The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk need to clean my gas tank.....

lots of rust in the tank on my '59 1/2 ton due to being in storage for many years. I checked the old threads and this subject has been discussed before but what I need is someone to tell me exactly where to get the acid to clean the tank and the coating for after and how to apply the coating. I have tried to locate these locally and nobody has a clue what I need. Anybody??

Carl

Cjoe, just buy a new tank...don't waste your time trying to clean it...it will make your life a lot easier...and save time

My local Advance Auto Parts sells a tank sealer and tank cleaner.

I clean my tanks with a double handful of clean rocks and about a gallon and a half of fresh gas.. shake the hell out of it for about a half an hour and dump it all out.. the rocks knock loose most of the rust.. but if your tank is in real rusty bad shape, you'll probably want to follow that procedure up with the 'proper' tank cleaning kit.

I've been told that Muriatic acid works great for cleaning gas tanks.. and should be available at any swimming pool supply company.. but word around the campfire is that stuff just etches the metal and doesn't inhibit 'new' rusting.

Phosphoric acid is supposed to 'convert' the rust back to metal, and then leaves a coating on the 'unrusted' metal that inhibits future rusting.

Here\'s a site with some information . While it's a motorbike site, the principles are still the same.

Local radiator shop's will be able to clean and seal for you.The one hear charges me $80.

check this out also
http://www.por15.com/s.nl;jsessionid=ac112b1b1f430976205ccc974a9dba41bd4bd1201abd.e3eTaxmKbNaNe3yLaNiRbxqNe6fznA5Pp7ftolbGmkTy?sc=2&category=180

cjoe,
I'm right in the middle of this on my 51. Was pretty rusty inside when I started. First thing I did was flush it out real good with plain old water, till it ran clear. Blew it out and then let it dry. I then put about 40 2" drywall screws and about an 8' length of that cheap flat link chain that they sell for hanging flourescent lights, etc. I would shake it and rattle it around for a while every day for about a week. Then dumped everything out and flushed it with water again. This will get rid of the bigger chunks of rust. Then I took a half gallon of muriatic acid and added it to a half gallon of water inside the tank.(Always add the acid to water and don't breathe the fumes.) Shook and sloshed this mixture around for a couple of hours, drained and rinsed. Followed the same procedure a second time. Then filled up the tank all the way, added a gallon of the acid, and let it sit overnight. The next day I drained and rinsed again, then put in a quart of hot water mixed with a quart Marine Clean which is available from POR-15 dealers. Sloshed that mixture around for 24 hours( no you don't have to do it continuously ), drained and rinsed. I'm at this stage now and you'd never know it was the same tank. Nice clean metal inside. I plan on giving it one more overnight acid soak tonight, and then another 24 soak in the 1 to 1 Marine Clean solution. After that I'll treat it with POR 15's Metal Ready, which is an acid solution that will etch and treat the bare metal like Fumblin says. I've also got a quart of POR-15's tank sealer, but I haven't decided yet whether I'll use it, since the tank is solid and very clean now.
The muriatic probably removed the terne plating from the inside so my only concern is now keeping future rust at bay.
The muriatic I purchased at Menards for $3 a gallon, but any hardware store will carry it. The Por products I bought at a swap meet, for about $60 total. Gallon of Marine Clean, quart of Metal Ready, and quart of sealer.
Like Viejitos says, its easier to take it to a radiator shop, but I'm a little stubborn and like to do things myself.

Heres a link to a good site about cleaning a fuel tank:

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/FuelTankRestoration.html

Bob

For the time you spend, or paying someone to clean it, it would be cheaper to buy a new tank. Then you can sleep at night too. It's just not worth the hassle, to me any way. Good luck.

What I did was let her sit for a day or 2 and let any remaining gas evaporate. Dump a few gallons of diesel in her, fill her with a bucket of those old bolts you keep in the garage, block the openings and roll her around in the yard till you get tired. Drain and filter that diesel back in there a few times and shell come out good as new!

There's nothing wrong with cleaning and coating your tank. If you have the money laying around to buy a new one go ahead. The "kits" you can buy to clean and coat your tank use Phosphoric acid, the same stuff that's in Coke. It's slow and expensive but fairly safe to use. Muratic acid is very fast and cheap but dangerous to use. You can get it anywhere pool supplies are sold, hardware stores too. If you use Muratic acid it's wise to kill the acid by pouring in several gallons of soda water before you dump the acid. I've used several kinds of coatings and prefer Red Kote I get mine locally at the Bumper To Bumper parts jobber. I've said before and will say again those who have trouble with tank liners are those that don't follow the manufacturer's instructions.

You got it Tiny, why don't you just go buy a new truck, for the time and money you spend on restoring one.

Bob

I sent a tank out & had it cleaned & coated & it,s worse now than before. The coating is disolving in the gas & gumming up the carb. I had to buy a new tank anyhow.

