Hey guys, well I dropped my gas tank the other day and ground off all the old paint and years of dirt and little bit of rust. I pulled out the float and the interior of the tank looks pretty good. A little bit of rust inside here and there but not too bad. It does have some debris, not sure what it is but I can hear it moving around in there. Any ideas on how to get it out? Is there any sort of gas tank reconditionere for the inside of the tank? And what would you use to paint the exterior of the tank? I have heard great reviews on POR-15 but is a little pricey?

 

can you get a vac hose in through the float bung? I'd stuff one in there, and bang the sides, and bottom to shake everything loose. I have never used a coating in a tank.

 

Can you get your arm in the tank through the sender hole? I would prefer to use paper towels to wipe up and remove debris if gas fumes still linger in the tank. Vacuums pass the air they suck through the filter then through the motor to cool it, and usually they usually use the brush-type motors that spark normally during operation. Not sure how risky that is but i am paranoid of flammable fumes.

I would be hesitant to use a complete interior coating if it is in good shape as is. Perhaps dab something only on the small rusted areas??

POR15 is great stuff, hense the expense. If the outside looks good (rust free), you should be able to paint it in any way you wish. However, POR15 is VERY durable and easy to brush on - rust and thrown stones will not penetrate it.

 

Around these parts radiator repair shops will clean them up and reseal them cheap.

 

Take it to an old time radiator shop and have it boilled out and coated inside or just replace it with an A/M tank.

 

You type faster than me

 

Shoot! I saw a video of a rhinoceres charging a piece of sheet metal covered with POR 15 and he didn't even dent it! That stuff is awsome!

 

Hey, good idea with the boiler or steam. I think I might give that a try if they will be willing to mess with it with a little bit of gas in there. I think I might give that POR-15 at try. It is expensive but everyone I talk to seems to swear by it. Any other ideas on getting the debris out of there though? I can't hardly fit anything through the little hole for the float.

 

No body said it was going to be easy At least take it to a car wash & blast it out real good. & let dry or hook a exhaust pipe hose to it to speed things up. When totally dry I have used a tank sealer from Bill Hirsch? I would have to look But I got it from my NAPA store I have used it in several tanks & had good luck.As far as what is inside your tank? Could be a baffle broke lose

 

I dropped my tank since it sounded like it had gravel in it. When I got it down, I drained the gas through a paint filter and put it in a gas can. The gravel I heard was crystallized gas that must have sat in the tank at one point in time and hardened. I banged the edges with a rubber mallet and most of it came loose. Then I used a medium sized paint scraper to get the rest of it. I used my shop vac to get it all out. It took me about an hour, but it was worth it. My local radiator shop wanted 109 dollars just to boil it out.

Then I scraped off some undercoating and painted it with Eastwood tank tone. Came out like brand new.

 

The rubber mallet sounds like a good idea. Rubber on metal won't cause any sparks.

 

Well I ended up just pressure washing out the tank then blowing it out with an air hose. Looks great. I then went to an auto body paint shop and they recommended I coat the tank in an epoxy finish. Its a 1:1:10% mixture of the expoxy, activator, and hardener. I was a little nervous about buying it and not being able to figure out how to use the spray gun. Worked out awesome though. I cleaned it up real good with lacquer and sprayed 3 coats looks amazing. I'll get some pictures up for you guys. Thanks for the help

 

Better hope a rhinoceres never decides to attack your Olds. If that does happen sometime when you are at a drive through zoo just remember that you could have used POR 15 and saved your life.

Look forward to the pics.

 

I will take the rhino thing into consideration next time........hehehe. Thanks. They actually recommended the epoxy coating over the POR-15 as my tank had very little rust on it. Said POR-15 has a hard time sticking to something that has no rust. Is made for rusty parts.......Just a little food for thought.

 

I would like to see the pictures too when you get done with it. I sprayed mine with the Eastwood tank tone and thought it came out looking good but not like a brand new glossy tank.

 

about por 15 not sticking to unrusty things, I wire wheeled and sanded my frame before putting por 15 on, same with my floor, once that stuff is on it's ON...I also sprayed the chasis with gm chasis black while the por 15 was slightly tacky, I tested a spot hit it with a ball peen hammer, and Nothin!! LOL... i was seriously considering covering the back of my noggin so I would be protected when the missus sees the bill for the 2 repop quarters I just got LOL....

 

When I pulled my gas tank off,I sandblasted and used Metal Mask by POR15. It gives whatever you are coating a bare metal finish.It adhered very well and is just as hard as the regular POR15. Good use for tie rods,sway bars or whatever if you want a gray finish. I have even dipped nuts and bolts in it.

 

I painted my engine with the high heat POR 15 engine paint. They provide a primer that allows the paint to adhere better to the cast surface. I am impressed with the results.

 

I still have a rhinoceres scar on the aluminum front bumper of my old Ford... No joke - our family was out at International Wildlife park feeding the animals 28 years ago when a huge rhino came up to our car and cleaned his horn on the bumper! After the giraffe came took our entire 5-gallon food bucket, we decided to just keep roling and not stop. We did not go through the monkey area thank goodness...

 

The regular, straight POR15 bites better into rusty surfaces. the rougher the better, as long as it is free of loose debris. For smooth surfaces, scuff sanding will help, or use primer.