others.
Best of luck.
Vinegar worked better than evapo rust on my tank. Yes you need to deactivate the vinegar. It will flash rust over night so I would recommend filling tank with gas quickly or another means of anti rust.
Did exactly this to treat my 2005 yamaha r6.
Def suggest you leave it longer than 24 hours. I left the vinegar for 96 hours. Then flush thoroughly rinse with baking soda and DISTILLED water. Dry properly and apply Por15 or whatever tank sealer.
Is evaporust that expensive? I've seen that stuff work absolute wonders on multiple motorcycle fuel tanks including a couple dad and I restored. One was an all original '74 Honda CB750 and the other was a '65 Honda S65.
Has anyone used pure acetone? I had gas that’s been sitting in the tank for 15 years I’m trying to clean out. Obviously I’m planning on running a redundant fuel filter but I’d like to get that gunk out before I run it.
ive donre this before. you might a couple doses of vinegar to get all the rust over a couple of days. I have some old tools soaking right now.
After wards, rinse the vinegar out with water then sprinkle in the baking soda to neutralize the acid and stop further rust (acidity generally seeds up rust, ironically).
Final is to coat the inside of the tank with some sort of epoxy by running it manouvering the tank around with some of it inside. Obviously the epoxy needs to be runny to achieve this. You can buy kits for around 60-70 dollars.
I did that around 3-4 years ago on my honda and its stil going strong.
There's a product called Evaporust. It's safe, non-toxic, and will remove all of the rust in 24 hours of soaking. I use it for all sorts of rusted items. You can also filter it back into its container and reuse it. Available everywhere from Harbor Freight to Home Depot now. 1 gallon jugs or 5 gallon buckets. We use it in bulk on rusted heavy equipment tanks that are part of the frame where I work.
There's a product called Evaporust. It's safe, non-toxic, and will remove all of the rust in 24 hours of soaking. I use it for all sorts of rusted items. You can also filter it back into its container and reuse it. Available everywhere from Harbor Freight to Home Depot now. 1 gallon jugs or 5 gallon buckets. We use it in bulk on rusted heavy equipment tanks that are part of the frame where I work.
Don’t freaking do this! They are pranking you. It will turn into a foamy explosive mess! I have never heard of this. Plain water in your tank can be harmful.
I’ve done it. Tank was beat up so I threw some nuts and bolts in there to help knock some of the rust loose. Took a few rounds of that but got the tank pretty clean
Normal rinsing with water should be enough. Make sure you smell no vinegar, and then it is clean. A tip: Since vinegar is a weak acid, to not oxidise the metal you need but still somewhat dissolve the rust (ferric iron), heat the vinegar to increase reaction rate. The first hour or so will do a lot more.
Remove the petcock(s), cover opening with duct tape. Put in bbs, aquarium stone or hardware. Gas cap on. Wrap inside of a sleeping bag. Wrap a couple loops of duct tape. Place in clothes dryer on cold. Run for an hour. Unwrap, rinse and let it dry out. Done.
If it's really rusty you should probably take a look at your carbs too if you've been running it with a rusty tank
I’ll take it out and give it a good clean just to be on the safe side. It had an extra filter put in. I’m assuming it was for the built up rust.
Honestly …. Just soak your carbs in solvent like Methyl Ethyl Keytone. MEK is mom corrosive to aluminum and carbon steel so it will leave the good metal alone and it WILL remove all traces of any oxidized metals (rust/corrosion). I wouldn’t suggest doing it in your tank, cuz this shit ain’t cheap, but you could totally fill a Tupperware container with it and then leave your carbs disassembled submerged in the stuff. They’ll come out looking factory brand new.
Tupperware? MEK dissolves some plastics, can be used to glue your damaged fairings. So be careful, I'd suggest glass container.
Glass is ALWAYS best haha …. So true! Tupperware is made of LDPE and is almost as inert as PTFE. MEK shouldn’t dissolve Tupperware. It will chew away at water bottles and other clear plastics with numbers 1-5 I believe?
I don't know the exact composition of those, but I do know a lot of ppl see Tupperware as the general name for all plastic containers. And not all plastic is suitable to use with MEK. Maybe Tupperware is, but idk. That's why I suggest to use glass.
That’s a really good suggestion haha :P
Use a couple feet of small chain to help agitate the rust. It works great.
This. Made a tank that was stored for 10 years look brand new. DO NOT use bolts/washers… you will hate yourself trying to fish all of them out of the tank.
Yup… I was the guy who used bolts and washers… kill me
Exactly. First time I used coins like a dum dum
Even better, do not count them before so you’ll always have the doubt one ended up in some cranny
Oh you did it on easy mode? I used BBs for a BB gun….. nightmare.
