The internal Slosh sealant arrived today, BUT it is plastered with warnings that preparation is absolutely paramount, the tank needed to be ABSOLUTELY clean and perfectly dry, otherwise the Slosh will fail and need to be stripped out again. The inside of the tank is certainly far better than it was and drying it out is no problem:
First a whole load of sludge came out
When dry, all loads of flakes of rust and stuff came out
The clogged gauze has all but been removed
Then lots of washing out has been done, including with the Tank Kleen that came with the Slosh.
BUT...
It still looks far from clean, very worried that the "Sloshing" would be doomed to failure and would create even more work.
I am in a far better position that previously, so figured that I'd like to avoid it after all.
The upside of that is that the tank is back in, reconnected and with a petrol can full of fresh fuel, I drove her to the petrol station to put in a few more gallons. Just about 3/4 full
Not bolted back in, just held in place by the spare wheel for now.
Will see if any leaks appear (and whether she runs ok now). If not then I will leave it at that. No reason why just a good clean out shouldn't do the trick for a fair few years. That MAY have been the first clean out EVER, or certain since she was originally restored which was at least 10 years ago, probably longer. There was an old newspaper in the boot from 1995, so I'd say over 20 years ago.
To get mild steel really clean and remove every trace of dirt and rust (but not paint) just immerse it in brick cleaner. Available from DIY or builders merchants by the gallon quite inexpensively.
ReplyDeleteI used it inside classic motorcycle petrol tanks before sealing. Just try leaving a rusty bolt overnight in some for a demonstration. Surface rust soon reappears however as the steel is completely bare afterwards so needs sealing quickly.
Don't put anything alloy in there though or it will just dissolve.