The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Gas tank cleaning

Hello People,
I'm restoring a 1950 3800 One ton. Looking for suggestions on the best way to clean the old gas tank. Just took the cab to the body shop, should have it back within a couple of weeks. Thanks in advance for any suggestions...Clint

I take them to the local radiator shop, they clean them for $40. Pressure washer works well if not too cruddy. Brian

Local radiator shop boiled mine out and lined it for $80. Just like new!!

Like the other guys, I had the radiator shop boil it out. That got the old crud and varnish out, but there was still surface rust inside. I was concerned that this would flake off, so I filled it with water with a mild acid solution and left it for a couple of days. After rinsing it out, there was still some rust, so I repeated the process. Now the tank was smooth inside so I poured in the sealer (liner) as per the instructions on the can. Result: no leaks and a clean fuel filter. (I had cut open the old fuel filter and it was full of rust, so I knew I had a problem)

I have the same problem, good tank on the outside, really rusted on the inside. What type of acid solution did you use to clean the inside? I'd really like to salvage the tank.
http://www.geocities.com/pickinjim1/Jims51truck.html

I used muriatic acid because it was easily available at the paint store, but a lot of people people prefer phosphoric acid.

I was not worried about acid embrittlement (aka hydrogen embrittlement) since modern tanks are galvanized and one of the first things they do in the galvanizing process is pickle the metal in hydrochloric acid.