Gas Tank Refurbushment

Got the gas tank out and notice some rust on the edges. If I were to stip the whole thing, what would the best method. I don't even have the slightest when it comes to safty procedure (he he... oops...). Any one done this? It seems stupid to put it back in with that rust there.... not to mention I'm looking for a cheap time sensitive project.

Adam Roseneck

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1978 911SC 3.0
roseneck@cyberbeach.net

i did mine a few months ago(1970 911t)it was all rusted on the inside and alittle on the out side, along with alot of undercoating as well. i literally had to torch the undercoating off along with a scrapper. i had it boiled and acid etched out at a radiator shop for 20$, got it back and hand sanded it alittle the spray painted with black rustolium. this is how i did it, was cheap, and looked a whole lot better then when i start. just dont forget to really wash out the tank before you put a flame to it, if you to scrape the years of undercoating off.

If your undercoating on the outside is in good shape except for the little areas I would touch up those areas with a little rust neutralizer. If the inside is questionable you can restore that yourself. Go to www.eastwoodcompany.com and order a gas tank sealer kit. It will clean the inside of your tank, then put a thin plastic protective layer down on the inside.

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Dante Oliverio
86 Turbo-Look Cab

Adam,
I think the radiator shop is the first stop. Let then boil it and get the nasties out. I think I read once about a product made by the same people that make por 15 for gas tank refurb. You pour it in the tank and roll it around to cover the inside.
Mark

Here's the link http://www.por15.com/cgi-bin/formrunner5?ConfigFile=scart/page1.cnf&CartNumber=Mar2218_12971&WhichCo=por15&WhichPage=page1&ItemNumb=catp8
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Mark B. Wilson
mbwilson@home.com
http://www.marksobsessions.20m.com/
'70 911E

[This message has been edited by expatriot98 (edited 03-22-2001).]

I got the POR15 gas tank kit. When I was done, the inside looked like new.

Kurt V
72 911E

i hear that saniclean and a couple of gallons of boiling water do a fine job on the inside. gloves and a face mask would be good.

I've used the sealer stuff on gas tanks (non-Porsche) and it works. But like Mark, I think the first stop would be the hot tank at the radiator shop. Call me lazy, but for $20 or so, the thing would be nicely prepped.

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'83 SC

I am cleaning my tank as we speak(type) along with the replacement of my front pan. Anyway, Here is what I did.

(First allow the tank to air out for several days or get it boiled. You should not be able to detect any fuel smell after.)

I got a heat gun to soften the undercoating and scraped it off with a stiff putty knife. I tried a torch, very smelly and burned rather than soften the undercoating. It will take a while to get it all off. Do not worry about getting the residue off at this point. The undercoating will be a dark grayish color on the outside and whitish on the indide. This is just the rubber. The white residue will be left over after scraping the tank. you can remove the residue with a wire cup brush in a drill. This is perfect for getting all the rust out as well.

I made my own rust dissolver(I am a chemist) out of phosphoric and Oxalic acid. If you have access to these chemicals I can send a recipe. I put some in the bottom of the tank and let it sit for about an hour. Then just washed it back out. I wedged a hair dryer in the inlet of the tank and let it blow warm air to dry the tank.

I will be sealing with the sealer from Eastwood(see link above). My tank is damn shiny in bare metal. Inside there was VERY little rust. Just some on the stiffening ridges(inside) on the underside of the tank. Outside the lip edges were rusty were the tank sat on the now removed pan. All this was treated. I will be painting the tank with POR15 and then coating the exposed bottom with undercoating from the local parts shop($3 a can).

Hopefully the project will be done soon. Hope this helps.

jamie
71 911T targa
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~jpnovak

[This message has been edited by jpnovak (edited 03-23-2001).]

Guys:
Be careful with torches around gas tanks - expecially empty ones (as opposed to one with water instead of gas in it, obviously). I know a guy who tried to braze up a hole in an empty tank. He had sloshed water around in it & drained it several times. The heat ignited the vapors left over in the tank & blew a flame out of the fill pipe right onto his forearm. He suffered a really severe burn from that.

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Marv Evans
'72 911E

No matter how may times you hose it with water, a gas tank is a bomb. I'd even be hesitant to use flame near a tank that has been 'hot tanked.' There's just certain things I'm overly careful about, and this is one of them.

Hey, I don't EVER want somebody's girlfriend or wife to log on and tell use that one of my good friends is seriously hurt or worse. You guys got that?

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'83 SC