Fuel Tank Resto

[ko-lek-tor]

  Its a shame more of us dont live closer..  I wouldnt mind helping others with little projects like this and for me to learn as well..   

Thanks Darrell and I couldn't agree more. The internet makes the world so small in a lot of ways, but even though I'd consider quite a few of you guys that I've never met in person friends, we can't shoot the bull or work on our cars together over a beer. Kind of a bummer... I appreciate the thoughts and ideas.

I think I will drink a "virtual" beer to that!

[cook_dw]

Screw virtual....  Im already there.. 

[X33RS]

I use the evaporust as described, works great.   If the galvanize is in good shape, I like to coat the tank in a satten clear, same clear I like to use on red oxide floors to make them easier to clean or wipe off, plus it seals it off and doesn't change the tone or tint enough to matter.

If you find the galvanize flaking off or spotty, I like to use a rustoleum metallic and dust the tank, it's the closest I've found to give a galvanize appearance.   Satten clear over that for more protection if desired.

[Camarocards]

About a year and a half ago I went through the same thing on restoring my gas tank. The top half of the tank had a lot of surface rust and looked similar to yours. The bottom half had a very healthy dose of undercoating (East coast car) and once I removed the undercoating the underlying metal was perfect. The inside of the tank was perfect as well with absolutely no signs of rust.

After I cleaned up the bottom half of the tank to remove the undercoating I tried everything under the sun to remove the surface rust on the top half. After many failed attempts using every rust removal product out there, I resorted to bead blasting (at a very low pressure) the tank which naturally left a finish that would have been great for paint but I did not want to go down that route. My goal is to keep the car the way it came out of the factory and paint was clearly not used on the tank. I contacted a number of companies around the country that specialize in galvanizing but no one wanted to take on this job. I suspect they did not want to run the risk of having their galvanizing tanks being possibly contaminated.

So at the end of the day, after I completely sand blasted the tank, I resorted to using several progressively finer grits of sandpaper to try to duplicate, the best I could, a galvanized look. After I was satisfied with the look, I then used three coats of Sharkhide Rust sealant and protectant. It goes without saying, that the tank should be thoroughly flush both before and after the bead blasting operation. Obviously all of the openings in the tank should also be sealed to eliminate or at least reduce the amount of media that may work its way into the tank.

Yes, this was a lot of work. Yes, I could have just painted it and yes, I just could have bought a new tank but since this tank is original to the car (I even found the date stamp after the undercoating was removed!) and in good shape I wanted to restore and use it.

I'm satisfied with the result and would go down the same path again. It's been a year and a half since I've completed the tank and there's not a spec of rust occurring anywhere on the tank.

Bob

[HawkX66]

I use the evaporust as described, works great.   If the galvanize is in good shape, I like to coat the tank in a satten clear, same clear I like to use on red oxide floors to make them easier to clean or wipe off, plus it seals it off and doesn't change the tone or tint enough to matter.

If you find the galvanize flaking off or spotty, I like to use a rustoleum metallic and dust the tank, it's the closest I've found to give a galvanize appearance.   Satten clear over that for more protection if desired.

Unfortunately I think my galvanizing is too far gone. At this point, it's blast/strip/sand and re-coat with something.

About a year and a half ago I went through the same thing on restoring my gas tank. The top half of the tank had a lot of surface rust and looked similar to yours. The bottom half had a very healthy dose of undercoating (East coast car) and once I removed the undercoating the underlying metal was perfect. The inside of the tank was perfect as well with absolutely no signs of rust.

After I cleaned up the bottom half of the tank to remove the undercoating I tried everything under the sun to remove the surface rust on the top half. After many failed attempts using every rust removal product out there, I resorted to bead blasting (at a very low pressure) the tank which naturally left a finish that would have been great for paint but I did not want to go down that route. My goal is to keep the car the way it came out of the factory and paint was clearly not used on the tank. I contacted a number of companies around the country that specialize in galvanizing but no one wanted to take on this job. I suspect they did not want to run the risk of having their galvanizing tanks being possibly contaminated.

So at the end of the day, after I completely sand blasted the tank, I resorted to using several progressively finer grits of sandpaper to try to duplicate, the best I could, a galvanized look. After I was satisfied with the look, I then used three coats of Sharkhide Rust sealant and protectant. It goes without saying, that the tank should be thoroughly flush both before and after the bead blasting operation. Obviously all of the openings in the tank should also be sealed to eliminate or at least reduce the amount of media that may work its way into the tank.

Yes, this was a lot of work. Yes, I could have just painted it and yes, I just could have bought a new tank but since this tank is original to the car (I even found the date stamp after the undercoating was removed!) and in good shape I wanted to restore and use it.

