Real experiences with Fuel Tank Sealing?

I know there are quite a few threads on this topic, and I have read most all of them, but I am hoping to get first hand experiences on this before i do it.

I need to replace (315.00 dollars) my 54 Customline tank or reseal it. Having been a mechanic and shop owner for years, I always took them to the radiator shop and had them boiled. Nowadays, in Palm Beach anyway, only one guy does this and he wants 350.00 dollars. The other radiator guys say DO NOT reseal a tank, and they all have personal horror stories and they did it for a living for a long time. I know there are are kits from Eastwood, POR-15, Carswell and RedKote. I have a lot of crud/rust/varnish in this tank. I know when I epoxied my stores front floor, it was nothing I want to do again soon and I can't imagine epoxying a tank is better since i can't see the coating.

So, some tips and personal experiences would be nice.

Thanks!

 

Sounds like you may be headed for trouble.

I did a motorcycle tank once woth POR-15 on my '85 V65 Magna and it was GOD AWEFUL! The fumes were horrendous and the the entire process was a complete headache! The etching of the tank, the constant swishing of the sealer to get it in all the spots of the tank...how are you to ever know if you can't see??!! I also tried the whole "dump a bunch of nuts and bolts and a bicycle chain and shake it around to knock the crud off" process...to no avail.

Anyway, to top off my POR-15 process, about a year later the fracken sealer started to peel off the inside of the tank and gum up the fuel filter, so I obviously didn't do it right.

At that point, I junked the that tank, picked up another one locally, which was in worse shape than my original one was, but I tried something that I heard a couple other guys try...

So what I did was/worked the best, and it's worked two other times for me... I went to Menards, bought some "The Works" toilet bowl cleaner, and all I did was cap off the fuel outlets with vacuum caps, poured the bowl cleaner in where you fill it with gas, left the filler cap open because it will build pressure, swished it around in the tank, tipped it upside down, and every which way for about three minutes, and the tank was fricken PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! chemical reaction! It basically etched the tank to perfection.

It looked brand new inside! So I rinsed it out with the garden hose for about a half hour to make sure all the bowl cleaner was out of it, put it on the bike, filled it with gas and enjoyed a VERY simple, well done job which only took me about an hour...I've never had a problem with the tank since.

Just my experience.

By the way, in case you go for buying a tank instead, I bought my tank for my '53 Crestline this spring from Auto City Cl***ics just north of me about 40 miles in Isanti, MN for $275. ...just a thought.

Good luck!

 

I am in a simular deal. Mine was rusted in the bottom outside area around the strap. I preasure washed mine in and out. Then media blasted the outside rust area which prodused some bad rust, I j b welded it three separate times and am going to use some Northern fuel tank sealer suposed to seal up to 1/16 holes. I have used this to seal Harley tanks in the past, And happy with it. Its a blue sealer so very visable on inner tank.

 

My local radiator place does a great job. But I have used the POR kit, it works great if you follow the directions. Stay away from Kreem, it's useless.

 

from my experiance..buy a new tank.

having a sketchy fuel tank is not what i would conciter a good call..

rust..and than on to your carbs, for more head aches..

come out to your garage loaded with fuel, or worse fumes

cruzin to your new spot..to be 50 miles from no where when the bottom decides to open up..

why **** around with it for it to only last another week , day, month , year..

300 bucks seems like cheap insurance to me

 

My Alpine tanks were losing their factory liner which was stripping off and plugging the carbs. On addition, the tanks were starting to rust on the inside. I was able to remove the old liner with ordinary paint stripper and some largish rocks thrown in the tanks. Swish around, let the stripper work, move the tanks around to encourage the rocks to remove the liner. Finally got all the old liner removed. Use POR Metal Prep (I think, its a zinc phosphate solution) to etch the tanks. Let dry, used the POR 15 gas tank sealer. Its been holding for over 3 years. Its a lot of work, but hell, a guy that doesn't want work should not **** around with old cars.

Bill

 

bought a 70 cb350 and found that the PO had done a half *** seal job on the fuel tank. Either kreem or POR-15 but it has starting to come off it nasty clumps and plug the fuel filter. Have heard great things about the works on motorcycle forums thou. worth a shot.

 

sounds like Bill spent more than the tank was worth, and its still not good as new.
your time is worth money..and so is all this ****ing around..rust will happen soon enough..and screwing with that in your carbs is a *****..not to mention chunks of cheap *** BS liners

i completely get the "low on funds deal"..but the constant battle of a rotten tank cost way more in the long run..ask me how i know..
i 've been there..done that..learned not to go there ever again

bite the bullet

no offence Bill.

 

Real experience is I had one with Kreem and one with Carswell start to peal and clog the lines. Had used them before with good luck but Side of the road is not worth $300.00 ever again in my book!

As for chemical treatments, I would be worried that the rust and **** would come back at some point. I did talk to a company years ago about zinc plating (or maybe it was galvanizing) a tank but never went through with it.

 

I to agree on a new tank. Problem I have is nobody repops mine and still looking for a good orginal. Mine is a wagon tank.

 

Absolutley get a new tank, do it right do it once,

I have used the stuff above have had toend up rebuild carbs and a case of filters and still have a mess on my hands all for a gas tank that now also leaks like crazy.

 

How much does it cost to get towed to the nearest town when it fails and clogs you up, or worse, damages the pump? I put an aluminum fuel cell in. Not factory, but not rusty.

