Gas tanks

[Rex T.]

Does anyone know of a "relatively easy" way to restore a gas tank that is quite rusty on the inside? I have seen "tumblers" that are filled with metal shavings and they are used for polishing metal parts and removing rust from small parts. Is anything like this available that is large enough to put a mid year gas tank in? I have considered partially filling it with sand and trying to roll it around, but I'm not sure if even this would work. I've already bought a new reproduction tank, but I would still like to retain the original if possible. Thanks in advance for your help. Rex #8089

[Ray C.]

Re: Gas tanks

I just completed cleaning and sealing the inside of my 65 tank. I used a product called POR-15 tank system. The system consists of three parts. Cleaning, rust removal, and sealant. I had only minor rust and varnish build-up; there were instructions for heaver rust build-up. There is a short small learning curve, and if I had to do it again I would spend extra time rotating the tank after the application of the finial sealant. I ended up with extra product build-up in areas of the bottom of the tank. I was happy with the results as it currently stands, but will hold any recommendation until time has proven it to be a quality product. If you are interested in this product, e-mail me off forum and I will provide you with the URL.

Hope this helps
Ray

[Rob A.]

Re: Gas tanks

There are a couple of places that specialize in "dipping" frames, etc., that you could use to clean the tank. I believe they are called redi-strip, and when finished it would leave a zinc-phosphate protective coating that prevents rust. Although I haven't used them for a tank, I have for other items and it works great, non-abrasive and they can leave it in for as little or as long as you like, depending on how much cleaning you are interested.

[Wayne C.]

Re: Gas tanks

Frankly, repro gas tanks aren't all that expensive.

You're gonna have to remove it anyway in order to work on it or have it done. If it's rusty, I'd replace it rather than go to all the trouble of removing serious rust from the inside and coating it.

I have some friends who claim they tied a rusty speedboat gas tank to a pipe supported in the horizontal position, added a makehift handle at the pipe end, partly filled the tank with gravel, closed it up, and spent a couple of hours rotating the tank. In their case, there weren't any replacement tanks to be had, and they were on a tight budget at the time anyway, so they improvised!

[John H.]

Re: Gas tanks

The tank is made from "terne-plated" steel (zinc-lead alloy) for corrosion resistance; anywhere it has rusted, the terne-plate is gone, and it will rust again when exposed to the usual condensate moisture inside a fuel tank, causing the usual problems with clogging the "sock", etc. I'd just replace it with a Quanta reproduction tank with the Anderson Tank logo stamped in it and it'll last longer than you will

[Jack H.]

Re: Gas tanks

The early Quanta reproduction gas tanks I've seen appeared to have the block A (Anderson) oriented 90-degrees out of phase with respect to factory original tank emboss. Can anyone confirm/deny Quanta's reproduction process has changed making it 'correct' these days?