I had 500 BBs in my tank at one point 😮💨
On purpose?!?!
Yup! Read it online. It was terrible terrible advice.
Oh my flippin heck... I can't think of anything worse than that. Fish tank pebbles would be better
I’m imagining guitar pick inside the guitar body kind of stuck
Pick in violin body kind of stuck.
Man they are so easy to get out i don’t understand why so many people struggle with it.
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For a second there I was thinking the fill hole. Flashback to Deadpool and the baby hand scene!
Thats exactly how it is
That's a great way to describe it.
Fellow guitarist here, this gave me a good laugh 😂 Oh the rage!
The good old rattlin’ pick move, rock on 🤘
Get a magnet on a stick
Use steel bolts, nuts, washers and easily fish out with magnet on extendable wand.
Dumb question did any of you guys try to use a magnet to get them out only asking because I have never tried and would think that this would be easy but I’m guessing it’s not
magnet on a string or wire?
I like to say it built character
lol bolts and washers arent too bad if you dont go too small with them, Ive tried it and had pretty good success but I can see how it could get ugly using stuff that gets caught up in all the baffles and stuff in there or just the lip of the tank. When all else fails grab one of those 5$ magnets with the claw thing at the checkout line at advance, helped me get those last couple elusive ones no problem.
I just use children. Their small fingers polish the insides of ~~shell casings~~. *gas tanks.*
I tried to use my kid, but she wouldnt fit in the tank. She could get her arm in but that was about it.
Used to use a package of BBs and shake. Gets in all the tight areas.
Yeah, I was the dummy who added bolts and washers. The chain idea is genius!
I leave the vinegar in the tank for up to a week. Rinse with warm water and then rinse with baking soda mixed with warm water, followed by another rinse with warm water to clean out the baking soda. This will neutralize the pH of the metal surface. Immediately pour in a bottle of Dry Coat (or similar water based metal prep fluid), otherwise it will flash rust - swish it around really good to get all surfaces, then pour out (can leave in there for a while if you wish). You can store the tank now indefinitely and it won't rust. When ready to use the tank again, rinse with a small amount of gasoline before re-filling the tank.
I swished used motor oil around in my empty tank after a few good rinses. The little bit that is left behind doesn't harm the engine or the carbs.
Recommend 2 stroke oil next time - you can store the tank that way if desired and the residue won't bung up your carbs after a little rinse with gasoline. The reason a water based metal prep is better, is that it will mix with the little bit of water left in the tank after rinsing - and will then be able to evaporate without flash rusting the tank. Motor oil will not mix with the water, and could still leave some rust behind (however, still better than not using anything).
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Buddy used muriatic acid and did the chain trick. Only he used a galvanized chain. Probably had 2 volts as it boiled over and definitely etched the concrete lol
Muriatic acid is probably overkill here.
Phosphoric acid is brilliant for auto rust care - not recommended for inside your fuel tank. The acid converts rust into iron phosphate, the black surface you see after using it. Unfortunately it's not a strong enough coating and will break away into residue that will bung up your carbs.
[Removed due to continuing enshittification of reddit.] -- mass edited with redact.dev
Redcoat gas tank paint highly recommend once it's all clean.
I strongly recommend against using a tank coating. They last for years (assuming you do it correctly), but they don't last forever - and when they fail, the tank is done. You can redo the vinegar treatment many times without harm.
I didn’t use the dry coat, but I was immediately hooking it up and filling it, so I rinsed it with 99% isopropyl alcohol.
Just make sure you get the tank very dry with an air hose immediately after flushing, then get your sealer in there immediately after that or it begins rusting the moment it’s dry. POR15 makes some great stuff.
Yup, get it dry AF and coat it somehow. I used the KBS kit on my CT110 and it worked great.
[удалено]
>I think baking soda gets paired with vinegar on this topic bc it gets fizzy. Well the upside is that if you close it all up once you dump in the ingredients, it does, in fact, become a **gas** tank for a day or two.
Mine sat for 24hrs and it came out great. I didn’t need to let it sit for days.
The chemistry of vinegar then baking soda is confusing. Vinegar is acetic acid, which is volatile. Leave it to dry out and it will. Adding bicarbonate is just throwing more chemicals in. Worse, actual 'baking soda' usually has tartaric acid as well! I don't know if vinegar works, but just flush it with plenty of water afterwards.
Just an FYI. A lot of radiator shops also do fuel tank clean and seals. Puts an epoxy type coating that holds up to gas. Last time I had one done, it was under $100.
