Fuel tank openings rusted

[Nathaniel]

After I flushed the tanks I hit the metal opening with WD40 and taped everything shut. Opened it up today to check (been a month) and they are all rusted. Hard to reach too, underneath and in the grooves for the cap. Any bright ideas? Too tight a spot to get even a finger in there with sandpaper. I'm open to suggestions.

[SkyPirate]

pour some coke on the rust,..then thouroughly clean the tanks again ..this time don't put WD-40,..air dry it and just put a piece of cloth over the tank filler tube with a rubber band or the cap so when it gets warm it's less likely to get condensation. keep it out of sunlight but in a place that is less likely to have drastic temp change,.under the bed?.

Chase

P.S if you happen to have "metal prep" the type that uses citric acid ,..not the boric acid based,. this will clean it also,..you might have to take a "Q" tip and apply it to avoid getting it on the tank material...I don't know what metal prep will do to the non metal tank

[Nathaniel]

Coke! Of course. That will take some elbow grease out of the equation. Thanks Chase. Off to the Kroger tomorrow!

[SkyPirate]

no problem Nathaniel,.. while your at Krogers,..pick up some ,.. in the cleaning supplies area ..a scuffy pad ..when you get back home .cut it into 1 in squares..take a piece of coat hangar about 8 inches long ..run it thru the scuffy pad and fold it near the middle ..now manipulate it into a form that bests meets your need,..pour some coke on it and lightly scrub the rust

Chase

[Nathaniel]

Roger that. Gonna be a good project. Sometimes I swear I have to do everything over. I'm gonna end up building this thing twice!

[SkyPirate]

if you want to coat something to prevent it from rusting try wiping a light coat of grease on area's that your not going to be painting,..but storing ..prior to assembly ..and then give it a good wipe before installation,..anything that gas itself will dilute so it won't hurt anything in the fuel system..WD-40 though it's a quick fix for a squeaky hinge,. will still evaporate and the area that had the WD-40 on it is more suseptible to rust if the enviroment it is stored in is subject to different temperatures creating condensation.
it might sound like a stinky idea ..but most hot rolled mild steel sheet metal is pickled in a fish oil based coating,..it cleans off easily prior to painting ,..and actually acts as a flux preventing weld spatter to a degree,..when it is welded,..and a lubricant if it goes into forming die's such as the filler pipe for a gas tank,..too bad they clean it before the public gets ahold of it

Chase