Rusty petrol tank

[sapper740]

Hello all. I recently replaced a clogged fuel filter. Lots of rust was present due to, I'm sure, the previous owner keeping a minimum amount of gasoline in the tank for decades. Condensation has taken it's toll over the years and the inside of the tank is quite rusty. I drained it and have done a visual inspection which confirmed the problem. Short of removing, fabricating and welding a new bottom, or replacing altogether, is there available any sort of commercially available product which will provide a temporary fix? We're fixin' to hit the high season here in Texas for reenactments and I want my CMP ready to go. Any help greatly appreciated. Derek.

[Phil Waterman]

I have used a number of different tank cleaner sealer products over the years. Check out eastwood.com for some information. Also, check with a large auto parts house near you.

Be careful though that the product is designed for use with the current gas. Some of the older sealer did not take kindly to the alcohol that is currently being added to the gas. The alcohol tends to soften the old sealers.

Originally posted by sapper740
Short of removing, fabricating and welding a new bottom, or replacing altogether, is there available any sort of commercially available product which will provide a temporary fix?

Well, here's a way of cleaning it without too much effort but I have no idea if some of the necessary items are available at your end.

You need a small electric (preferably) concrete mixer, these are very popular here for small DIY jobs and commonly used by 2 men brick-laying teams.

You need an old car toughened windscreen (windshield) or perhaps like us the side and rear vehicle glass is toughened while the windscreen/shield is laminated.

Put the glass into a fertilizer bag or whatever for safety and smash it so it pops into those myriad of little squares, add to this a handful of smallish nuts from the come-in-handy box, Metric, UNC, UNF, Whitworth, BSF or British Cycle Thread, any will do and then put the whole lot into the tank through the filler.

Cap the tank and bungee it to the mouth of the mixer, switch on and leave for a goodly time to tumble, maybe a whole day; re-orientate 90º and do it again. Pour the rubbish out and rinse, inspect with a torch (flashlight).

Repeat if necessary.

R.

[Mike Timoshyk]

I have used pea gravel and diesel fuel to clean inside jerry cans...arms get tired shaking the sh_t out of it but it works to clean it. You can also go to a Radiator Gas tank shop and they can coat the inside with a sealant. Unfortunately the name of the product escapes me at the moment but will find out monday.


Cheers

Mike

[sth65pac]

Some GREAT ideas here.....

My answer.....was... Remove the sender, and ANY alloy parts! Fill your tank with 1/4 molasses, 3/4 water. Shake or premix!

Wait a three weeks (needs to be about 20C+ for molasses to work), Drain the tank. and the rust is gone.

Any holes you can braze up prior to putting in polyester if you fill the tank completely with water. DO NOT WELD... only braze, as you will get closer to heaven real fast! KABOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Dry tank completely (with hair dryer if you need to) and then fill with two pack polyester tank seal stuff (Motorbike shops know about it as it is used on steel tanks there), and problem is solved for about 25 years+

I like Richard's idea.... its less labour intensive & I might buy a mixer!!!

Ian

[grant fincher]

I have had the same problem just recently and sealed both tanks with Red Kote sealer. Once the flakey rust is removed you clean the tank out and pour the product in and cover the entitre interior of the tank. When dry it leaves a rock hard coat of plastic over the entire tank. It claims to seal holes up to 2mm in size. I did it prior to Christmas and "touch wood" no leaks since. If you type Red Kote into your search engine, you will find all the information on how it works and where to obtain it from.
Grant Fincher

[Tony Smith]

After you have cleaned the tank using broken glass or gravel, POR 15 is another sealer product that is available.

[sapper740]

Thank you gentlemen, lots of great ideas here. I too like the idea of the cement mixer! I checked the Red Kote website and that product looks to be what I need. The Red Kote website mentions using pieces of chain to knock off the rust but I like the idea of broken safety glass better. I'll give it a try and I'll let everyone know the result. Thanks again! Derek.

[grant fincher]

If you want to do any hot work on the tank, run an exhaust pipe into the tank withe the engine running for 20 minutes to half an hour. That will render it harmless for fumes and large explosions when welding.
Grant

Originally posted by grant fincher
If you want to do any hot work on the tank, run an exhaust pipe into the tank withe the engine running for 20 minutes to half an hour. That will render it harmless for fumes and large explosions when welding.
Grant

Snap!

I was going to say exactly the same thing 8hrs ago, but got distracted. Hot exhaust gasses leach out all the hydrocarbons and carry them away.

R.

[Mike K]

The POR 15 kit is the way to go . It's been around for many years now . If it wasn't any good , word would have spread around the collector car movement by now .

You have to follow the instructions to the letter . Its a 3 part kit , a wash , acid etch , then the sealer . The chemicals are rather nasty so be very careful , the acid is super strong and it will tattoo your skin . Use gloves .

You can do more than one tank , prepare two and do em together , once the cans are opened , thats it , you cannot reuse the sealant once its opened . It fills pin holes and even larger holes with the supplied cloth sheet .

The kit is available in US and here too , dont know about Uk ? They make a range of rust paints too .

Mike