Oil tank restoration

[den912]

I’m wanting to remove my oil tank from my 1970 911 ,is this fairly easy .Once out what’s the best way to restore it ,what type of paint do you use or can it be powder coated
I’ve looked on line to see if any one has posted a how to video but couldn’t find one
Thanks

[Dpmulvan]

Mine is in the parts washer and I was just thinking about this 5 minutes ago. I have powder coating eguipment however i think I'm going with paint due to prep, and the fact that there's a few different metals and I'm not sure how powder would work out. I'm going with a 2 part epoxy primer then some flat or semi black paint.

[Ctopher]

Originally Posted by Dpmulvan

I'm going with a 2 part epoxy primer then some flat or semi black paint.

I would suggest a semi/satin as a flat will show oil spots as shiny and won’t clean up as nice as a satin.

But I suggest doing a ceramic coating instead. They are baked on and nearly impervious to chemicals and should last till the next restoration many many years from now.


Ctopher

[kfosburg]

I did POR-15 on mine and it came out pretty good. Very tough stuff and should be easy to keep clean due to the gloss.



Karl

[den912]

How easy is it to remove the tank ,and what’s the best way to clean the inside

[Robert Adams]

Most decent independent Porsche shops can wash it out and in the process, most of the original paint will come off. Any paint left will either pick off or is on tight so Por over it.
Scuff it lightly being careful not to remove the cooper coating. Por15 satin/matte finish; spray or brush. Por15 tends to even out smooth on it's own. One side then the other. Prime & paint the sending unit.

[kfosburg]

It's not too bad to remove... drain it, remove the right rear wheel, loosen the fender reinforcement, remove the nuts and breather hoses inside the engine compartment, remove oil filter. Disconnect oil lines, level sensor wires from fender well... Then, it rotates out - takes a bit of fiddling, but not too bad.

Cleaning - take it to a local radiator shop is probably the easiest way. I chose to just use water, detergent and elbow grease. Careful removing the level float - it has some small wires on it.

Pelican has all the rubber donuts, washers, and other rubber parts to make it nice when put back in.

Karl

[den912]

Thank you everyone for your help ��

[911tracker85]

Scuff it lightly being careful not to remove the cooper coating

I am about to attack my oil tank for my project, already have it out. but intended to do some research first.

so it has copper coating? where, whole thing? my intent was to PC it, and the shop that I use first does a chem strip, then blast clean before PC. and they are good plugging any openings when blasting and applying the PC. I am going satin black on everything I have PC'ed.

will be watching this thread for ideas and cautions.

[mepstein]

I powdercoat them. Remove paint with paint stripper, glass bead blast just enough to give it some "tooth" but not enough to remove the copper, powder coat. Then it gets rinsed a couple times, dropped in an ultrasonic cleaner, and rinsed again, just to be sure. Cerikote would be a great option but I like the powdercoat since they usually are somewhat corroded (east coast) and the powder smooths it out.

The original ones have copper inside and out. The reproductions are not usually copper coated.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I always Cerakote oil tanks, use 2 coats. Any imperfections are filled for a beautiful finish. There is a new heat dissipation Cerakote that I'm eager to use on the next tank.

[Ctopher]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

I always Cerakote oil tanks, use 2 coats. Any imperfections are filled for a beautiful finish. There is a new heat dissipation Cerakote that I'm eager to use on the next tank.

This is what I was thinking. I’ve already applied the heat dissipation cerakote to my oil cooler and oil lines. Next down the list is the oil tank and condensers.


Ctopher

[911tracker85]

I always Cerakote oil tanks, use 2 coats.

and considering the location it does get a lot of abuse. guess this is another item I'll be sending you......

[Harpo]

What about these guys

Capabilities List

[mepstein]

Originally Posted by Harpo

What about these guys

Capabilities List

They have long been known as the "go to" for oil cooler and tank cleaning.

[Techno Duck]

Pacific Oil Cooler cleaned and refinished the tank for my '88. They did a nice job. I think all they use is a high temp black paint.

[Sunroof]

Carefully check for cracks in the two welded mounting pieces that fit on the body. This are can crack and you will suddenly find oil on your garage floor after a warm up. This happened on my 1973.5T tank. After having it flushed out at a radiator shop, I used two coats of POR 15 black. If you want a rock hard long lasting coating use the POR 15 product. Your tank is hidden and no need to make it a fancy color as no one but you will know its their! The tank get bombarded with stones and rocks chips and debris. Use a hard finish to preserve it.

[JacobS911]

This thread is timely.. planning on tackling my tank this spring.

[rolfjahn]

Wurths, change the sender while its out-gauge responded smoother was jumpy before

[911tracker85]

Shaun,
scrubbed it up and got most crud/oil off. is this the copper coating peaking through? from road debis it does have some areas of surface rust.

will be shipping in the next day or two.