Gas tank sealer...whats your opinion?

[BillJoBob]

Looking to restore my fuel tank. Got several options, buy a new one, restore the old one, build one from scratch. Curious about the sealers that I have been told will keep the rust at bay and out of my carbs....what brands are out there and do they really work? Should we get the tank boiled out? its slightly rusty inside, very rusty outside. Dont really have the dough for a new one, but Im a welder in training and have contemplate the idea of making one from sheet metal. Thoughts?
Cheers!

Bill

 

[jsfbond]

The POR people make a couple of great seal kits. One sized for motorcycles, and one for cars/light trucks. They go for $45.ish, and $80.ish respectively. If you follow the directions for the cleaning/prep its the cats behind. Start with a cup of solvent and a length of chain (small link) or nuts/washers/bolts etc. to be sloshed around inside the tank, at every possible angle....the more scale taken off with this step, the longer the tank will last.

 

[TR3driver]

I'll get booed for this; but I just repaired the leaks in mine and went on. Rattle-canned the outside, left the inside alone. That was some 25 years ago, and while a few flakes of rust showed up in the sediment bowl over the years, I never had a problem. And the patch is still holding. (The tank is out of the wrecked car now, I had to pour out the mixed fuel and rainwater still standing in it. The bottom was dry.)

The POR kit is probably fine; but I've heard several horror stories over the years of coatings that would not stand up to MTBE and/or ethanol. And who knows what they will be putting in our fuel in another 10 or 20 years?

YMMV, NFI, this offer void within or without yadda yadda

PS, I'm pretty sure the one in Dad's car that I repaired in 1975 is still holding as well, but I haven't verified that for myself.

 

[Tim Tucker]

Bill Hirsch Gas Tank Sealant
The local professional shop uses the Bill Hirsch line of products. Several guys I know have used him. He's been there forever. I cleaned mine out with a combination of media blasting through the holes and small gravel. Sealed it and let it set ~9 months before using. Worked great. Paint/PC the tank after you seal.
Tim

 

[dklawson]

+1 on POR.

I have used the Kreem kits and a brand similar to Kreem, then I tried POR.

Like all painting project, success lies in the prep work. Take your time and follow the instructions carefully.

There are three things I prefer about the POR kits. 1) The POR chemicals are much "friendlier" than the MEK used in kits like Kreem. 2) Your working time with POR is fairly long. 3) The POR material is metallic in appearance which leaves the tank looking pretty original (through the filler neck). Kreem type coatings go on white and quickly discolor to dark amber from exposure to gasoline.

 

[Guest]

I used the kit from Eastwood when restoring My TR2 9 years ago. Worked great with no problems.

 

[hondo402000]

I used the POR kit 2 years ago. I also sand blasted the inside, just stuck the blast hose in thru the filler hole about 1 foot and let it do its magic, moved it around dumped the sand out and did it again. got all the rust out of the tank, vacummed the tank out and then por ed the tank. so far nothing in the filters, I am happy with the results

Hondo

 

[rustbucket]

Buy a new one. Sealing, patching etc. is not worth the hassle.

 

[jsfbond]

Buy a new one. Sealing, patching etc. is not worth the hassle.

Sacrilege! the appeal of the British car, is in spending weeks, and mucho $$$$, to repair/restore/make from scratch an easily replaced part. Duh!

 

[LBCs_since_1988]

I'm not crazy about the stuff. I would have replaced the tank thirteen years ago but they weren't available then (at least not at an affordable price!). However, I sealed it <span style="font-weight: bold">1998</span> and it's still holding strong.

 

[dklawson]

Sacrilege! the appeal of the British car, is in spending weeks, and mucho $$$$, to repair/restore/make from scratch an easily replaced part. Duh!

I agree 100% !!!

 

[Got_All_4]

I don't think POR recommends using their metallic coating sealer for sealing gas tanks any more. I sell the stuff and got a memo awhile ago about it. I used it in my TR250 tank in 04 and used all the cleaning methods including metal prepping it. I got nervous when I got the letter and looked inside my tank with a flash light and sure enough you can see where it's lifting. A new tank is best of if you have a Re-New franchise in your area they are great. I know there is one in Erie PA.

 

[rustbucket]

I'll admit the TR3 tank is one of the most expensive ones to replace. TRF lists it at $500.00.

After chasing pinholes with sealers and patches on an old MGB tank, I swore I would never attempt to repair another tank. I'm glad others have had better success.

But then again MGB tanks are cheaper at $340.00. I have seen them under $300 on sale.

 

[BillJoBob]

Well...after reading these replys...im feeling much better about our tank. My uncle just had his datsun 260z tank boiled out and sealed for about 150 bucks...and it looks pretty good, so I think we will go that route for now. I still want to make one just for the heck of it...lol.
Cheers!

 

[DNK]

Makes sense to me. I had mine done....twice

 

[AEW]

What were the plans to do it from scratch, if that had been the decision? I'm just curious how it might look. Shape, volume, made of...etc.

 

[angelfj1]

Looking to restore my fuel tank. Got several options, buy a new one, restore the old one, build one from scratch. Curious about the sealers that I have been told will keep the rust at bay and out of my carbs....what brands are out there and do they really work? Should we get the tank boiled out? its slightly rusty inside, very rusty outside. Dont really have the dough for a new one, but Im a welder in training and have contemplate the idea of making one from sheet metal. Thoughts?
Cheers!

Bill

Bill: There's no reason your tank can't be saved. Mine was typical and required lots of repair where the bottom had rotted and had started to leak. Cutting open the bottom allowed us to clean the inside very well. We used the Eastwood product (acid etch followed by an epoxy based sloshing sealer) and then painted the exterior with DuPont polyurethane in gloss black.

 

[dklawson]

I don't think POR recommends using their metallic coating sealer for sealing gas tanks any more.

Just to be clear, when I said that the POR left a metallic looking coating, that WAS their tank coating material as supplied in their tank restoration kits. I was not (and am not) talking about "regular" POR with the silver pigment.

After 9 years, I have no lifting or peeling of the POR in the tank I coated with POR.

 

[ScottFromNH]

I used the POR gas tank sealer kit. I haven't had a problem with it at all but its only been 6 months. I did read a lot that if it is not done correctly it would pretty much ruin your tank.

 

[BillJoBob]

What were the plans to do it from scratch, if that had been the decision? I'm just curious how it might look. Shape, volume, made of...etc.

The simple design of the tank makes reproducing it fairly straight forward, compared with more modern rounded edge type tanks. The sides and baffles are made of flat pieces, which could be cut out from a single sheet of metal. The stampings would be a bit harder to reproduce, but could be done using steel bar and wood blocks. My grandfather made a press for these...he used an '85 cadillac..lol. Not sure what he was reproducing, but it worked! Routing out a grove larger than the bar and mounting the bar into the wood with tabs welded onto the end of the bar, and bent over to hold it in place. The outside of the tank is just one long piece of sheet, folded and rolled to the shape of the ends and drilled out for fill tube, vent, pick up, sender, and drain. Sounds pretty simple, but Im sure it would require a lot of thought, some homemade engineering for the bending and rolling and some time to weld up. I have considered cutting out a section of the long side of the tank to gain access to the interior and then weld up a patch after it was cleaned.