Hi All…whilst im doing a rear end refurb and cleaning up all the underside i decided to drop the fuel tank…outside needs a repaint as there is plenty of surface rust…no leaks but who knows once i wire brush the outside…will 2k epoxy the outer but any one sealed the inside…a few products on the market…anyone used one thats lasted a while…thanks…Steve
POR15 is widely used, with good results. Easton also has a fuel tank sealer. The main thing is to follow directions closely, on cleaning and etching the inside so you don’t end up with peeling sealer. Google search: POR15 fuel tank sealer…and find the directions…Quite a few steps with Marine Clean, or muriatic acid, and POR metal prep…and lots of moving and shaking the tank around…you can DIY but a shop that uses POR15 may be the way to go. Nick
oh…and consider the POR or KBS Industrial Coatings products for the exterior.
Hi Nick…thanks…yes iv see the products and the you tube vids etc…im after reccomendation from anyone here thats used something and had it for a while…just want to be sure it dosnt all peal off after a while…thanks…Steve
Depending on the total condition of the tank it may happen that the cleaning process introduces pin holes in the body of the tank. I have done several tanks for my “cars” and have saved the tanks by using solder on the outside of the tank to fill the pin holes. I use Zero-Rust to coat as a primer and then paint. If the interior of the tank is clean you won’t have anymore trouble if you keep it topped up. Note: If you go this route make sure you fill the tank with exhaust gases before you do the soldering.
Hi…thanks for the reply…was thinking of the soldering route…obviously need to beware of petrol fumes. …please explain fill tank with exhaust gases…not heard of this befor…cheers Steve
I suppose I could have expressly stated…that I USED the products I would recommend. I Did several tanks, inside POR products, outside both POR and other tanks KBS. Many years no problems, tho I have not had cause to look inside. Peeling has to do with the prep…not the final application. Short cuts will cause problems. Nick
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Use a pipe/tube to pump the exhaust gases into the tank to displace any petrol fumes, I would be inclined to do this before wire brushing the outside as well just in case the wire brushing creates sparks.
Alternatively fill the tank with an inert gas such as argon if you have a mig welder.
i will stand way way way back from anyone running exhaust into a fuel tank.
Nick
Not the sort of thing i would be doing…far better to wash it out…Steve
You guys are way too paranoid about this. Just make sure it’s empty, then blow it out with compressed air for awhile, like 10 minutes, and wait a couple of days. The gas will all be dried out and gone away. If there’s still a smell, it won’t be enough to burn. Gas needs a certain minimum percentage concentration in air in order to burn.
There is also a maximum concentration, which is why submerged fuel pumps and level senders work fine.
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Use a soldering iron, rather than flame.
the number of nasty incidents of people working with gas, gas fumes, requires paranoia !
mistakes may be little ones, results not so little,…just sayin
Nick
Here’s a solder repair I did on my '38 SS tank with a propane torch. It had gas in it two days before I did this. I removed the drain plugs and level sender, blew it dry, waited 2 days, and everything was good. BTW this tank is all soldered together, not welded.
Now this guy is an accident waiting to happen. 
Hi Steve,
I’ve used the POR tank sealer kit (bought from Frost) twice now. The first time was on the Etype and it worked perfectly. The second was on the XK, and it didn’t! After a couple of days, it all peeled off and pretty much destroyed the tank. In the end I bought a new one.
As already stated, if you follow the instructions religiously (and have plenty of ingredients, I think I should have used a bit more on the XK) it will work well.
My next project car will get the same treatment if required.
Cheers.
Simon.
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Steve whatever you use the end result will be the tank will need replacing especially if its as old as the car.I would bite the bullet now ,Not that dear and you know it will work for a long time and not let you down JOHN
Thanks for all the replies so far…question for the guys that have used a sealer…how did you cope with the drain bung…it i leave the bung out and tape over the hole the threads will get filled…if i leave the bung in place the sealer will go all over it and probably on tne protruding thread inside the tank…but would i be able to get the bung back out…cheers…Steve
Hi John…i hear what your saying…currently the tank has no leaks…i see no rot on the outside but surface rust…so want to clean up the outside and repaint…but by cleaning the outside and painting i wont really know if i created any pin holes…i dont kniw how old the tank is but seams a bit ott just to replace it…should actually be getting it out later today to inspect…cheers…Steve
Steve,
When I sealed my tanks, I Sealed the filler neck with inner-tube held with a jubilee clip. I used the old fuel pump cover (that was missing it’s original in-tank pump) as I planned to but an SNG in-tank pump. I bolted in the delivery pipe and just plugged it. I can’t remember what I did with the sump bowl, but I don’t think I had it fitted throughout the process.
Hope this helps.
Simon.
I sealed my 140 tank around 18 years ago, after the car had been sitting for 28 years. I used the Eastwood tank sealing kit, and bought some extra acetone to thoroughly rinse the tank after cleaning it out.
To help clean the tank interior, I placed various nuts and bolts and a piece of chain inside the tank and shook it around until I thought most of the interior rust had been dislodged. I counted each piece, to make sure that I got them all out later before actually sealing the tank.
Just after pouring the liquid sealer into the tank, I sealed the openings in the tank with tape to prevent the liquid sealer from leaking out while I rotated the tank in all directions to try to distribute the sealer evenly onto the tank interior. Be aware of the two vertical tank dividers welded inside the tank, one of which is partly visible through the fuel sender opening.
Later, when I had estimated that the liquid sealer inside the tank had partly solidified, I removed the tape, and cleaned the threaded tank drain opening and the fuel sender opening with a toothbrush in order remove the sticky white sealer from those areas.
Shortly after this was all done, and the tank was reinstalled and put into service, ethanol suddenly became common in the gasoline available around here, and ever since then I have been diligent in avoiding those brands of gasoline which contain ethanol, because I had no information on whether this particular brand of tank sealer was ethanol resistant or not.
Perhaps I just got lucky, but so far the tank hasn’t leaked, and there are no signs of the sealer peeling off.
If I ever do this again, I will try to rig up some sort of a ‘rotatable tank supporter’ , in order to make it easier to rotate the heavy tank around in all directions, without actually supporting it with my puny arms. At the end of the day my arms were very tired from trying to hold the tank and rotate it all around.
Hope this helps.