Gas can refurbish

KidVermicious

KidVermicious

New member
I have a set of old 5ga military cans I want to use. They're full of rust and old gas and one was used for diesel I think? It's oily. I want to clean them out, derust the insides, and then I'll use a sealer so it doesn't happen again. I've seen the kits, but those cost more than the damned cans. What is the best chemical to use here, a mild acid?
 
Register to hide this ad
That's a fantastic idea. I've been wracking my brain trying to figure who I know with a high pressure steam cleaner, I didn't even think of a rad shop.

What do they clean it with, will that take out the rust too?

edit - ouch! My favorite rad shop wants $75 a can, that ain't happening.
 
Last edited:
I don't know if these can have some special meaning to you but for $50 a guy local is selling these cans. He says they are NATO specs.
I'm sure somehow or someone close to you might be selling the same
image.jpg
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    34.5 KB · Views: 278
Doing more research, it turns out rust is a base. Any household acid should eat it right up. I've got one soaking in a sulferic acid solution right now and I'll check it tomorrow and see what happens.

I saw that Evaporust stuff that [MENTION=94063]slapdappy[/MENTION] linked. Looks awesome, and I may grab a jug on general principles for tools and such, but it says you have to soak for best results and I didn't feel like buying 15 gallons of the stuff.

[MENTION=88597]MyHigh[/MENTION], these cans are special because they're old school, they're dented up and have some character, and mostly because they were free :D. If I can get them back in working condition and only spend a couple bucks I'll be stoked. If the acid works, then the only thing I'll have to buy is the gas tank sealer.
 
Yeah, I guess I wasn't sure why you were going to refurbish them, out of need or want. I can totally understand the value they hold beyond cost, and hell, you can't beat free!!

I'm going to have to throw rocks at my new ones so they can get instant character marks on them....:hippie:

Good luck on the refab!!
 
KidVermicious said:
If the acid works, then the only thing I'll have to buy is the gas tank sealer.
Click to expand...

Gas tank (can) sealers are not all created equal.

A guy I know has been a Motorcycle Mechanic for over 30 years. He truly knows what he is doing, unlike most of the monkeys out there masquerading as Mechanics.

Anyway, his choice of gas tank sealer is the 'Wurth Rust Sealer'.

Do not use the garbage 'Kreem' tank sealer.
 
[MENTION=49649]KidVermicious[/MENTION]

Its funny you made a thread about this, I just got an old USMC 5gal Jerry Can from my shop foreman! It looks like an old unit made by "Blitz," mine is in rough shape as the pain is faded and rusted through in some spots; but the can is solid and still sturdy. Its all mostly surface rust and a bit of peeling coating on the inside.

I'm thinking about sand blasting/stripping the can to bare metal inside and out and either powder coating or painting it in a nice semi-gloss red for future use. Though, the biggest pain in the ass is going to be finding a new gasket for it... the old one is obviously no good anymore. Also, before anyone mentions it; I washed the inside of my can out in our past wash tank (basically just soap water in CA, no real solvent anymore) and rinsed it out to make it safe to work on (double checked with a lighter with the hope it would shoot flames! :P )

This isn't my can, but it looks the same:

il_340x270.579476494_ndqw.jpg
 
A mild solution of sulfuric acid cleaned most of the rust off the bottom of one of the cans, but there's still a little it didn't eat. A buddy is a science teacher who advises that muriatic (hydrochloric) acid will eat it up much better, but then science happens and the exposed iron is much more likely to flash rust so you have to follow up with phosphoric acid which makes more science happen and leaves a black oxide coating that prevents future rust. Both muriatic and phosphoric acid are available at any hardware store as concrete cleaners.

02SE said:
Gas tank (can) sealers are not all created equal.

A guy I know has been a Motorcycle Mechanic for over 30 years. He truly knows what he is doing, unlike most of the monkeys out there masquerading as Mechanics.

Anyway, his choice of gas tank sealer is the 'Wurth Rust Sealer'.

Do not use the garbage 'Kreem' tank sealer.
Click to expand...

Appreciate the wisdom as always. As soon as we perfect clone technology I'm going to order a clone of you to hang on the wall in my garage and give me advice.

BlackWorksInc said:
[MENTION=49649]KidVermicious[/MENTION]

Its funny you made a thread about this, I just got an old USMC 5gal Jerry Can from my shop foreman! It looks like an old unit made by "Blitz," mine is in rough shape as the pain is faded and rusted through in some spots; but the can is solid and still sturdy. Its all mostly surface rust and a bit of peeling coating on the inside.

I'm thinking about sand blasting/stripping the can to bare metal inside and out and either powder coating or painting it in a nice semi-gloss red for future use. Though, the biggest pain in the ass is going to be finding a new gasket for it... the old one is obviously no good anymore. Also, before anyone mentions it; I washed the inside of my can out in our past wash tank (basically just soap water in CA, no real solvent anymore) and rinsed it out to make it safe to work on (double checked with a lighter with the hope it would shoot flames! :P )

This isn't my can, but it looks the same:

il_340x270.579476494_ndqw.jpg
Click to expand...

Check out EBay for gaskets. They're not cheap, but they're there. I'm kinda thinking I'm going to get a couple sheets of rubber from the plumbing section and make my own, because I'm cheap. I'll test the rubber first to make sure it's fuel resistant.

slapdappy said:
Same reason I bought a Gamma Lid and white 5 gal bucket. Cleverest use so far is bear can when camping.
Click to expand...

Good idea! So I got around to actually looking at that Evapo-rust stuff you linked. Turns out you don't have to completely immerse the inside of the tank, you can slosh it around and rotate the tank periodically and it'll still work. Also turns out it's reusable, you can use the same quart over and over again until it's black. Also turns out you can get a quart for $8.99 on Amazon, which is way less than I expected. So I did. :D
 
[MENTION=49649]KidVermicious[/MENTION]

So if you go the route you mentioned with the Black Oxide coating as the end result, do you really need additional coating and/or is this coating rough or just smooth?
 
MyHigh said:
Hmmm.....

All this acid and science talk has me wondering if your Heisenberg?
Click to expand...

Wondering if my Heisenberg what? ;)

BlackWorksInc said:
[MENTION=49649]KidVermicious[/MENTION]

So if you go the route you mentioned with the Black Oxide coating as the end result, do you really need additional coating and/or is this coating rough or just smooth?
Click to expand...

The black oxide wouldn't be a coating so much as just a layer of ... tarnish, I guess? Not sure if that's the right word. It would work to prevent future rust for sure, though it won't prevent pinhole leaks the way a good tank sealer would so a sealer might be in order anyway. If this Evaporust stuff works as well as I hope, I won't need to use the acid, and then I'll definitely need to seal the raw metal with something.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 160 (members: 1, guests: 159)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,309
Messages
3,554,071
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top