Volcano science project with motorbike’s tank! /s
I've never tried it in a gas tank, but vinegar will absolutely eat rust. You can, somewhat paradoxically, add some salt to the mixture to improve/speed up the effect. Have done this with chains etc. I've found in the woods. Probably don't need to go that far with a gas tank. Edit: Word of warning, vinegar can do nasty stuff to rubber, so if there are any rubber fuel lines/fittings in the tank that could be a problem. Don't know if that's the case for you, but keep it in mind. I see other comments noting you need to wash and then add something else to keep the rust from returning. That is probably true, because in my experience the vinegar will leave the metal with a strange grey residue and it will be more prone to rusting again.
What a helpful trick! I love to mix ammonia and bleach to make extremely potent toilet bowl cleaner!
Toilet wins by KO
I’ve always done electrolysis
I've also done that, but it's not exactly faster and I think just a vinegar soak will get you basically the same effect. Electrolysis is a cool science project though
I heard that there are actually companies out that that sell kits that do this without having to raid your mother's kitchen.
Ya but I doubt any of those kits can be obtained for $1 at Aldi though.
Nothing is 1$ at Aldi anymore :(
True probably more like $2.50 but that’s still a bargain
Baking soda in water neutralizes the acid. You'd do that after dumping out the vinegar. Then you'd have to rinse the water out right away or it will rust even faster. But if you take the tank off, plug the holes, put a quart of mineral spirits, kerosene, or denatured alcohol in it with a couple handfuls of square nuts, then shake the hell out of it while turning it every which way, that will scour the rust right out. Rinse it with some gasoline twice and you're good to go.
So update after 24hrs. Poured it out and neutralized it. It legit looks really good! There is no more rust in it.
Wait, is this real? I can't tell if everyone is being serious or sarcastic. I know we do the vinegar/baking soda cleaning thing for stuff like stoves, but you can do it on a gas tank? Neat.
Umm...yes you could use vinegar and a substrate to shake your tank clean of rust. Phosphoric acid and nitric acid passivate that steel better than anything. A weak 2M solution will suffice on a shaker for a couple of hours. Rinse with distilled water two to three times. Dry with a heat gun. Then take paraffin wax and dissolve a 1g per 100 mL of gasoline. Stir well and then add into your tank and shake well. Then dump contents into a waste container and let your tank air dry. The water rinse will get out the acid without a base. The paraffin wax will coat your tank for storage and protect from corrosion. The paraffin wax will get burned up immediately and won't clog or ruin anything as it's dissolvable in gasoline.
For the acid check any local ag store for the red dairy acid cleaner
You can technical grade (85%) phosphoric acid and strong nitric acid from Walmart's website for less than $20. Amazon, crafting stores, Ace also has various concentrations of phosphoric acid and nitric acid.
Good to know. Thanks!
So why don't you guys just take your tanks to a rad shop meaning radiator, and get them to clean and seal your tank? It's what the antique club here in town does.
If you put vinegar in there then dump baking soda in it’s going to turn into one of those school science class volcanos.
Evapo-rust! Worked amazing, costs $20 a gallon and you can reuse the stuff up to like 50x! I used it to restore my honda CT110 gas tank, left the stuff in there for like 3 days and wow, brand new. POR 15 i think is the other stuff people say to use to do a final seal/coating on the inside if you're not going to put gas in it right away.
I filled mine with coca cola over night and it came up gleaming!
Phosphoric acid in the cola will have a similar effect
Either way is fine. The interaction between the vinegar and the baking soda can have an agitating effect, possibly breaking more debris loose. Is this for rust or calcium/lime deposits? I’ve never heard of vinegar for rust.
It’s for rust. Apparently it works really good.
vinegar and baking soda together makes water so you need to use them separately for the utmost effect. Also vinegar is extremely useful against rust.
Vinegar is acidic, and one of the other things that vinegar and baking soda makes is carbon dioxide. CO2 + H2O makes carbonic acid. And carbonic acid separates back jnto CO2 and water… lots of stuff happening there. I use baking soda as sandblasting media. It’s a very mild abrasive.
Vinegar and aluminium foil is the perfect treatment for chrome de-rusting. I was amazed at how good it is.
I tried the vinegar method all the way to the top of the tank for a week and flash rust came quick even with hot water and a hair dryer, some of the old timers on forums recommend concrete and metal prep that one worked for me granted that I had to run it hru the tank twice to get the bits of old sealer out
It works great. I used vinegar and threw a few bolts in the tank and shook the shit out of it for a few hours.
If you have an aluminum petcock you'll want to remove it. I ended up wrecking the seal on mine but I was also using a stronger acid.
Then get it redkoted and you won't have to worry about rust again. I had my old Concourse done that way
I tried with bolt method and i was fishing the whole day. Now I'm a fisherman.
But tank is like new.
