Oil tank refurbishment?

[JMA-RUF]

Guys, I'm having my oil tank ultrasonically cleaned, and when it returns, I want to re-paint the outside of it in black.

What kind of paint do you guys recommend for doing this?

Any pics of refurbished oil tanks out there?

[barney911rs]

When mine was done, the shop painted it. I was thinking of using BBQ grill paint.

[JFairman]

When I cleaned mine out, taped it all of, sanded and repainted it I used Plasti-kote 500 degree engine enamel. It comes in gloss, satin, or flat.
The stuff goes on way nicer than any other puff can paint and gasoline won't disolve it.
You can put on heavy coats and it won't blush, fisheye, sag, or wrinkle...
if you know how to spray it is amazing.

Don't bother with any other 500 degeee engine enamel, I've tried most of them and they give a crappy finish.

I would say Krylon is second best.

[Gogar]

I used gloss BBQ black for my tank. I'd recommend using some kind of gloss for easy cleaning; other than that, just try to find whatever you can that will stick like crazy. I don't hold out a lot of hope for my RustOleum Gloss BBQ black. Before I sprayed, I BRUSHED a big thick-ass coat of Rust-Oleum metal primer.

IMPORTANT!!!!!!

When you get your tank back from being cleaned, make sure you look at the brazing where the two metal parts of your tank (exterior and interior) meet on the flat surface near the drain plug. If you can see a crack AT ALL on the braze between the two metals, you need to address it, because oil will seep through that braze if it has gone bad.

I have(had) an issue where the braze was bad, and i kept ripping my hair out about the drain plug. Little did I know the bad weld/braze just above the drain plug was actually the culprit. It was PLAIN AS DAY once someone pointed it out to me. Tomorrow I can get a pic maybe.

Have fun!!

[JMA-RUF]

This stuff looks good http://www.speco.com.au/vht_engine.html

[haycait911]

automotive epoxy primer, bulletproof. then whatever you want over top, if anything.

[JMA-RUF]

What grit sandpaper do you recommend to prepare the oil tank surface for a fresh coat of high temp paint?

[Sunroof]

Just had mine done..............I have a 1973.5T so I may have a different mounting configuration then the SC's or Carrera's, but here is an interesting story of what happened to my oil tank.

Look at the two connectors (welded bolts) at the top of the tank that go through the rear fender well that attaches the tank to the car. The bolts are welded on a flange and this flange can crack where it meets the tank. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN THOSE NUTS ON THE BOLTS WHEN YOU PLACE THE TANK BACK ON THE CAR! This can stress the flange. What happens is the oil rises from heating and will weep through this tiny crack and leave you puzzled like I was. Since the leak is on the inside you cannot locate it easily but the oil flows from the crack over the filter housing making you think the filter housing or filter are messed up. I thought all along I had a bad fitting filter. I changed out two until I wised up! For some peace of mind you may want to inspect this area before painting and re-attaching. You may even consider cleaning the area with a dremmel and adding a two part expoxy for reinforcement.

My tank was "boiled" in a caustic solution by a local radiator restoration shop, which removed the outer paint. I used a metal spray-on (Rustoleum) primer followed by three coats of POR 15Gloss Black paint. I recommend POR 15 because it dries rock hard and is an outstanding sealer. The bottom of the tank gets alot of abuse with rocks and debris flying up from the tire. I made sure I added a thicker layer of paint in this area. Don't forget the new cork gasket for the oil level unit.

Bob
73.5T