Gas Tank stripping help

[ghnat]

I tried the search, but I could never get the tech articles???

I am trying to strip my gas tank and it is SLOW going with a drill and wire wheel. I tried some paint stripper from Home Depot but that sucked. That Wurths SKS is tough stuff. What can I use to make the job go quicker?


Thanks.....

[Dennis Kalma]

Heat....use an electric heat gun, scrape while it is still warm *no open flames unless you want to practice flight*

comes off slicker'n baby poop....

Dennis

[ghnat]

Hmmm - I'll head to the Depot tomorrow and pick one up. Yes, and no flight plans for me - that would totally suck!!!

Thanks Dennis.

[ozz]

Yup - Dennis is right on point. I did mine 2 weeks ago that way and it worked well. Take your time though - let the coating get soft before scrapping. I used a painters friend (scraper, roller cleaner, tool, etc) tool, it has several different edges that are helpful in scrapping the odd shaped areas.

After you get it scraped off, I found that a green 3m scotch-brite pads with cheap lacquer thinner (use gloves and have good ventilation) and it cleans right up. Then followed it up with 0000 steel wool and more lacquer thinner. Good luck.

[Sunroof]

Greg.
I restored my 1973.5T gas tank last year and had the same issues with removing several coats of tenacious stuff. I first inerted the tank by using a hair dryer (cold air) allowing it to blow thru the gas feed line and out all other openings for awhile. What worked for me was "paint stripper". I brushed it on several times and the next day the stuff came off like water off a ducks back!! It worked great. I bought several diffeent sized scrapers to handle the small curved areas. After getting as much off thru the stripper as I could, I then went to a wire wheel and worked the seam line followed by a Dremel on the hard to reach areas. I had the tank boiled and interior "Red Kote" coated at Sims Radiator off Buford Highway near Dekalb Airport (yep, I live in Alpharetta). It took no less then four cans of Wurth coating to recoat the tank after restoration. Total cost for supplies and Sims ran about $300. Try the stripper.

Bob
73.5T

[targa80]

Here is a thread I posted way back when on stripping wurth undercoating.

Ultimate undercoating scraper (cheap jeri-rig)

[ghnat]

targa80,

I saw that post a while ago but for some reason the search just would not search the forums. Must be operator error...

I'll check out harbor freight today and get a heat gun - good tool to have anyway.

Bob - what paint stripper did you use? The regular stuff I tried did not work so well.

Thanks for the replies. I will soon start my full rebuild thread... Can't wait!

[Porsche_911s]

Don't use a regular paint stripper, try a graffiti remover. I cannot remember the brand but there is one in a gold can that works better than just paint stripper.

[Sunroof]

Greg.
I forgot the name of the stripper as well, but I bought it at Home Depot. Just ask for a strong paint stripper for metals. It really bubbled that rubberized coating stuff up in a short period of time and came off with a butter knife! I would take a trip to Home Depot and let them know your intent. It beats the cost of a heat gun and the hassles with that. I do remember, it takes a good pair of gloves and eye protection as the stripper is tough stuff and can burn if it gets on your hands, but still cuts labor by far over other methods. Remember to thoroughly tape or cover your opening ports up!!

Good Luck
Bob

73.5T