 

If your looking to get your tank cleaned, go to a rad shop or to a Big Rig truck shop. They will power wash it with phosphoric acid and make the inside like new. After they will pressure test it and seal (solder) up any holes.

Don't screw around with home remedies if your not up to it. POR 15 will work real well but the tank has to be perfectly clean.

More rusting takes place on the top side of the tank then the bottom.

After the tank is all done, spray a nice silver coat of POR 15 over the tank and never look back.

 

Alright...I'm ordering new tank. I had never resealed one, nor had I ever recommended to a customer to reseal one unless I could not locate one. Have had them cleaned in past but not resealed. It seems a lot of people had great luck doing so here on the HAMB, but that's why I started this thread...wanted fresh and real life thoughts. Thanks all.

53Crestline, thanks for that name, i am going to call them tomorrow and see if they do shipping.

VonRiggFink...go do a running compression test on your engine..

 

Well, first off, no new Alpine tanks have been made for the past 42 years and it takes two of them. You guys that build cars out of a catalog have it made!! By the way, how do you know mine are not as good as new???? Have you seen them? Have you seen ANY Alpine tank?

Second, the tanks were not rotten. They were getting rusty, I would not have a problem coating a tank that has a few pinholes. But rotten, no way. Guys have been recoating them for at least the past 15 years with pretty good results. To "redo it right" is not especially cheap, about $75 for materials and a weekend.

Yes, rust will happen again. Even on your new tank.

Bill

 

For the ones you can't get a tank for http://www.gastankrenu.com/

It works, and will never rust or leak again.

 

That Gas Tank Renu looks like a good product...Lifetime Warranty, too? Hmm...

 

I've always had my radiator shop owner buddy tank 'em, and solder up any leaks. Never had a problem after that, and I've had some pretty shakey old tanks cleaned and repaired.

Brian

 

That may be what my local place uses. I know they have a lifetime warranty on it as well...

 

Zman thats what our radiator shop down here in Charlotte uses and it does a good job....

 

relax dude. i wasnt try to stomp on the way you do things.just giving the guy my 2 cents

build out of a catalog eh?.(if that was directed at me , come visit with me at the pick and pull)..i dont know anything about "your" tanks, i was giving my experiance ,and from what ive learned in life is. All that ****ing around cost as much or more than doing it right the first time..catalog or no catalog..and buying from a vendor on here supports this place and this hobby, you think they dont have catalogs?
building a fuel tank is not out of the question for me either if it has to come to that..

if you keep your new tank full when stored, no condensation will build up to rust it, and with todays fuel..water doesnt have much of a chance.

ive worked on cars that have had their tanks sealed, and the reason i was working on them was to get the **** out of the pumps lines and carbs..

like i said before..just my experiance, your mileage may vary..its just how i roll..you do your own thing and we end up in the same place at the end of it all ..anyways

 

Zman, totally my mistake, now that you say "Kreem", THAT'S what I used that I didn't feel was worth it's weight in @#%!, not POR-15.

Didn't mean to give POR-15 a bad wrap, I've never used it.

To everyone else, either way, my tank had 26 years of rust and old gas in it, it was insane what the feule sending unit looked like when I took it out...it looked like that old rust-colored **** carpet we had in our house growing up, "AND FURRY"!

I wasn't about to even consider the headache of trying to clean that thing out, making sure it was perfect, and still run the risk of running something other than "gas" through my new lines to the carb I just rebuilt. So, had to save a little here and there to buy a tank, but worth it in the end in my eyes.

 

Well, 3 months out for a fuel tank...looks like we're resealing it...

 

i have personally done three of my own with the eastwood kit and no trouble so far ,sold one after 4 years have one that is five years and one that only has a couple of years 39 ford like the man said sending unit was something to see 49 olds setting many years 62 chevy sitting 16 years,nothing is infallible

 

Just wondering...Will JB Weld hold on a gas tank, if the surface is ground clean, or will the gas soften it up and leak?...

 

I had mine done at a rad shop and also installed a 3/8 pick up tube. At the time
nobody made new ones for a 57 Ranchero or wagon. Now they do. So far
so good.

 

I had a radiator shop do mine with Redcote. So far, so good. It's a rather old tank, which I bought from another Hamber a couple of years ago. I came from a 1924 Federal Knight truck. It resembles a Model T style tank, but has Federal Knight embossed on the ends. It actually has anti-slosh baffles in it, so the radiator guy asked if he could bore holes to access each compartment to make sure he could clean it more thoroughly. I installed two filters, one coming out of the tank (just south of the shutoff valve) & one after the fuel pump. There was some small debris initially, but I changed the filters & it's gotten better the second time around. We'll see...only time will tell. This whole hot rod thing is a gamble, isn't it?

 

I used Bill Hirsh gas tank etch then sealer. Worked great.....
oh wait.....I haven't put gas in it yet......

 

I had the one in my '64 Chevy PickUp done at a radiator shop. It only cost me $45.00 and turned out great. Never smelled gas in the cab or any other problems you hear about doing this.

 

Must say $350.00 is ****** exspensive, we charge between $140.00nzd to $170.00nzd. We used to use Redkote but had afew that came back with it peeling off, we then switched to POR 15 and for the last 9/10 years of using it have not had a single one come back. The secret to it is we use our own mixture of Hydrocloric Acid and another chemical and leave it to furment for a couple of days then steam clean the inside and bingo it's back to shiny clean bare steel. Have done four tanks this week alone !
Kiwi Helrod