I've got the tank out of the '47 Lincoln, and it's pretty rusty after 77 years. I could tell the stale gas had some water in it too, but it's safe to say it's probably never been emptied in 77 years. I've got some Evapo-rust working on the bottom of the tank where it's the worst, and it's cleaning up nicely. I've got some Rust911 concentrate on order to make up enough solution to mostly fill the tank. I had good luck with POR-15 on the motorcycle's gas tank, which was also pretty rusty but cleaned up well with vinegar. The Lincoln's tank, however, is much larger at 19 gallons, there's a baffle in the middle of the tank, and the fuel pickup tube is just hanging out in the middle. So, do I try POR-15 and coat most of the tank, or just clean up the rust as best I can and leave it as is?
POR-15 and tank baffles
- Thread starter Dave Sherman
- Start date
They sell gas tank coating kits. It's an involved process. But its what I would do. I did it once on an old welder/generator gas tank.
Worst thing you want is a coating in there that is not E10 gas proof
Can you power wash it with really hot water and high pressure to get all of the residue out? Or is a "low power" sand blaster (if that's a thing) work? I've use naval jelly on things but nothing the size of a gas tank.
Considering classic vehicle, would it be an issue to seek an aftermarket *universal* replacement tank? IDK any leads for that but am guessing it isn't a special shape, that there might be something out there that fits.
Assume you are going to use the POR15 fuel tank sealing kit?
Its a good product. I have cleaned and coated several tanks and filler necks. Recently peeked at one that was done over 20 years ago, and it looks great.
Just be careful, maybe stick something through the pickup tube so the coating doesn’t close it.
Understand the hesitation with the baffle. If you can get the rust fully removed, it might be ok to not coat. I personally would not want that, but it would probably be ok.
Around 2000 I repaired two fuel tanks with the POR-15 US Fuel Tank Sealer. I followed the directions, sealing off the vents first.
For the outside of both tanks I used a wire brush on a drill to remove the tar-like factory undercoating, which had cracked and trapped water, used a POR-15 putty-like product over the holes, and then painted the entire outside of the tank with a black POR-15 epoxy.
The POR-15 products worked well, and I had no further problems with either tank.
For the outside of both tanks I used a wire brush on a drill to remove the tar-like factory undercoating, which had cracked and trapped water, used a POR-15 putty-like product over the holes, and then painted the entire outside of the tank with a black POR-15 epoxy.
The POR-15 products worked well, and I had no further problems with either tank.
Thanks all, it's kind of a strange trapezoid shape viewed from the top, so I'm not sure there's a universal one that would fit. The other trouble is there is just a 2" opening where the fuel sender goes, and the 2" filler neck, so I can't see a lot of the inside. I managed to snake my cheap Harbor Freight borescope camera in through the sender opening and a hole in the baffle, and the Evapo-rust seems to have done a nice job on the bottom of the tank. The outside of the tank is actually not bad, there's just some surface rust. It didn't get to experience road salt, thankfully. I just wasn't sure if trying to coat the inside with POR-15 would be worthwhile if it's likely that I might not be able to coat all of the baffle. The pickup tube I can see clearly through the sender opening, so I could brush it on to that in a pinch.
If you seal up both holes in the tank, I don't see why you can't rotate and turn the tank and get all of the internal surfaces covered with the product? Why would a baffle prevent that?
It wouldn't. Read my previous post, the baffle itself is what I'm concerned about. The POR-15 instructions say to gently slosh it around to avoid bubbles, but if the stuff runs around the sides or through the holes in the baffle, it's going to be difficult to get the whole baffle covered.
