I took my fuel tank to the self serve car wash. Stuck the wand in. Sprayed soapy for five minutes. Bought POR15 Gas tank Restoration Kit. Step 1: Marine Clean- really got rid of the gum and varnish. Step 2: Metal prep(acid) attacked the rust. Step 3: Apply tanks sealer and be done. I stopped at Step 3 because POR15 hadn't done the job. I left the Metal Prep in the tank, rotated every few minutes for the max of two hours, like the instructions said. Reached my hand thru the sender unit hole and felt loose rust grit. See pix. I'm on the fence whether to use muriatic acid or vinegar to get rid of the remaing oxidation. See pix in order of progress. Stuck my camera down the sender hole to get these pix. I'm guessing a third of a tank of gas evaporated over a 15 year period. Then, I got it. I need to get it cleaner for the POR15 Sealer to seal it. I spent $73.00 for the POR15 Kit from Eastwood, and it didn't quite do the job.! UGH!
The kit is good for mildly rusty tanks. If your tank is severly rusty, you need to go an extra step. While you have the Marine cleaner in the tank, you need to use soemthing to mechanically knock loose the worst rust. Guys have used chains, nuts and bolts, whatever you have, and can later fish out of the tank (something magnetic is good, and easy to pull out wiht a pickup magnet tool). You'll have to agitate the tank to work the "abrasive" against all sides to knock off the loose stuff. You and a friend can get a real workout doing this. Then follow the rest of the instructions to finish the prep and coat. A note...even after using the etch, the surface may look dirty or still rusty. But the etching process neutralizes the rust, or converts it to something inert, so it' can't spread. It might not look good, but it will work, the sealer will lock it up and further prevent corrosion.
Got her done. After the POR 15 treatment, stuck my forearm in the sender hole and wire brushed inside the tank. Then, used evapo rust, metal prep, sealer. Killed a few brain cells from the chemicals. Almost p***ed out. Important to be upwind. First picture after final cleaning. Second picture the tank is sealed. Done.
I've always loaded them with BB's and rattled them around for a while too, might be better if ya have access to a paint shaker....
The Jalopy Journal
