Technical will vinegar disolve sludge?

I'm helping a friend get an old (1941) tractor running...heard a lot of good reports on vinegar and molasses. This tank has about a half inch of gooey sludge at the very bottom of the tank...just wondering if either of the substances would help remove this stuff...I've been mopping it up with rags on a stick...slow process...and I can only see a small portion of the bottom of the tank...thanks

 

Greetings! I use lacquer cleaner, plug any outlets, pour in the lacquer cleaner, then mop it around with a rag tied onto a stick. Once you get all the sludge loose, take the tank to the car wash and blast it out.

 

if its Petroleum probably not , you can use any light oil to melt it . or try the new citrus oil products if you do not want something flammable in there , I had a tank on a small engine that was 1/4" thick with gas varnish and I put a bottle of Goo gone in it and let it sit for 2-3 days and it melted it to wash it out .

 

I believe the vinegar and molasses are more for rust removal. For sludge try lacquer thinner as Junkman said or acetone or MEK.

 

Lacquer thinner or Varsol. HRP

 

While soaking a crank pulley in water and vinegar to remove rust i had some oil on it and the solution did not dissolve the oil after 8 days. Use varsol, its the cheapest

 

Depends on how much you drink.

 

seemed to work on my ex girlfriend....

 

thanks guys...I put a gallon of lacquer thinner in today...going to let it soak a bit...

 

That's T.M.I.

 

E-85 gas works well just don't use it as fuel.

 

Well at least that shits good for something.


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There are 3-part cleaning, metal-prep, sealing products on the market (e.g Eastwood Co. ) that work reasonably well. You may want to try the lacquer thinner or Varsol first but, you'll likely need to seal it anyway once you get it clean. I've never used MEK but I'm told it works well on really bad funk build-up. It's some very serious solvent so if you use it be extremely careful and take all precautions.

 

Vinegar and oil don't mix. Just look at a salad dressing.
You need a solvent and/or a detergent to break up petroleum residues. I prefer a non-flammable solution especially to remove the vapors in a tank. I found that Arm & Hammer washing soda (sodium carbonate)--- the same stuff I use for electrolytic rust removal---- works great as a gas tank detergent.

 

yep, cleaning only part of doing job right

 

I have used soap and water, usually Castrol super clean, and a hand full of old nuts and bolts to clean out the sludge then vinegar and the same nuts and bolts to remove the rust. Shake and let sit, repeat flush with water then Alcohol . Works well. Bonus, clean bright nuts and bolts.