Remove rust from gas tank

Suppose you have bought a classic that has stood still for more than a few days. That does not necessarily have to be a restoration object ... Once everything has been made ready for driving again, you take it on the road. To be sure, you have, among other things, installed a new fuel filter. After a few hundred kilometers of driving pleasure, starting the machine becomes more difficult, there is no longer any movement and the whole thing finally comes to a halt. The surprise (?) Is great, the new fuel filter is completely full of 'brown stuff', rust from the tank.

Fit a new filter again and it goes again. With a bit of luck you can now make a little more miles and the filter is full again. This is due to excessive rust in the tank. Now you can dismantle the fuel tank and take it to a suitable company to have the rust removed. That costs (a lot of) money and moreover there is a good chance that a 'coating' will be applied to the tank. The latter is not recommended nowadays. It is not only the gasoline of today that is provided with such additives that the coating will let go and then you are (even) further away from home ... You can also do that internal cleaning yourself. For this you need a concrete mixer, the - of course - conscious tank, a strap, a few hands of gravel. You bind the fuel tank with the strap on the concrete mixer (the (front) side where the cement, sand and water normally goes), throw your few hands of gravel into the tank, turn the switch to 'on' and leave it at least one run for a few hours. Then remove gravel (and rust) and repeat the treatment. Afterwards, blow it out thoroughly with air, if necessary, rinse with water and let it dry well. And… dismantle the 'tank float' beforehand, because it will not survive. Sealing the resulting 'hole' with a hastily made metal plate ... Instead of gravel you can of course also use old bolts and nuts ... We would not do this job on a Sunday, because it is - guaranteed - a fight with the neighbors ...