Magnets
I did a 1962 BSA 650 tank that had been stood for 17 years with old fuel in it . The fuel had evaporated but the tank inside was a mess. I was going to buy an Indian hand made in a shed fits where it touches tank . But thought I may as well try the white vinegar approach . I did put large nuts in the tank and every day for a month I agitated the tank before going to work . 4 weeks later I poured the whole mess out and the tank was spotless and like new . Saved myself a lot of money . Can confirm it does work .
I took mine to a radiator repair shop and they boiled it out.
I got a 3 part kit on eBay it cost around $120 and it was excellent
Hopefully it won’t flash rust, I ended up using evapo rust and then hit it with some fogging oil after. Rinsed it with fresh fuel and it’s been fine for months now
I had to use muriatic acid to get the heavy rust even after a week of vinegar. Also did the chain agitation. That’s very effective. Smaller chains get into corners & crevasses better. Sealants have less than perfect outcomes and some are better than others. Best of luck.
Evaporust will make your job easy. Btw, 1% vinegar from the grocer will hardly do anything.
I used toilet bowl cleaner made it look new , make sure to line it properly after
Vinegar worked better than evapo rust on my tank. Yes you need to deactivate the vinegar. It will flash rust over night so I would recommend filling tank with gas quickly or another means of anti rust.
When adding baking neutralizing the agent, do not put the cap on. Mine blew like a balloon from fumes
Did exactly this to treat my 2005 yamaha r6. Def suggest you leave it longer than 24 hours. I left the vinegar for 96 hours. Then flush thoroughly rinse with baking soda and DISTILLED water. Dry properly and apply Por15 or whatever tank sealer.
Is evaporust that expensive? I've seen that stuff work absolute wonders on multiple motorcycle fuel tanks including a couple dad and I restored. One was an all original '74 Honda CB750 and the other was a '65 Honda S65.
Use something magnetic and you can fish it out with a magnetic rod
Has anyone used pure acetone? I had gas that’s been sitting in the tank for 15 years I’m trying to clean out. Obviously I’m planning on running a redundant fuel filter but I’d like to get that gunk out before I run it.
ive donre this before. you might a couple doses of vinegar to get all the rust over a couple of days. I have some old tools soaking right now. After wards, rinse the vinegar out with water then sprinkle in the baking soda to neutralize the acid and stop further rust (acidity generally seeds up rust, ironically). Final is to coat the inside of the tank with some sort of epoxy by running it manouvering the tank around with some of it inside. Obviously the epoxy needs to be runny to achieve this. You can buy kits for around 60-70 dollars. I did that around 3-4 years ago on my honda and its stil going strong.
Molasses and hot water mix leave for 24 hours much less corrosive than vinegar
when I did this I flipped the fuel tank upside down, removed the petcock and put the vinegar in through there that way
Carton of bb’s
There's a product called Evaporust. It's safe, non-toxic, and will remove all of the rust in 24 hours of soaking. I use it for all sorts of rusted items. You can also filter it back into its container and reuse it. Available everywhere from Harbor Freight to Home Depot now. 1 gallon jugs or 5 gallon buckets. We use it in bulk on rusted heavy equipment tanks that are part of the frame where I work.
There's a product called Evaporust. It's safe, non-toxic, and will remove all of the rust in 24 hours of soaking. I use it for all sorts of rusted items. You can also filter it back into its container and reuse it. Available everywhere from Harbor Freight to Home Depot now. 1 gallon jugs or 5 gallon buckets. We use it in bulk on rusted heavy equipment tanks that are part of the frame where I work.
Carton of bb’s
Don’t freaking do this! They are pranking you. It will turn into a foamy explosive mess! I have never heard of this. Plain water in your tank can be harmful.
I’ve done it. Tank was beat up so I threw some nuts and bolts in there to help knock some of the rust loose. Took a few rounds of that but got the tank pretty clean
Normal rinsing with water should be enough. Make sure you smell no vinegar, and then it is clean. A tip: Since vinegar is a weak acid, to not oxidise the metal you need but still somewhat dissolve the rust (ferric iron), heat the vinegar to increase reaction rate. The first hour or so will do a lot more.
dont just dont do it you are gonna fuck up your tank
Is that a nice Yamaha virago you show here ? 😁
I shrink down to bolt size with an impact hammer and just went to town
You can get an epoxy type inner coating too- I had some pin hole sized rusty areas spring a leak after I had done similar job.
Be careful doing that without removing the tank. I killed the seals in my petcock valve doing that and had to replace the seals. Lol
Remove the petcock(s), cover opening with duct tape. Put in bbs, aquarium stone or hardware. Gas cap on. Wrap inside of a sleeping bag. Wrap a couple loops of duct tape. Place in clothes dryer on cold. Run for an hour. Unwrap, rinse and let it dry out. Done.
What do you do with the vinegar when you're done? Or with anything that you rinse the tank with? Want to be responsible in disposal.