[tcb] Re: Split Gas Tanks
- From: Eric Woodall <type2list@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2004 06:05:59 -0700 (PDT)
Dang Gerald that was a great email, thanks a lot!
At the end you mentioned a picture of a cleaned out tank, I think that might be
a Richard Atwell picture.
I might try a radiator shop to remove all the stuff before re-sealing...
"Gerald V. Livingston II" <gvl2@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:The biggest thing is
getting it clean. Resealing with the POR-15 protects
against further rust from inside and seals any holes that may already be
there up to about 1/8" big.
If you have all the stuff it's a VERY straightforward process (see Dan's
message for some of the stuff needed).
Probably want to start with the hot water and rocks to remove any loose
stuff so you don't have to use so much Marine Clean. Then use the marine
Clean. Follow all safety instructions with that stuff, it is heavy duty. It
will get rid of any remaining varnish and rust in the tank. After using the
Marine clean what you pour out will be really nasty stuff.
After the Marine clean you should rinse the tank with hot water.
Follow that with a good hot water rinse for the tank.
Then take some really hot water and put it in the tank an slosh it aroud
really good.
After that....
You get the idea. You want the water coming out looking clean enough to
drink (but don't do that).
Look in all the holes you can find and see if there are any areas you can
see that are more rusty than everywhere else.
Then use the Metal Ready as per instructions. Pour it in and do the tank
flip thing again. Coat everything. Metal ready is just a Zinc Phosphate
coating like Ospho. It's a "rust converter". If you saw any extra rusty
spots prop the tank so the MR covers them for a while. Rotate as needed to
give all rusty areas "extended treatment".
Now go back up to the part about the hot water rinsing.
When the water comes out clean you need to have a source of either WARM or
HIGH VOLUME air to blow through the tank to dry it completely. Warm AND
high volume would be great. I did the high volume thing:
http://phorce1.sytes.net:8080/rootweb2/Buskatiers/Gerald.L/first-mini-resto-2002/4/album.html
See photos 85 - 90.
The tank needs to be COMPLETELY DRY! POR-15 cures with moisture. If there
are any damp spots inside you will end up with "nuggets" that cure faster
than the rest and may break off in the future and leave an unprotected
spot.
Once it's DRY follow the instructions on the sealer can. Pour it in the
tank, rotate for full coverage, pour out the excess.
Do not try to save any leftover tank sealer. This is Texas, read the part
above about how this stuff cures. Once you open the can you have to use it
RIGHT THEN. Even if you close the can back up it will have absorbed enough
moisture from the air that it will be rubbery in a day or so and rock solid
within a week.
Don't get it on you or anything you value. I spilled some on the asphalt
driveway doing my tank. When I went to "kick it up" the next day I kicked a
huge chunk of driveway up instead.
My brother and I thought that was fascinating. So, we did what comes
natural to guys when faced with something that's supposed to be
"indestructible" -- we tried to destroy it. We failed miserably. It was
just a chunk of "stuff". We used the biggest hammers we could find to try
to shatter it. We tried to pound nails into it (that did chip it but we
never got one to actually drive in). We dulled a couple of drill bits to
useless poking holes in it.
As far as the inside of a fuel tank goes this stuff is definitely the
equivalent of "indestructible".
Yes, it will take you 3 or 4 days (or more depending on drying time) to do
this. But it will NEVER have to be done again.
A less verbose set of instructions is here:
http://www.frost.co.uk/how_do_i.asp#3
And DO NOT try to use a blow dryer on your tank until AFTER you have done
both the Marine Clean and Metal Ready steps. No matter how long it sits
there will be some volatile fumes in there, maybe odorless. Breaking up the
varnish will release more.
There was a link with pictures of a tank after someone used a blow dryer to
try to air it out after doing nothing more than rinsing it with hot water
several times. Pretty cool looking but I can't find the link now.
Gerald
On Tue, 3 Aug 2004 10:44:13 -0700 (PDT) Eric Woodall wrote:
> So what is a good way to tell if my tank actually needs to be re-sealed.
> I am just assuming that it needs it because the tank was not connected
> to the engine when I bought the bus (fuel supply was a jerry can).
>
> If I take off the sending unit and the fuel outlet will I be able to see
> anything? I guess just for the extra insurance I should probably just
> re-seal it and forget it...
>
> Hey Gerald, is it a pretty straight forward process on re-sealing it?
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------
> Eric "Mr. Electric Wizard" Woodall
---------------------------------
Eric "Mr. Electric Wizard" Woodall
1966 Micro Bus De Luxe, 7 seater
T.C.B.
H.A.C.
---------------------------------
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