I have had experience with a local radiator shop boiling out a tank for me and four years later I had so much rust scale that it plugged the outlet, even before the aftermarket in-line filter. Fortunately, the truck died in the driveway. I will never do this again.
This was on my 1947 Diamond T model 509. Since a repop was out of the question, I then used one of the shops that represents Gas Tank Renu. Their process is to cut holes in the tank to be able to media blast the inside. The more baffles, the more holes. If you think about it, baffles may defeat more simple solutions, making it nearly impossible to get it clean. They then braise in hole plugs. The inside and outside are coated with a type of plastic and then the tank gets baked in an oven. After shipping the tank to them, they called with a quote (about $300 for my 30 gal tank with two baffles) and a couple weeks later I had my restored tank. Three years later, NO PROBLEMS.
When I get to this point with my '50 COE, I will probably go with a repop since it would be cheaper, or if I feel especially attached to the original, I will go with Renu. I think Scott is right, once you have rust, boiling or mechanical rust removal is only delaying the inevitable. With our Chevys, we are lucky to have new ones available at a reasonable price and you can avoid John's version of Russian Roulette.
Last edited by Lightholder's Dad; 10/11/2008 4:30 AM. Reason: typo