I'm satisfied with the result and would go down the same path again. It's been a year and a half since I've completed the tank and there's not a spec of rust occurring anywhere on the tank.

Bob

Your tank came out fantastic Bob! Like Darrell's, if mine comes out near as good, I'll be more than happy. I wish the bottom of my tank had been undercoated like yours. No such luck though... I'm in the same boat as you were otherwise. My tank is original to the car and other than some surface rust, it's in great shape. Very salvageable. Blasting with fine Aluminum Oxide doesn't leave as much of a pitted surface like other media can so hopefully that will save me a little sanding.

[BULLITT65]

Bob your tank looks amazing. So you blasted and then wet sanded, and then hit it with the Shark hide sealant/protectant?
Did you use a torch to take off the undercoating?

[Camarocards]

Bob your tank looks amazing.

Thank you! A lot of hours went into making it look like that but I think it was worth it.

So you blasted and then wet sanded, and then hit it with the Shark hide sealant/protectant?

Blasted first. Use the finest mesh size you could get your hands on. I think I used 100/120. After it was blasted I then started out with 220 grit sand paper and then used finer grits and ended up with 1500 (might have even been 2000 grit). The 200 grit paper was used dry and then wet sanded with subsequent grits. Then finally used three coats of the Sharkhide. A bit pricey but really great stuff that dries perfectly clear.

Did you use a torch to take off the undercoating?

Yes with a plastic putty knife. You'll go through a bunch of them but I didn't want to use a metal putty knife for fear of scratching the underlying metal A word of caution. ALWAYS wear a respirator and do this in a well ventilated area!! The fumes that this stuff gives off is deadly. Don't forget, it's simply molten tar when it was sprayed on.

Good luck and post some pics when your done. Be forewarned.....I spent hours and hours and hours to get it to look like that so make sure you eat your Wheaties and be patient!  It's worth it in the end.

Bob

[Camarocards]

Here's another picture of the top. The first picture I posted made it look like there was some rust on the top. That isn't the case. Just a crappy picture. 

Bob

[cook_dw]

Great looking tank!!!

[67rs327]

Here's another option. Not nearly as nice as Bob's - but not too bad for a 1st try. Finish is POR silver blended with POR gloss black. 1st coat was pure silver - then as the 2nd coat is applied - start adding just a few drops of the black (very few) until it begins to "mottle" - result is a galvanized-ish color. Practice on another piece of sheet metal to get the blending down.

[Camarocards]

Chris,

Looks great! Nice job.

What did you wind up doing to remove the rust?

Bob

[ko-lek-tor]

All of you have referred to a galvanized finish on the tank. I, too, referred Camaro tanks as galvanized and thought it was so until I took my tank to a radiator shop I use frequently for repairs. The owner, whose opinion I truly respect and value,  because he has done many world class restorations (Pebble Beach stuff). He told me the tanks were not galvanized, but rather have a tin / lead dipped finish. This proved true, because off the car,  the tank is moved around working on it and small scratches appeared quite quickly, because of the soft (lead) coating. I was told to clean it up with a piece of very fine steel wool (which worked, but go lightly as the coating is very thin). Do not breathe in the lead dust!  I only felt this was noteworthy, because we are into the facts about these cars, right?

[JohnZ]

The raw coil stock the tank was stamped from was "terne-coated" with that lead/tin alloy as a secondary operation after the steel rolling mill, prior to stamping the tank halves. Some folks think the tank is galvanized steel, but it's not.

[67rs327]

The tank was bone dry and had not had any fuel in it for sometime so I was able to safely use a wire cup brush followed by various grit paper. There was enough scale damage (not thru) that trying to get a perfectly flat surface w/o filler was not going to happen. Final prep included a bath in POR metal ready and then on to paint (hand applied w/foam brush)

[cook_dw]

All of you have referred to a galvanized finish on the tank. I, too, referred Camaro tanks as galvanized and thought it was so until I took my tank to a radiator shop I use frequently for repairs. The owner, whose opinion I truly respect and value,  because he has done many world class restorations (Pebble Beach stuff). He told me the tanks were not galvanized, but rather have a tin / lead dipped finish. This proved true, because off the car,  the tank is moved around working on it and small scratches appeared quite quickly, because of the soft (lead) coating. I was told to clean it up with a piece of very fine steel wool (which worked, but go lightly as the coating is very thin). Do not breathe in the lead dust!  I only felt this was noteworthy, because we are into the facts about these cars, right?

The raw coil stock the tank was stamped from was "terne-coated" with that lead/tin alloy as a secondary operation after the steel rolling mill, prior to stamping the tank halves. Some folks think the tank is galvanized steel, but it's not.

Excellent points..  Learned something new today.