Gas Tank Etch and Sealer

59mgaguy said:
Stan,

When building a house you have to start with a good foundation. Where did you come up with the Vinegar? Take the tank to a radiator shop and have them boil it. You need to get all that crud and rust out of the inside of the tank. Including the old sealer. If you don't. You've wasted your time and money. May I suggest you give Bill a call. He'll put you on the correct path.

As for coating all of the inside. That's why I stated about when you think your done you keep on turning the tank around even more. Remember water is the enemy when coating the inside.

And stay away from the additives and other snake oil treatments. The chemicals in some of this stuff will do more harm then good to the sealer.
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The vinegar idea was from several fordbarners of an earlier thread when I started the project. As far as a radiator shop, coming up empty on that. At least in my area, the radiator shops that were, are no longer, since at least for modern cars, replacement usually trumps repairs.
 
I'm in the process of trying to remove sealer from a motorcycle tank that was sealed a few years ago and is now dissolving and coming loose in chunks. I don't know what brand sealer was used, but it is a mess. We will probably ruin the nice paint on the outside by the time we are done. This is the 2nd one I have seen that went bad. There may be some good products available, but I would never take the chance on using the stuff.
 
I haven't had to do this on a model A, but on MG's and such, I've filled them with soapy water and a handful of small dry wall screws.

Then boil on the BBQ grill outside, grabbing with oven mitts and agitating occasionally.

Messy, but effective, if you want to do it yourself.

On the 65 Mustang I did, the replacement tank was only $99.00. No one is making them for Model As?
:o
 
You can remove the sealer with MEK- Methyl Ethyl Ketone. Once you clean the tank with marine clean do as RobertB said with the screws or even a length of chain. For the rust you can PM me. I'll pass on what I use to clean out the crud and rust. Cost is only a couple of dollars for what I use.

John
 
59 mgaguy thanks for the tips , as soon as the weather improves ,I'm going to have the tank boiled out and then i'll use the sealer. I'm going to save it as you suggest, I have a 2nd tank I want to do the same thing to, think one kit can do both tanks?? thanks for the helpful hints THE HOOCH
 
Should be enough in 1 qt. to do two. That is if you have covered all the inside with a first coat and no puddles. I usually will pour in 2 qts of sealer at a time in the tank I'm working on. I do this because it's easier to coat the inside with more. But you don't have to. I do about 2 to 3 tanks a year so any left over sealer I use don't go to waste.

Just want to warn you about adding additives to you gas. Read what they put into the additives. They will break down your sealer. Plus most of the stuff is just plain snake oil.
 
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