Tying to fight the winters grip here in KY, so the minds loose and wondering. Working on my old 914 project, at least in my mind for now, but I have a question that maybe someone else can answer.
I have my gas tank removed from the car and I wish to seal the inside of the tank with any of the gas tank coating kits on the market, to of course prevent any rust in the fuel system. My question is it might be months or more before the tank will be put back into service. I haven't found anything out about if this will cause any problems? I mean setting dry without gas in it? I would think that the sealer would cure better that way? Any thoughts?

Thanks Robert in cold and snowy KY

I used the POR15 gas tank kit and when done, it had a nicely sealed surface that did not rust for the few months it was empty. Follow directions to the letter though...

Be VERY aware of the recommended temperature restrictions on the use of whatever product you choose!

The Cap'n

I used Red Coat on my last two 914's with no issues, tech sheet states 250 deg. is the failing point


http://damonq.com/TechSheets/Red-Kote.pdf

I only use the Caswell epoxy sealer. I poured the excess from a tank resealing on my shop floor, right in front of the door, about 5 years ago and it's still fine. This stuff will never come out. That can't be said about any other sealer.

so if you seal enough customer tanks, your whole garage floor will be all nice and shiny.

The Caswell stuff looks pretty darn nice, I have one that looks good on the outside but has a lot of rust on the inside, this stuff looks like the "Right Stuff"

Thanks, McMark

Vysoc

Is that what that is? Use it! Hard as a rock on a well used floor... But I doubt that you'll ever do enough floors to seal that entire floor!

porous concrete versus metal submersed in fuel may not be a great comparison, but if it works and is properly applied, go for it.

rich

I have an old potato peeler machine that I need to restore. I'm going to give this stuff a shot!

Ahhhhhh, I wasn't clear. The original poster indicated he's in Kentucky, and the car's down for the winter. It gets mighty cold in Kentucky, and many products have a range of temperatures suitable for application of the product. If they require a minimum temperature for application or for curing, it's best to follow the guidelines. Some won't apply or stick properly if it's too cold, or even if it's too hot.

The Cap'n

OK off topic but I have seen these. My brother in Sweden has one. It is a large pot with a crank that tumbles the potatoes. The walls have a heavy grit glued in place. Add water and tumble the potatoes and the skin is rubbed off. Really nice for those small new potatoes. So they were referring to adding heavy grit to the epoxy and replacing the side walls.

I've used the Caswell epoxy on a half dozen tanks and have been very pleased with its performance.

Yeah, I've got 5-6 patches done now. Slowly but surely.


It's made for fuel tanks. Your comment would apply if I were recommending using flooring epoxy in a tank. But this stuff is meant for fuel exposure, I just happened to pour some on my floor to 'test' endurance.

In a "while I'm in there and the engine is out" moment, I ordered some of this stuff. At this rate, I'll have the engine re-installed and running in time for the next NFL season.

I used POR15 in the tank of my '73 240Z and it worked great. I also found that putting gravel in the tank and shaking it vigorously gets rid of a lot of surface rust.

Used one of these frequently when I got stuck on KP in the Army 1968...Wasted about 40% of the potatoes. Sorry for expounding on the hijack.

The Redcoat that Andy suggested, is likely the same/simular product I used on my 75 tank a quite a few years back. Product is by Bill Hirsch. Highly recommend. Forms a bladder inside the tank and you'll never have to worry about it chipping or cracking. Most important part of any of these products to work right, is the prep..

From all the threads here on this subject, the process I've put together for my build is as follows:

1: remove tank from car
2: weld up the tubes at the bottom (for my build...not everyone)
3: cut the hole at the top for the subaru fuel dealio
4: weld in the new T-nuts
5: fill 1/4 of the tank with gravel and tape iup the holes
6: rig it somehow to a grill rotisserie for tumbling
7: remove the rocks and admire the lack of rust
8: hose it out to remove newly created sand
9: use that Caswell kit
10: dump the excess on Mark's floor

Did I miss anything?

You don't really need the gravel portion. Use some degreaser (Marine Clean from POR-15), some rust converter (phosphoric acid), then wash it out and coat it. Unless there is serious rust scale, which I've never seen in a tank.

I'll pick you up at the airport. If you keep the excess cool, it should slow down the reaction long enough to keep it runny during the flight.

Hi Robert,

We used the KBS tank cleaner and sealer on our nasty 74 VW bus gas tank. It worked very well and it sealed and rust free. The system has a cleaner, a phosphate primer, and a sealer.

It, however, needs the weather to be warmer than it is now.

Mike

I'm sure TSA would be fine with that!