Paint Won't Dry??, Painted over Renu'd Gas Tank Options

[vesnyder]

I am restoring my car and thought I would clean up the tank and give it a fresh coat of paint. I used some standard Rustoleum on a gas tank that has been treated with Renu several years ago. The paint still has not dried and it has been almost a week? I suspect I've used the wrong paint, but what do I do now - strip it and repaint? - wait 'til it dries (may be Spring)? - get a new tank?

[914GT]

From my experience any phosphoric acid residue can interfere with proper drying of paints. Many metal conditioners and rust converters use phosphoric acid. Also, enamels can take a long time to dry especially when its cold. You could try putting a heat lamp or halogen light a few feet away and see if that helps dry it. If that doesn't work then you have to strip it all off with lacquer thinner, paint remover, etc. then prep for new paint. Just a satin black spray paint is the easiest but it's not very durable around the fuel filler area if you tend to spill a lot.