I had the same problem as George but on a motorcycle. Do you know how hard it is to get that junk out of those little carbs on a cycle? When it comes to the fuel system, the cleaner the better. I would spring for the new one too,
Scott

I have cleaned and sealed close to 250 car and motor cycle tanks in the past 7-8 years.You guys are right most the time its not a lot,if any cheaper but not all gas tanks can be replaced with a new tank. I use and swear by "U.S.TankSealer" which is sold by POR 15. I also use their kits,their cleaning products and follow their instruction to a "T".The main issue is getting the inside of the tanks dry before applying the sealer. Once its washed out and clean , I put a cheap Hair Dryer($9.99) blowing into for at least over night... some tanks with a lot of baffles take longer. Maybe this will help.
Their website is www.por-15.com

You are exactly right about needing to be dry and that's what most people don't do. A hair dryer is a good idea. I set them in the sun with low pressure compressed air blowing in them for several hours. I've never had one fail yet. I had to recoat a bike tank once after doing some welding on it. I called Kreem for their recommendation on how to fix the spot that was affected by the welding. I followed their instructions and had no problems with the repair.

my old hair dryer would occasionly throw sparks.

I have said this before but no one seems to agree. Gas tanks can explode just like a big bomb. I would'nt even consider working on a gas tank. I know a lot of people have done it and had no problems but it only takes one time and some one will collect on your life insurance.Take it to a radiator shop and live to work on your truck, something that won't kill you.

I have heard of mixed results when relying on a radiator shop. Some shops may be better with gas tanks than others. I would ask around, and do some research on your own, and follow up on at least a few references.

I personally wouldn't be afraid to try it myself, but I would follow the instructions to a tee.

Let us know how you make out.

John

I had the tank cleaned and coated in my 39 last year. It seems to be a satisfactory solution although a new tank would certainly have been better.

A new truck? Not in the cards. At least according to my wife and checkbook.

I know that when we are talking fuel that we are all sitting on top of a lot of firepower if done the wrong way, but it was cheaper for me this way than locating a new tank locally. As much as I'd like to pretend otherwise, I'm on a budget when it comes to the truck and our decisions sometimes simply come down to that.

I clean mine with glass marbles and a good solvent. Then use the 3M sealant if it is still to nasty for you. Cleaning can be a no win proposition as some have posted. But if you are dealing with an old truck like the 49 F!@# I last did the tank was $600.00 and it was way cheaper to clean than replace. There are companys that restore tanks, they cut them open and blast them, fix pin holes and reweld them back together then they coat them with the 3M stuff.

Two areas of any vehicle that I do not believe in trying to "save money" are fuel and brakes.

There are probably some professionals that can properly coat a gas tank with sealant; although with the amount of flaked off sealant that I see in carburetors (stuck in the idle circuit, normally), there are many that have less than perfect results.

Personally, I would first try a couple of large fuel filters in parallel before doing anything to the tank. Change these a couple of times, and if that doesn't clear up the rust, I will change the tank. If a replacement tank is not commercially available, I will pay one of the specialty companies to fabricate one for me. If the cost is "too high" I will sell the vehicle and let someone else deal with it, but no cutting corners around fuel, or other safety issues.

Others opinions may differ.

Jon.

OK guys....I asked, you all answered. There sure seems to be many different ways to look at this dirty tank issue. Some say definately clean & coat the tank. Some say definately get a new tank and dont take the chance of a less than perfect sealer job. Others are more middle of the road with pros and cons for both ideas.
I checked on the cost of a new tank...$210.00 at my door.
I checked on the cost of radiator shop doing the cleaning & sealing.....$200.00 or more depending on leak repairs, etc.
I checked on the cost of doing it myself......about $45.00 to $60.00 for materials and shipping (cleaner and sealer), plus my time.
I have decided to buy the new tank because, quite honestly, the time saved and the guarantee of a clean tank with no rust and no leaks is worth the $150.00 differance. I think this is one of those times where the extra money spent is going to a very good purchase.
Thanks to all who gave their opinions. Couldnt ask for a better group of guys to ask help from.

Carl

Good call! I was hoping you would do just that. I have cleaned a couple of tanks with good outcome. But the tanks were much more expensive to replace than yours. Also carbking has a valid point in that the sealant can come off and you are back to square one, only now you also have to o/h the carb and replace the tank.

Something that is different for every one of us is how much our time is worth and how much we like doing the work ourselves. Personally, I like being able say I did it myself, but many times that just isn't feasable. I can make 210. in less than 4 hours, but there is no way I could do the tank in half that amount of time including all the running around you would have to do for supplies. And then there's clean up...
I have 2 jobs, 3 kids, 0 time. Yep, new tank.

Toyvo and bigmacdaddy......you are both bringing up valid points. Time is worth money even if only being spent doing our "hobby". And sometimes that time might be better used on a different part of the project. After reading everyone's thoughts on the issue, the thing that I thought about most was the possiblity of spending money for supplies and doing the clean and coat and having the job be less than perfect. I realize many guys have done this and have had great results, but as I have never done it I cant be so sure of my results. Because I am a huge believer in "Murphy's Law" I think the one time purchase of a new tank is best choice.
I really appreciate everyone's input. Thanks all.

Carl