Gas Tank question for the forum

[Rodney Bullock]

I spent some time with Joe Flanagan today:) He is doing some great work on his doors. He pulled out his gas tank( it had more sand than a beach) He was talking about getting it cleaned. I showed him a place near us that cleans tanks, wood car bodies. It's called chem strip. I had my gas tank(Studebaker) cleaned there however before I see Joe take his there I would like to ask the forum a question. My Plymouth tank was done by Re-nuz-it.

If you have your tank cleaned where all the sediment, rust old gas, everything is removed do you need to coat the tank with anything?

I know that I painted the outside of my tank with an eastwood product but do you need the do anything to the inside after all debre has been removed?

Any thoughts;)

[Normspeed]

Hi Rodney, no first hand experience but I've heard of some coatings that peeled or flaked later. My theory for what its worth, a fresh clean metal surface inside the tank would be fine. It may pick up a little surface patina of flash rust but would take lots of years of condensation and corrosion to become any real problem, such as heavy rust or scaling.

[Jim Yergin]

Rodney,

I followed the same thinking as Normspeed. Too many horror stories about peeling coatings. Rightly or wrongly I decided to rely solely on the effect of the phosphoric acid I used to clean the tank to give the bare metal some protection but chose not to do anything more. Just recently one of the members of our local woodie chapter had a problem with the gas tank in his Dearborn award winning 1939 Ford wagon. He had had the tank cleaned and coated but after a couple of years the coating peeled off and clogged his fuel system.

Jim Yergin

[Frank Elder]

Is there any "coating" that is actually fuel proof that can be made available to the general public? I mean they all seem to degrade over time due to gasoline's properties. There are military sealants that hold up for many years like 8802 and Red devil topcoat. These sealers are for JP-4 through JP-8 jet fuels, which is basically highly refined kerosene. I don't know how they would hold up to gas.

[daddyo23]

I think alot of problems came from sitting so long as many of our cars did. I just picked up a new tank from Tanks, Inc. Not going to use anything but fresh gas, hopefully refilling often from the miles I put on it;)

Wayne P.

[busycoupe]

A couple of years ago I restored a 1971 Triumph motorcycle. I had the tank alkyli dipped to clean it inside and out. I asked several motorcycle restorers about coating the inside. They all had different opinions about epoxy, red latex, eastwood products, etc. Finally, one guy says "How old is the bike? Was the tank coated originally? How long do you want it to last?" I left the inside just the way it was. Now it has a small amount of fine rust, but not alot. I do drain the gas when I put the bike up for the winter. .. I figure it will last longer than I will!

[Norm's Coupe]

I agree with the others. If the tank doesn't leak, I'd leave it bare metal. If it leaks, I'd replace it.

As for replacing with a steel tank or poly, there's probably two sides to that too. If condensation forms in the tank (which happens on a regular basis), the new metal tank will rust over time too. The poly tank doesn't. A lot of newer cars and trucks today have poly tanks from the factory just for that reason.

I know the old school rule is to drain the tank when you put the car (or any item with a gas tank) in storage. But.............I personally think it's better to put a car, etc. in storage with a tank as full of gas as you can get it. Why?? If the tank is full there is less room for condensation in the tank to form. With the tank empty, it can get a lot of condensation in it while in storage, causing it to rust faster.

[moparalltheway]

I agree never drain fill er up. I would advise coating. The best stuff to use is a product called Kream. I have bought it at motorcycle shops.

[Joe Flanagan]

Well, I called Chem Strip today and they say they'd charge from 65 to 85 bucks to do my tank, depending on how bad it is. When Rodney and I looked inside it, it's got thick gas residue on the bottom. About the consistency of maple syrup. It does flow, and will drain out. Fair amount of rust on the top. My plan is to take it to Chem Strip and leave it bare. We'll see what happens. I'll be asking them what their chemicals are supposed to do and I'll post the answer here. I think they might be a national chain but I'm not sure.

[Young Ed]

Joe I had my 46 tank dipped at a radiator shop. Its been in the truck almost 9 years now and I haven't seen any rust in the fuel filter. For the same reason Norm mentioned I try to store it as full as possible. I also use stabil in the gas.

[Joe Flanagan]

Thanks, Ed. Do you happen to know what the process is when they boil something at a radiator shop? Do they use chemicals?

[Young Ed]

I'm sure they must. Which ones though I have no idea.

[Fluid drive]

The only coating I have had success with is a preparation commonly used in tractors called Red Seal. I have used it in several restorations and in my own cars with no problems. The only difficulty with using an unlined tank is that moisture will condense and collect in the bottom of the tank and that will rust through in short order. If you are in a dry climate and you keep the tank full & occasionally drain the fuel from the bottom of the tank during long storage it is possible to get by.

[Joe Flanagan]

But if it's a daily driver then an unlined tank should be OK, right?

[Young Ed]

Joe I think you'll be fine as long as you drive it. My unlined tank has been going for almost 9 years now. And I only have about 3K miles during that time.

[BobT-47P15]

In our area, most of the radiator shops have quit dipping and boiling out

gas tanks. I suppose it may be due to insurance rules.

One place told me of a shop in Pittsburg, Kansas that would still do it.

And there may be one in Mt Vernon, MO that will. Would have to check

on that.

So, perhaps not every radiator place will work with a gas tank like in

the old days.

[Normspeed]

If you add some StaBil or Dry Gas periodically, you might keep some of that condensed moisture out.

[Niel Hoback]

If you use gas that is 10% ethanol, you shouldn't need to use anything else to remove moisture from your tank. Ethanol is a form of alcohol, which is what Heet and other gas dryers are.

Its a theory I think is good. I have not had any moisture problems since we started using ethanol several years ago.

[Joe Flanagan]

Well I dropped my tank off at Chem Strip in Maryland today. I saw a guy dropping off the hood to a late 60's muscle car. Looked like a Charger or something along those lines. The guy told me that everything would be bare steel when they finished, the exterior ready for paint after an application of wax and grease remover. There is very little rust on the outside of this tank. Any tips on how to test for pinholes? Thanks for all the advice, by the way.

[Jerry Roberts]

Put a little air pressure in the tank , not enough to cause leaks though , and spray the tank with soapy water while looking for bubbles .

[martybose]

Put a little air pressure in the tank , not enough to cause leaks though , and spray the tank with soapy water while looking for bubbles .

Heavy emphasis on a LITTLE pressure, like maybe 1 or 2 pounds. More than that can have spectacularly bad side effects!

Marty