I have a pair of saddle tanks for my '64 Chevy truck that are covered with a light coat of surface rust. The inside has a little rust, but it's not too bad, but they're really dirty inside from sitting open for years. One of the tanks had a HUGE beehive that's still partially inside. I have been considering getting them stripped, but I'm not sure if I should use a commercial company like Redi-Strip or my local radiator shop. I'm not sure if the chemicals in a radiator shop are strong enough to strip the tanks (steel) to bare metal. I open to any suggestions or recommendations. I'm close to L.A., so if you have a shop to recommend, post it up.
Gas Tank Renu, available through most radiator shops, is what I have used with much success. FWIW, fuel (gasoline) contains water as a matter of course. Air also contains water (duh, I know). All fuel tanks are coated with an anti-corrosive from manufacture. If you strip this off, the tank will corrode even if used immediately. The only way to stop this is to re-coat with another anti-corrosive. Gas Tank Renu serves this purpose very well. I tried, with a '51 Olds tank, to strip and use without coating. This was quite unsuccessful, the tank re-rusted almost immediately. OTOH, I did a '60 Jag's tanks more than 20 years ago (Renu process), and it is still working fine, without any corrosion. These tanks are part of the trunk's interior, so they were not coated on the outside, still working fine. Normally Renu coats inside and out. Renu can, and does, repair any and all pinholes and such like, before coating. So even if your tank is less than perfect, it can still be saved. I know I sound like a commercial, but let's just call me very satisfied. I have had quite a few tanks done this way. Just my opinion, you will have others. Cosmo
This sounds interesting, there doesn't seem to be one very close to me though; which is about 1000 miles away. http://www.gastankrenu.com/index.htm
You can load up the tanks with a few pounds of nuts and bolts, seal it up with duct tape, wrap it in blankets, and "tumble" them in a large clothes dryer. This will typically clean it out real good. No chemicals, no residue to deal with, no internal lining that peals away over time. Just an option if you want to DIY.
That would work for something small like a motorcycle tank, but the tanks I'm dealing with are 30" long, 10" wide, and 10" tall. They are a 15 gallon capacity. Do the radiator shops use a strong enough chemical to take the rust and gunk out? On one of the tanks, it had a beehive in it that was probably the size of the inner diameter of the tank. I banged on it for a long time and was able to get some of it out, but there's still a bunch of hive still in it. The access area is only the filler neck, which is mounted on the far end of the tank. There are no sending units or any access panels, at least not yet. I plan to install a sending unit/float assemblies and "modernize" the tanks. In a nutshell, my '64 C-20 had the in-cab tank and also a pair of saddle tanks. I removed the in-cab tank for added cab room and to have a storage area behind the seat. I did not want to add a tank behind the rear axle because I want to keep the spare tire in that location. So, I have decided to utilize the saddle tanks, but upgrade them with sending units and floats and make them work with my factory fuel gauge. I also plan to run an electrical tank switch and solenoid from a '73-'87 Chevy truck.
Associated Radiator in Covina boiled out and sealed an Econoline tank I had about 5 yrs ago for $135.
I have had great success - many years, many different types of gas tanks - with the POR tank coating products. By the kit and follow the instructions. OTOH I have had problems with the red coating radiator shops use. The POR products will seal pinholes and are not harmed by today's fuels.
I checked with these guys a while ago about an O/T tank for an old MG. Seemed like they did good work. A bit pricey if I remember correctly but its been a while. Mattson's Radiator<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o> (714) 826-0357<o></o> 10529 Beach Boulevard, <o></o> Stanton, CA 90680 <o></o>
Most radiator shops, if they still even have their dip tanks due to EPA regulations, have a caustic solution which from my experience don't work that well on gas tanks.
redi strip and a old style radiator shop use hot caustic soda to strip the tanks , we used to use household lye ( caustic soda ) and hot water , and let it sit a day then pour it out and rinse it real good and neutralize it with vinegar and then rinse again and then use a portable heater to heat the tank up to dry it out . the nice thing about the radiator shop and redi strip is they have some other chemicals which help plus the tanks are kept near the boiling point of the caustic which makes it work real good . something hard to do at home . also you do not have to try to find a place to dispose of the caustic material as it will eat the flesh off your bones
At our shop , we send tanks over to our local rad shop (who we've used for many years) - they cook 'em out & seal 'em up for us . I'd imagine nearly any rad shop should be able to do the same . Some vintage tanks we see are painted on the outside (read: visible when installed) , and this process obviously destroys the paint & it comes back bare metal .
Alex, just flat skip the radiator shop on this one and hit Reddi-Strip. The caustic solutions in the hot tanks at radiator shops even thirty years ago when I worked in one did a great job of cleaning out gunk, but did nothing for the rust situation. Reddi- Strip will get both for ya. If it isn't handy to get it to Reddi-Strip, have the radiator shop soak it for ya, take it back from them and mix some muriatic acid and water 50/50 and let them sit over night. Check in the morning to see what you have, then soak long if necessary. When you are finally happy with the results, drain them, discard the acid, and rinse with a box of baking soda to neutralized the acid and dry asap. I have done this with every rusty tank I have owned for the last thirty years simply because I'm too cheap to do the Reddi Strip thing, and this is the way we did rusty stuff at the radiator shop when I was a kid... Right up to the day that I found the lock broken on our acid vat, and the bits of human remains inside! Seems a local Scottsdale man couldn't handle his wife anymore, had just had us do his rusty tank a couple of weeks prior, and seemed very interested in the process...
My grandfather had an old cememt mixer he would strap the gas tank to the open face of just for this purpose... worked great!
Check out my post on the Ford Barn about the process I used to de-rust and clean the tank on my 36 Ford. Clean as a whistle and the car runs great. My handle in dean333 on the Barn.
muratic acid to clean the rust out, drain and neutralize with water and baking soda. Then rinse with water, then dump in some acetone to absorb the water thats left in the tank. Drain and pour in a product called Red Kote. It seals the metal and it wont rust again. I've done a couple tanks so far. I can do a 20 gallon tank from start to finish in about 1-1/2 hours for about $50.
These guys did my neighbors model T gas tank and it turned out great! Don't remember the cost. Performance Radiator® Tacoma, WA (TAC)2667 South Tacoma Way Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 472-0586
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