UnVarnish Fuel Tank

[ray benson]

What about removing scale or corrosion inside of a tank that looks like it sat for a long time (tank off my 1130G). Look like scale type of deposit, not varnish. Does not remove very easily from the tank, and is Magnesium! Tried splitting the tank and it will not come apart!

Service book shows a gasket for the tank halves . But said to use a cement instead of a gasket. If a cement was used on it, depending on what they used, it could be very tough splitting the tank. The tank has easy to get at screws on 3 sides of the tank. But the side nearest the carb has hidden screws that go in from under the bottom half of the tank. Poor design.

 

[Mange]

When I have some tank that need more than diesel to clean, I use Aspen (Alkylate Petrol), and a tube with air pressure stuck down and seal gently with the hand across the refill hole. This is becourse it is not an option for me to shake the tank. This has same affect, perhaps even better. If needed I repeat a few times.

 

[jimbo1490]

Crofter, you are right about the acetic acid and mag. Practically any acid is inordinately aggressive on mag. If the corrosion is really a problem, the solution will be to put the part in a bead/sand blast cabinet and remove it that way. If a hole 'emerges' from this process, remember that JB Weld, Devcon putty and the like are very permanent repairs for this material, especially after sandblaasting.

Jimbo

On a quiet night at an airport, you can hear the magnesium corroding.